Lovely Me: The Life of Jacqueline Susann

Rating:
Summary: Reading This Bio Once is Not Enough!
Review: God, I love this book. Not necessarily being a fan of Susann's (I've never read her novels), I found Seaman's biography to be a beautifully written, impeccably researched psychological study. The book feels like two books: first, we get the psycho-drama that was Susann's life, which is rendered with an extremely perceptive soap operatic flair; next, we get deep, deep dish on the ups and downs of the publishing world, particularly Susann's singleminded approach to selling her books...and herself. You'll be fascinated by Susann and repulsed by her. This is the *best* biography I've ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Informational but somewhat dissapointing
Review: I read a lot of great reviews of this book, how it really captured the essense of Jaqueline Susann, how it had the same sort of "scandalous" feel as her novels, but I found it a somewhat dry read. Maybe I'm just a jaded reader living in a later age, but reading about her affairs with women men and her drinking and pill-popping didn't really seem that audacious to me. There definitely were a lot of interesting aspects to this book, however. The author really did a tremendous amount of research and I really felt like I knew Susann's family and friends after reading the book. The author delves into Freudian territory, surmising that Susann had a lot of issues with her father that ended up in her works. I think the part I liked best of the biography was the discussion of Susann's works and how she published them. Susann had an amazing drive to be famous and this books shows how tragic it is that she died so young before she could really enjoy her fame.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely Me
Review: Jacqueline Suzanne invented the way that books are publicized today and for that alone, this book is worth the read. But there's much, much more. She was on the scene when television invented itself, and therein lies another fascinating tale. And along the way, she invented herself. Jackie hobnobbed with and had affairs with the rich and famous and <> leaves no stone unturned in this realm. Seaman's list of acknowledgements is a veritable who's who in popular culture, including many well-known feminists, as well as such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Rex Reed, Barbara Walters and John Lennon. Famous names keep popping up all over the place, reminding us that we are reading a biography and not a fantastical romance. In the end, Jackie wrote about what she knew--the sex, the booze and pills, and clawing for fame, security, and recognition. Perhaps Jackie herself, summed it up best: "Yea, I think I'll be remembered...I think I'll be remembered as the voice of the 1960s...Andy Warhol, the Beatles, and me..."

Rating:
Summary: The real Valley of the Dolls
Review: LOVELY ME takes honors for being the most lurid bio I've ever read. It was great!

I recommend reading this book before you pick up VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, because once you read VOTD, you'll know from exactly which well Jackie drew these experiences. Just as VOTD was a roman a clef for life as Jackie knew it, LM is the real-life retelling of VOTD.

I admire Jackie Susann. Not only was she a Philadelphian and a writer, like me, but she had such tenacity. Even when cancer, a failed career, a mentally-ill son, and a dim future stared her in the face, she plodded on and closed her ears to the naysayers. She never once took her eyes off her dream of being a published author and bolstering VOTD to being the best-selling novel in history. We can all learn something from her.

Rating:
Summary: An enlightening portrait of a desperate artist
Review: Ms. Seaman has produced a work of exceptional depth and quality, truly bringing the essence of Miss Susann to life, and making her compulsion for fame and regognition understandable. What struck me most was the tenacity with which Miss Susann clung to her dream of glory, only to have it so cruelly taken from her at such a young age--almost like a character in one of her classic novels. If the life of a working artist and the world of celebrity interests you, this is a book you will quite enjoy.

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