- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury US (April 28 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1596916664
- ISBN-13: 978-1596916661
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 14.6 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 386 g
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#372,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( G ) > Garland, Judy
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"I couldn’t put down Susie Boyt’s quirkily brilliant My Judy Garland Life...Boyt reaches winsome, deeply honest conclusions about the nature of celebrity worship and her own need for love. Best of all, Boyt keeps a sense of humor about the sheer madness of the whole project that is contagious and ultimately uplifting – not unlike the trouper spirit of Ms. Garland herself.”— O magazine
“By turns clever, hilariously ironical and sweetly earnest, English novelist Boyt’s paean to the legendary singer and actress elevates hero worship to the role of self improvement…. Boyt’s hagiography proves poetic and endearing.”— Publishers Weekly
“[My Judy Garland Life] is an unusual mixture of appreciation, biography and autobiography, but its most fascinating aspect, is, paradoxically, not the shimmer of the star, but the portrait that emerges, via a tantalizing trail of revelations, of the author herself... unfailingly funny and perceptive... [a] thoroughly delightful book.”— Salon
“No doubt about it, the engaging My Judy Garland Life promises to be one of the most unusual, and truly inventive, books you’ll read this year... You don’t need to be a fan of Judy Garland to enjoy this book.” — Buffalo News, Book Club selection
"Boyt has written an effusive exegesis of her own obsession, offering a fresh take on fandom and fantasy, longing and humiliation, loss and joy, and quite simply feeling... the author is funny and self-aware throughout, and anyone who has ever fallen sway to a book or a movie, combed through liner notes, listened to a song on repeat or succumbed to an all-consuming passion for that which cannot be consumed, will certainly appreciate Boyt's examination and celebration of her own fervor." — Newsday
“I’m blown away…it’s truly, madly, deeply brilliant.”—Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland
"Never mind that Ms. Garland died when Ms. Boyt was 5 months old. In My Judy Garland Life Ms. Boyt constructs a fan’s-eye friendship between the two of them and actually makes it work... [A] wildly bizarre but wonderfully disarming hybrid of memoir, biography and mash note... My Judy Garland Life runs on whimsy that is utterly idiosyncratic. It’s also fueled by a comic, poignant desperation...”—Janet Maslin, New York Times
“A wonderfully engaging and inspiring book about love, loss, consolation, folly, and cakes.”—Amanda Foreman, author of The Duchess
"A cross between a fan’s notes and a heartfelt story of a lonely British girl who found more love and inspiration in one movie star than in anyone closer to home." —Sara Nelson, Daily Beast
“Beautiful, moving, and unique…blends autobiography with biography to create something magical, poetic, and truly original. As we follow the intertwining of two stories, and the meditations on the dreams, hopes, losses, and joys of human life, we realize that it is about much more than two people—it is about all of us.”—Darian Leader, author of Stealing the Mona Lisa and Why People Get Ill
“Boyt’s obsession with Judy Garland is more than a memoir; it analyzes celebrity, how it affects us and succeeds in making star crushes feel noble, not shameful. A funny and moving look at pop culture.”—Elle (UK), “Read of the Month”
“The desire to create something profound out of something seemingly superficial makes for an extremely strange but rather wonderful undertaking. The book defies definition. It has elements of biography, autobiography, self-help and fan letter; although it’s firmly nonfiction, there are parts that read like a novel. Above all, it is a bold experiment that sets out to map the boundaries of celebrity obsession, and somewhere along the way discovers what it means to be human…beautiful, heart-stopping writing.”—Observer (UK)
“What a self-deprecating, funny, moving, entertaining read it is…Can cynicism really be so simply out-argued? Can a book really be so analytical and high-kicking, so fragile and defiant at the same time? A…truly altruistic piece of modern thought, this wonderfully clever books gives its whole self, flings its arms out in a rainy street like a wonderful diva. Brava.”—Times(London)
Product Description
An irresistible mixture of memoir, biography, cultural analysis, hero worship, and sequinstudded self-help that will speak to anyone who’s ever nursed an obsession. Judy Garland has been an important figure in Susie Boyt’s life since she was three years old: comforting, inspiring, and at times disturbing her. In this unique book, Boyt travels deep into the underworld of hero worship, examining our understanding of rescue, consolation, love, grief, and fame through the prism of Judy. Her journey takes in a duetting breakfast with Mickey Rooney, a munchkin luncheon, a latenight spree at the Minnesota Judy Garland Museum, and a breathless, semi-sacred encounter with Liza Minnelli. Layering key episodes from Garland’s life with defining moments from her own, Boyt explores with insight and humor what it means, exactly, to adore someone you don’t know. Does hero worship have to be a pursuit that’s low in status or can it be performed with pride and style? Are there similarities that lie at the heart of all fandom? Chronicling her obsession, Boyt illuminates her own life and perfectly distills why Judy Garland is such a legend.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
For True Blue Judy Fans Only..., Jun 21 2009
By Brittany Rose - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Judy Garland Life (Hardcover)
I'm not entirely sure how I came to read this book, but I've always loved the Wizard of Oz and was curious to learn more about Judy Garland's life. This book is not exactly the book to do that, as Boyt is preaching (presumably) to the converted Judy fans of the world about the never-ending wonderfulness of Judy Garland in every aspect of her career, and her personal life.I suppose in terms of a memoir, it's about Boyt's undying belief in Judy as a savior of some kind within her own life - mishmashing details of her life with Judy's in a odd mix of nostalgia, admiration, and obsession. Quite frankly, the most interesting parts of the book are the ones that reveal unique insight into the Judy Garland story - whether odd bits of trivia or snippets from the interviews Boyt undertakes with various characters in Judy's life. Reading about Boyt's non-Judy life is somewhat lackluster; it starts out to draw some interesting parallels to Judy, but becomes more sporadic in its insertion in later chapters. Overall, the book lacks a clear focus / order / cohesion that can make it a bit tiresome to read.
That being said...if you are an educated Judy fan already, you'll love this book. As someone not fully versed in Judy Garland (other than seeing a biography or two of hers on TV, endless rewatches of the Wizard of Oz, and knowing snippets of her personal life) I finished this book fully wanting to believe in the fervor Boyt holds for Judy. I've watched a half-dozen of her YouTube clips already and plan to track down some of her other movies I haven't seen, and I am quick to believe in the magical qualities of Judy as a performer based on Boyt's quite lovingly crafted passages that makes this book a delight to read (at times).
My bottom line though? This book really made me want to read a proper biography of Judy Garland. If you've got a passing interest in Judy - do the same (or at least read her Wikipedia biography and watch a few movies / performances before the book). If you're a devout Judy fan, read this memoir - it'll move you and warm you.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolute Brilliance!!!, April 28 2009
By A New York Reader "pokesya" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Judy Garland Life (Hardcover)
Susie Boyt's memoir My Judy Garland Life is stunning. It is a proud and naked exclamation by the author for her unapologetic love and devotion for her (and thousands of others) idol Judy Garland.This book is a journey into the world of Susie- a little girl that grows into an amazing woman, mother and wife, novelist, columnist for the financial times and now story teller with a tale "for any one that's ever held a candle to a star" (Ms. Boyt's words). The story is dear and powerful. I believe a film would be fantastic!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Surprise I wasn't Prepared For..., Jun 17 2009
By Pauline R. Edington "(Polly)" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Judy Garland Life (Hardcover)
I love biographies and autobiographies, but truthfully, when I heard there was another Judy Garland book coming out, I was skeptical that anything new could be said...was I wrong! The insight she portrays of Judy's life and the analogy of her own life makes me feel like the parts of my life that go from the sublime to the ridiculous can be didactic and delightful as well!
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