Lady Sings The Blues: Amazon.ca: Billie Holiday: Books

Product Description

This work presents the Billie Holiday story - her rise to the top from the slums and the streets, to the eventual slide down.

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Glimpse into a unique life, July 7 2004

By

R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lady Sings The Blues (Mass Market Paperback)

Other reviewers have made the case that this autobiography is less than accurate. That may be true however I believe the book captures the spirit of Billie Holiday as well as the tenor of the times in which she lived and consequently it is an important and very interesting book.

The tragedy surrounding Holiday's life and struggle with addiction is well known and yet here it is dealt with in such a gripping and personal way that the story is moving and emotionally wrenching. Billie Holiday emerges from this book as a warm living human being with a remarkable amount of wisdom regarding her own struggles and failings. One would expect an autobiography to seek to afix blame elsewhere or excuse shortcomings. None of that is found here. This was an inteligent, wise and obviously talented though flawed woman whose story deserves to be told.
Reading this has rekindled my interest in her music and that alone was a great benefit I received from this book.

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4.0 out of 5 stars She sang what she felt, Dec 8 2003

By

ghost - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Sings The Blues (Mass Market Paperback)

Billie Holliday lived a sad and tortured life. She was always a victim. A victim of the racist times, the men, the music and everyone else who took advantage of her. Through it all she managed to sing and produce music that made so many people happy.
The book is easy to read, but choppy at times. If you are looking for historical accuracy, look elsewhere. The "fictionalized" parts off her life do not detract from the story. She or William Dufty may have taken some liberties, but they are used to make a point. I strongly recommend this book to any Billie Holliday fan.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A touching, important book., Mar 11 2003

By

Robin Ford "RoFo" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Sings The Blues (Mass Market Paperback)

I felt compelled to write this review because I thought it was important to respond to so many of the comments that criticize this book for its fictionality. While it is certainly true that this book is far from "historically accurate," whatever that may mean, that in no way diminishes this book either as an important work or as a testimonial of Billie Holiday's life. The artistic liberties that William Dufty takes help to place this work within a longer tradition of African American women's writing that stems in large part from nineteenth century slave narratives, and, as a result, this book is fascinating in its awareness of and interactions with these traditions. It also remains devoted to a portraytal of Miss Holiday that exchanges accuracy for the sake not just of readability and commercial viability, but also for the sake of placing her story into and in opposition to a racist, sexist climate that ultimately destroyed one of the most important artists in American history. A factual, chronological account of Miss Holiday's life would have crushed the importance of her story in ways that Dufty attempts to resist (with varying success) throughout this vitally important work of writing.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Harrowing
Billie Holliday is probably the most gifted and tragic heroine of her time. She overcame poverty racism and endless failed relationships to become one of the greatest jazz singers... Read more

Published on Mar 24 2002 by Michele

3.0 out of 5 stars a good read, but *not true*!
"Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen, and I was three."
These are the first lines on the first page. Read more

Published on Nov 30 2001 by capstrmbn