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50 in '10: #7
Title: Mommie Dearest
Author: Christina Crawford
Length: 258 pages
So, another autobiography. I'd heard of this book, though never seen the movie based on it, and though I know who she was, I've never to my recollection seen any of Joan Crawford's films. The subject matter (child abuse) is of course quite controversial, with some of the involved people saying the author made it all up and some of them saying they were there and she was telling the truth. I don't know; I wasn't there and don't know any of the people involved.
The story told is entirely a horrifying one, of Christina Crawford's adoption, as well as that of her three younger siblings, by her movie star mother, and the abuse, mostly mental but some physical, she suffered during her mother's lifetime. It's a gut-wrenching read, though in the latter half of the book the writing goes a bit uneven, telling of a reconciliation without really going into the emotions of why and how. The entire thing is bookended with the author's experiences at the time of her mother's death, and leaves the question of why her mother did what she did appropriately open-ended.
Verdict: worth a read.
Author: Christina Crawford
Length: 258 pages
So, another autobiography. I'd heard of this book, though never seen the movie based on it, and though I know who she was, I've never to my recollection seen any of Joan Crawford's films. The subject matter (child abuse) is of course quite controversial, with some of the involved people saying the author made it all up and some of them saying they were there and she was telling the truth. I don't know; I wasn't there and don't know any of the people involved.
The story told is entirely a horrifying one, of Christina Crawford's adoption, as well as that of her three younger siblings, by her movie star mother, and the abuse, mostly mental but some physical, she suffered during her mother's lifetime. It's a gut-wrenching read, though in the latter half of the book the writing goes a bit uneven, telling of a reconciliation without really going into the emotions of why and how. The entire thing is bookended with the author's experiences at the time of her mother's death, and leaves the question of why her mother did what she did appropriately open-ended.
Verdict: worth a read.