How silly of me! To read Jane Fonda’s My Life So Far so close on the jolly, teetering heels of Goldie Hawn’s A Lotus Grows in the Mud!
Both are autobiographical tomes by grande dames of similar Hollywood provenance. Both feature thoughtfully posed cover photographs and almost-smiles. Both tell fascinating stories. Both are deliciously frank.
But Goldie’s is motivational. Spiritual. Sage. Jane’s is a little mean. A little nasty. A little self-congratulating. And while I pored over Lotus during a weekend away, ignoring friends, food and conversation, I couldn’t finish My Life. It felt too long.
So as not to undermine it entirely, I will tell you that My Life appears to have two selling points.
One, it exposes the interesting roots of Hanoi Jane’s controversial political beliefs; her stand against the Vietnam War and the "two minute lapse of sanity" when she was photographed sitting at a North Vietnam anti-aircraft gun site.
Two, it is a poignant comment on marriage, specifically on the fact that all three of Fonda's marriages made her suffer. A remarkable admission from a strong woman whose public life never portrayed her as a victim of patriarchy.
My Life’s myriad black and white photographs are also quite divine.
Both are autobiographical tomes by grande dames of similar Hollywood provenance. Both feature thoughtfully posed cover photographs and almost-smiles. Both tell fascinating stories. Both are deliciously frank.
But Goldie’s is motivational. Spiritual. Sage. Jane’s is a little mean. A little nasty. A little self-congratulating. And while I pored over Lotus during a weekend away, ignoring friends, food and conversation, I couldn’t finish My Life. It felt too long.
So as not to undermine it entirely, I will tell you that My Life appears to have two selling points.
One, it exposes the interesting roots of Hanoi Jane’s controversial political beliefs; her stand against the Vietnam War and the "two minute lapse of sanity" when she was photographed sitting at a North Vietnam anti-aircraft gun site.
Two, it is a poignant comment on marriage, specifically on the fact that all three of Fonda's marriages made her suffer. A remarkable admission from a strong woman whose public life never portrayed her as a victim of patriarchy.
My Life’s myriad black and white photographs are also quite divine.
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