Thursday 22 June 2017

A Must Have Book For Your Shelves



Just Kids Patti Smith

Ok, so this is a book that I've had sitting on my shelf for quite a while now amidst the hundreds of other books that I'm yet to read and it's been one of those books that has been staring at me begging me to read it since the day I picked it up from one of my favorite record stores a year or so ago. I mean I've been wanting to read this ever since I bought it but having so many books means that I'm always spoiled for choice and with my reading game being a little bit off recently, I've just not gotten round to sitting down and having a good read in such a long time thanks to university life being so hectic.

But anyway as I no longer have to suffer the traumas of university for three months, it means that I can happily get back to reading and oh am I so so pleased that I started off my summer with this absolute dream of a book!

Some of you may or may not have heard of Patti Smith so for those of you less familiar, I'll give you a quick run down of who she is, what she has done and why she wrote this book. Ok so basically Patti Smith is predominantly a singer-songwriter however as you'll find out from the book, in her earlier years her road into music led from her love of art and her incorporation of poetry within it. Without telling you too much as I don't wish to ruin it for you, what the book really reveals is the way in which her journey leads her from art to poetry to music, all with the help of her muse and soulmate Robert Mapplethorpe. It is a beautiful tale of love, friendship, identity and progression with the perfect backdrop of life in America in the 70's but also the harrowing and subliminal consequences of growing up around the very liberal, drugs, arts and rock and roll scene.


Anyway the reason I fell oh so in love with this absolute work of art is due to the pure poetic style that Patti Smith has in her narration of her odyssey both in terms of her journey towards her music career but also the ethereal and pure relationship that she held with her soulmate Robert Mapplethorpe. The book tells the harrowing story of how she left home, got wrapped up in art, how her and Robert helplessly battled with poverty and scraping by through the help of selling their art; the rock and roll scene and for me what absolutely made this book was the way Smith and Mapplethorpe lived in the centre of so many artists and musicians stomping ground so the likes of Andy Warhol and Jimi Hendrix. An absolute favourite scene of mine is when Patti Smith travels to Paris to pay her respects to one of her heroes Jim Morrison(Lead singer of the Doors) and the way in which she illustrates and captures the moment she visited his grave is captured in such a heartfelt and powerful way.


I absolutely fell head over heels in love with Patti Smith's elegy to Mapplethorpe and the beautifully sad tale of their intertwined lives. It is such a beautifully raw piece of Literature and Patti Smith's storytelling is unparalleled. Throughout the memoir, there are photographs of both Smith and Mapplethorpe but also of their art and photography which just adds to the beauty of the book. It is a book that is a perfect read for your Summer days and one you can completely obsess over. This is for sure a book that will be remaining on my shelves forever more, one that I will never be parting with!


The Clueless Blogger


6 comments:

  1. Duly noted and is now firmly on my 'to read' list! Thanks for the recommendation : )

    Gemma
    Faded Windmills

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  2. been looking for a good summer read! thank you so much :) my favorite books are catcher in the rye and all quiet on the western front, give them a read!

    thefarahhussaini.com

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    1. The Catcher in the Rye is one of my all time favourites!! I'll definitely check out All Quiet on the Western Front too! X

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  3. This sounds like a really good read! Thanks for sharing :)

    Bits of Reg | Regina

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