The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe
by Sarah Churchwell
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Description
A brilliant investigation into the debates surrounding Marilyn Monroe's life and the cultural attitudes that her legend revealsThere are many Marilyns: sex goddess and innocent child, crafty manipulator and dumb blonde, liberated woman and tragic loner. Indeed, the writing and rewriting of this endlessly intriguing icon's life has produced more than six hundred books, from the long procession of "authoritative" biographies to the memoirs and plays by ex-husband Arthur Miller and the works by show more Norman Mailer and Joyce Carol Oates. But even as the books have multiplied, myth, reality, fact, fiction, and gossip have become only more intertwined; there is still no agreement about such fundamental questions as Marilyn's given name, the identity of her father, whether she was molested as a child, and how and why she died.The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe reviews the unreliable and unverifiable-but highly significant-stories that have framed the greatest Hollywood legend. All the while, cultural critic Sarah Churchwell reveals us to ourselves: our conflicted views on women, our tormented sexual attitudes, our ambivalence about success, our fascination with self-destruction.In incisive and passionate prose, Churchwell uncovers the shame, belittlement, and anxiety that we bring to the story of a woman we supposedly adore. In the process, she rescues a Marilyn Monroe who is far more complicated and credible than the one we think we know. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This book is a must have for any Marilyn fan. It explains, in depth, the multiple misconceptions and stories of Marilyn's life and film career which as any Marilyn fan knows, is a lot. I wouldn't consider this a biography, but more of a study on who Marilyn is and what she means, and the different roads her story has taken throughout the years.
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Author Information
5+ Works 828 Members
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2004
- People/Characters
- Marilyn Monroe
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 791.43028092 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Movies, TV, Video Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures Standard subdivisions Acting and performance Standard subdivisions History, geographic treatment, biography Biography
- LCC
- PN2287 .M69 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Dramatic representation. The theater Special regions or countries
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 117
- Popularity
- 277,426
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.89)
- Languages
- English, Finnish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 2
