BOOK 226: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B. TOKLAS: GERTRUDE STEIN

BOOK 226: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B. TOKLAS: GERTRUDE STEIN

Just like with my post on Patti Smith’s M Train I’ve decided to tell you about this book in a bit of a different way, by sharing some of the real life people found within its pages.

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas was written in 1933 by Gertrude Stein in the guise of an autobiography authored by Alice B. Toklas, who was her lover. It is a fascinating insight into the art scene in Paris as the couple were friends with Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. They begin the war years in England but return to France, volunteering for the American Fund for the French Wounded, driving around France, helping the wounded and homeless. After the war Gertrude has an argument with T. S. Eliot after he finds one of her writings inappropriate. They become friends with Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway. It was written to make money and was indeed a commercial success. However, it attracted criticism, especially from those who appeared in the book and didn't like the way they were depicted.

(Text from Goodreads.com)

MY VERDICT: I found this book harder to read than most, I’m not used to Stein’s writing as I’ve not read anything else written by her. It was a little frustrating to read as it was an autobiography written about a person from another’s perspective. So it’s very surface level, it doesn’t have a lot of feelings or emotions or opinions you would expect from an autobiography. It left me wanting more, it felt like a diary in places without much inner thought, it explained who the two women met and what they did but nothing like the in-depth knowledge I wanted. I wanted to really know wht it was like to be friends with Picasso, I got an idea but I was always wanting more. It took me ages to read and that I think is a sign that I wasn't enjoying it as much as I’d hoped. Although it does have a great introduction to the faces and characters around the art scene in Paris at the time and seeing such characters just turn up for dinner was quite fascinating.

If you want to know anything more about the people who show up in the book click on their image below.