Love Child

Starred review from February 23, 2009
Huston’s memoir begins when she is five years old, learning of her mother’s death from her godfather. Although she is sent to live with her father, the film director John Huston, he is an intermittent presence in her life. Then, when she is 12, Allegra’s stepmother informs her that her real father is the British historian John Julius Norwich. Huston, who spent several years as an editor in British publishing before creating a writers’ workshop in New Mexico, skillfully integrates her childhood memories with revelations from her mother’s correspondence, recounting her often-awkward encounters with “my dad” (Huston) and “my father” (Norwich) with great sensitivity. Although she spent part of her adolescence living with her older sister, Anjelica, there isn’t much in the way of Hollywood gossip beyond fleeting scenes of Marlon Brando playing chess and verbal abuse from Ryan O’Neal. Instead, the emphasis lies in young Allegra’s constant feelings of alienation and the subtle development of familial affections that culminate with Hustons and Norwichs coming together to witness the christening of her own son. Where many memoirists compete to see who’s had the most outrageous life, this story stands out in its quiet poignancy. 16 pages of b&w photographs not seen by PW
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