Fragments

November 29, 2010
Isabel Keating is a fine mimic of the Marilyn we know from the movies—it’s the same breathy, cotton-candy douceur, the voice lilting with wonderment, the same rounded consonants, the trill at the end of sentences. She sounds like a precocious child, very earnestly doing the introspective self-searching homework that the Strasberg method demanded. As seamless is Keating’s channeling of Monroe; it would have been a pleasure to glimpse the voice behind the baby voice, the woman behind the mask. The content is fragmentary, but there is delight in this picture of the icon as more sincere, striving, intellectually ambitious, and perceptive than we’d ever have guessed. A Farrar, Straus, and Giroux hardcover.

Marilyn Monroe's recently found introspective written artifacts and other renderings are presented without context or point of view. With only muted trumpet jazz framing the segments, there is no overall explanation of the source materials. Brief editorial notes attempt, with mixed success, to clarify and provide a "who's who" of first names, initials, and nicknames used. Isabel Keating employs a consistent, if monotone, voicing that reveals Monroe's humanity, intelligence, sensitivity, and sophistication. However, only in individual moments does she emotionally reflect the themes of disappointment, sadness, and desolation expressed in these jottings. The abridgment of already limited artifacts further contributes to their fragmentary nature. Overall, this production is a frail effort with a weak narration. W.A.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

February 15, 2011

Some 50 years after Marilyn Monroe's tragic death, her private life continues to fascinate. This audio exposes her innermost thoughts through recorded selections from her journal entries, poems, and occasionally rambling notes, revealing a thoughtful yet insecure and vulnerable woman. Monroe reflects on the moments of joy and turmoil in her life, including the breakup of her marriage to the late playwright Arthur Miller. Introductions provide listeners with background information. Actress Isabel Keating does a superb job of channeling Monroe with her breathy narration. While this audio version has an intimate feel, however, audiences should not miss the numerous photos, handwritten notes, letters, and diary entries available in the Farrar hc, only some of which--via a bonus PDF--are available here. Recommended wherever the print edition is in demand.--Risa Getman, Hendrick Hudson Free Lib., Montrose, NY

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.