So I have been reading NetGalleys and oh my gosh I love it so much! They download to my kindle and I can read in bed without irritating my beloved. This morning I got up at 4 am and started Catherine Newman's WRECK and I can not WAIT to continue!
In an effort to show NetGalley how appreciative I am, I plan to repost the reviews I have written for any 5 star book here just in case they ever check the link that I give them. Last night I finished WHEN WE WERE BRILLIANT and I adored it.
I am a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize Eve Arnold was a real person. I thought this was one of those historical books where someone is made up and they interact with real people. This lasted the first quarter of the book, and while I was interested, I wasn't obsessed. Once I realized the error of my ways I started googling and became ENRAPTURED!! The characters of Eve and Norma Jean are so well drawn that I feel like I know them. I feel like we are as aware of Marilyn's husbands in the same way we are Henry VI's wives so it was nice to see some background there, particularly with Joe and that hideous Arthur. (And I am sure that there are many sides to every story and Arthur maybe wasn't a complete jerk for no reason, either way, it made for great storytelling!)
The way that Cullen referenced specific photographs added so much to the narrative. I kept going back and searching for specific shots. (And I also just ordered 3 different Eve Arnold photography books from a used bookstore before this novel comes out and the prices go way up!) She does a wonderful job of telling the linear story of this friendship and merging her own fictional details, while making it feel so real. The only thing thing that fell a little flat for me was they way that Eve narrated it for Norma Jean, and that really only reared its head when they were in scenes together and she had to say things like "you remember" which pulled me out of the story a bit. In spite of that, while the parts about Eve's life outside of Marilyn's sphere were fairly straightforward and interesting, the scenes when they are together is where it really caught fire. The whole section during the filming of the Misfits and just after was pure perfection! Highly recommended.
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