Customer Reviews

Gertrude Stein: In Words and Pictures

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At last this book is back in print! Using Stein's words and pictures of her, her contemporaries and the places that were the backdrops of their lives, Renate Stendhal has created one of the most vital picture-bios of Stein and her era. The introductory essays at the beginning of each chapter set the stage for what follows, giving the reader a clear chronology and context. The excerpts from Stein's works are helpful in determining which of Stein's works(many of which are still in print) you'll want to read next. Everyone who was anyone in their crowd is here. A great gift for anyone interested in the literary/artistic period between WWI and WWII.

Stendahl's photographic bio of Gertrude Stein includes a treasure trove of photos of Gertrude Stein and her partner Alice Toklas, as well as many of their friends and acquaintances. Most of the texts are from Gertrude Stein's writings, though there are a number from friends, enemies, and even news clippings. Stendahl has managed to merge them all into a seamless, flawless whole that functions as a biography leading us from Gertrude Stein's childhood to her death.

After finishing "Gertrude Stein: In Words and Pictures," for the first time I feel as though I actually knew her, and I'm very pleased to have made her acquaintance. She comes across as a whole human being, strengths and weaknesses together, with penetrating insight, a great sense of irony and humor, and a warmth I would have like to have known first-hand. As a bonus, I feel I now understand what she was trying to achieve with her unique and controversial writing style.

To apply my ultimate test to any book, yes, I was sorry when it ended and look forward to reading it all over again. And again.