From Publishers Weekly
Now as then a cultural curiosity, the resurrected reminiscences of 1920s Latin Quarter model "Kiki" appear with the original prefaces by artist Tsuguharu Foujita and Ernest Hemingway, the latter of whom described her as "a woman who was never a lady at any time." The French edition was released in 1929; an English translation was denied entry by U.S. customs the next year on grounds of obscenity, owing to the reproductions of paintings by Foujita and photographs by Man Ray that accompanied the slim text. An illegitimate village waif raised in poverty by her grandmother, Alice Prin was born in 1901. At 12 she joined her mother in Paris only to go off on her own at 14 as model for, then mistress to, a generation of sculptors, painters and photographers. Merely an amateur at more professional entertainment, she nevertheless sang in sleazy clubs, appeared in nine films, danced in Fernand Leger's Ballet Mecanique. Offered freely, her svelte body brought her fame without fortune. When journalist Henri Brocca arranged for publication of her memoir, and news spread that for 30 francs, one could acquire an autographed book and a kiss from Kiki, men discarded their dignity in the rush. Once depression and war put an end to her brand of frivolity, she contended that all she required was "an onion, a bit of bread, and a bottle of red," and she usually found "somebody to offer me that." Nearly forgotten, she survived into 1951. Putnam's 1930 translation evokes Kiki's childlike qualities. Insubstantial despite the prefaces, dozens of illustrations, including the author's own naif pictures, and?as supplement?three autobiographical articles for a Paris paper in 1950 that repeat much of the memoir, Kiki's offering is more artifact than art. Kluver and Martin are the coauthors of Kiki's Paris.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Known as the queen of Montparnasse, Kiki was the quintessential artists' muse and model. She epitomized the verve of 1920s Paris--with her strong and alluring face and graceful and voluptuous body--and became a modern icon in the photographs of her longtime lover, Man Ray. Kiki and her circle were presented with great flair in Kiki's Paris (1989), and now this lovingly produced edition of her memoirs, introduced by Ernest Hemingway and illustrated with her charming drawings and Man Ray's striking portraits, offers an intimate perspective on her personality and life. First published in 1929 and promptly banned in the U.S., Kiki's account of herself as a "love child" who suffered profound emotional and physical deprivation is a work of great wit and elan. She wrote about her youth again for a Paris newspaper, just a few years before her death, and these reminiscences are frank, elegantly understated, and truly moving. Kiki survived her brutal youth with intelligence and humor, making her way to the very heart of the art world where her uninhibited sexuality, theatricality, and abundant joie de vivre ensured her a life of spirited and celebrated improvisation. Viva la Kiki! Donna Seaman
