Customer Reviews

My Side: The Autobiography of Ruth Gordon

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I found this book both interesting an surprising. Ms.Gordon lived a life filled with famous actors, globe-trotting and a true love of the theater. Although I don't agree with all of her life choices, her book is a peek at a life lived by few. Unapologetic and footed in reality, the book covers her life from young child until shortly before her death. I imagine it would be a great read for anyone who is especially interested in the theater from the first part of the 20th century. Ms. Gordon rattles off the names of many plays, actors, writers and directors, most of which I didn't know. She doesn't explain much to put them in context, so I think someone who is more familliar with that era would get a greater kick out of it.

If youonly know her from "Harold & Maude" or "Where's Pappa?" check out the long history of this lady of the stage.

I'm surprised the previous two reviewers read this book if the characters mentioned in it were unknown. If you're too young or uninformed to know who Alexander Woolcott, Thornton Wilder, Booth Tarkinton, Katherine Cornell, Charles Laughton, or Elsa Lanchester were, don't bother to read the book. It will be way over your head. My main quibble with this book, is that there is very little detail about the numerous famous people mentioned in it, except in a name-dropping way - i.e. "I played cards with . . . ., I saw . . . ., I was in Peter Pan with . . .The book reads like a compilation of (carefully edited) personal diary entries. Aside from being the likliest way for Ms. Gordon to remember exact words and details from 60 years earlier, it also has a stream of consciousness short phrasing that gives little depth to the people she writes about. Even the most famous are no more than names written on a page, even though Ms. Gordon obviously knew them very well. There's also very little insight into her own actions, or those of those nearest to her. She mentions adultery with someone who makes an appearance for about two sentences and fades away never to be mentioned again. What was that all about? An affair with Jed Harris that resulted in her only child is barely remarked on. Considering the facts that Harris was a famous (and famously hated) producer, his child with Gordon resulted in his divorce, after which he refused to marry Gordon while publicly admitting his paternity (and in the 1930's!), one would think she'd have more to say about it. What about her 43 year marriage to the love of her life, Garson Kanin, who was 16 years her junior? Not much said there either. The only thing she talks about with any depth are the number of plays she was in, her near misses with the casting couch in her early years, and how well or how badly she thought she did professionally. One gets the impression of a selfish hedonist - but it's hard to believe that's all there was to her. I would love to read a more objective and detailed biography of an obviously interesting and charming woman.

Ruth Gordon was a great actress and one of the best "characters" ever to grace the silver screen. You would assume an autobiography would be filled with funny stories from her life but this book is nothing like that. This HUGE uninteresting book is filled with names, names, names and more names of people you have never heard of. No explanation about who they are or distiguishing features about them. It would only be of interest to people who actually know these people.

I'm pretty well versed in Broadway and Hollywood history and even I didn't know who or what she was talking about most of the time.

This was an autobiography her friends might enjoy reading (cause they know the people) but for everyone else this is just a long drawn our series of names and uninteresting stories.

I forced myself to keep reading this until I got to the Hollywood section and even then when I knew the names the storytelling was just as bad.

Skip this book!