Customer Reviews

Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood

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2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This book was so fascinating that I actually read it in one day. "Natalie Wood" continues to be a household name even twenty years after her death, but this is the first biography to focus solely and objectively on Natalia "Natasha" Zakharenko (Nat's sister Lana wrote "Natalie: A Memoir" in 1984 and Warren G. Harris also wrote a bio of both Natalie and her husband RJ Wagner). Suzanne Finstad interviewed nearly four hundred people in her research for this book and offers some startling revelations in her portrait of Natalie's life. Finstad does an excellent job of drawing a very clear distinction between the person, Natasha, and the creation "Natalie Wood" and the demons these dueling personalities created within her life. The best thing about this biography is the unwavering (and well deserved) respect Finstad has for her subject. Especially touching is Finstad's dedication of the book to Natasha "the little girl lost in 'Natalie Wood'" and her two sisters, Lana and Olga, as well as the parallel Finstad uses with Chekov's "Three Sisters". From the beginning of "Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood" where Finstad traces Natasha's geneological roots in depth, to the end of the book where Finstad examines the possible events that led to the tragic loss of this great star at such a young age, Suzanne Finstad provides the reader with the spell-binding tale of Natasha and the people and events that shaped her life. This is a MUST HAVE for any fan of Natalie Wood and/or her films.

Suzanne Finstad pulled together an amazing biography of Natalie Wood that took years of interviews and tells the true story of Natalie's difficult life behind the scenes. Those of us who worked with her, knew her well (we thought) will be amazed at what we never suspected. I wrote my book Hairdresser to the Stars, A Hollywood Memoir about the seventeen years I worked closely with her but after reading this book, Natasha, I realize I hardly knew her. I loved her and am saddened that she could never share her life with those of us that worked closely with her. She was always a professional, an actress who only showed her lovely sides. We never knew about the darkness. Here was a beautiful woman, loved and desired by so many men, talented and wealthy and yet never achieved the happiness she desired in her life. She supported her friends in their careers and lives and yet seemed to have been left in the dark. Reading this book brought back memories and wonderful occasions along with the sadness that she left us much too soon. I think by now, if Natalie was still alive she would have said "to hell" with all this hiding my life and read the book with pleasure and a sigh of relief and would have quoted Woody Guthrie "I used to care but things have changed." Read it with love.

I strongly recommend this book for any fan of Natalie Wood. I always liked her. Who wouldn't after seeing her films? The author kind of goes overboard by being very repetitive at times...but once you get past that you can get into what matters. The author gets good insight via interviews from various contacts which allows one to decipher what is true & what probably is not. I found it fascinating to learn that Natalie divorced her husband, Robert Wagner, (the first time) after she found him in a compromising position with another MAN. Everyone knows she was a victim of child stardom...but I'm not sure everyone knows about what an obsessive stage mother she had. All in all...there are a lot of names dropped in the book that make it very interesting for any fan. It was sad that the world lost her at such an early age. She was bound to win an Academy Award eventually...she had that excellent acting ability "in" her. I liked her more after reading the book because I could tell she was a unique lady. I was surprised to learn how she 'slept around' in her early years. Then again, the end of her life still has an aura of mystery. You, the reader, are left to determine what really happened with the tidbits of facts given.

Having heard so much about this book, and having seen the ABC TV movie, "The Mystery Of Natalie Wood" (which was based on this biography), I couldn't refrain from getting a copy and seeing for myself - I have been a fan of Natalie Wood since I was a teenager. Suzanne Finstad did a commendable job, beginning from Wood's ancestral lineage (or as best could be told, since Maria Gurdin was known for misconstruing the facts and fantasizing an aristocratic or gypsy past). The Romanovs and gypsy superstitions reigned in the lives of the Gurdins, which "Mud" inflicted on her appealing second daughter, Natasha. This "Mommie Dearest" lived through this vulnerable child, all the while ignoring her other two girls, Olga and Lana, and relegating her husband Nicholai into the background. This made for tension and domestic violence within the home as little Natasha morphed into "Natalie Wood" a child actress who was her family's breadwinner. All the pressures and phobias took its toll on a frail psyche, with a stage mother from Hell always lurking in the shadows, whispering warnings of dark water, sex, and kidnapping, and never allowing her to be a child, or have playmates her own age. Although she warned Natalie about intimate involvements with unknowns or males of her own age, Mud seems to have had no problem pushing the girl towards powerful Tinsletown personalities to further her career. Even as an adolescent Natalie rebelled, the fears instilled in her scarred her for life, and played a part in many of her relationships, as well as her career. A brutal rape at the hands of a famous actor (who is not named, although it's not too hard to guess his identity, as his family is still very active in the film industry, hint, hint), left her all the more traumatized, and unable to report the crime due to the studio system. Her life had many twists and turns, such as an intense friendship with the ill-fated James Dean, an affair with a middle-aged director, and her marriages to Robert Wagner, which seemed to have much more drama than has ever been publicly acknowledged, and her long-awaited motherhood, only to have her life snuffed out by the element she feared beyond any other - water.

Some of her films are discussed in depth, as well as recalls by friends, coworkers, and her sisters. Robert Wagner refused to meet with Finstad, insisting that a more accurate account of Wood's life was upcoming - the result was "Natalie Wood: A Life" by Gavin Lambert (which, I think, was written as a rebuttal), and I couldn't help but notice that there are less favorable reviews for that biography.

There will probably always be a debate about Natalie's tragic death; there are so many unanswered questions, and until certain parties decide to talk (if ever), the truth may just be carried away with the tide.

Fly free, Natasha.

Born Natasha Zakharenko, Natalie Wood, was the daughter of Russian immigrants. Being a granddaughter of Russian immigrants myself, I can well relate to her upbringing, particularly during her childhood years. There was a quality about this book that portrayed Natalie as a beautiful, intellegent, talented women with a little girl still living deep inside. Many of us do retain that characteristic inside of us to a certain degree, but in Natalie's case, there are times in the book when she almost torn between two worlds, the one she wanted to fit into and the one she did not want to leave behind.

From childhood to Tinseltown, through happiness and sorrow, success and ultimate tragedy, this is Natalie's story as it has never been told before. No other account of her life seems quite as accurate or complete. The book leaves the the reader feeling this is not just another glittering starlet, but a real person with fears, hopes and dreams who, regardless of fame and success, was no different from you or me. The reader will share her rollercoaster life, the peaks and valleys, the dreams and aspirations, the triumphs and final tragedy. For all her strengths and weaknesses, she will forever be remembered for the beautiful lady that she was. If you are drawn to biographies and, in particular, the magnetism of this captivating woman, you will not want to miss "Natasha."

I thought this biography of Natalie Wood was very well researched and quite absorbing. I see from other reviews that people criticized Finstad for her over-dramatic prose and repetition, but I found myself so interested in the story that I didn't notice these things while reading. Well, Natalie lead a dramatic life, so maybe some flowery prose isn't entirely out of place.

I read on a Natalie Wood website that her oldest daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, has dismissed the book as "trash," saying the information was just "gathered from a lot of gossip columns," although in the same breath she admits she hasn't actually read the book. Actually, Finstad interviewed a large number of people who were close to Natalie both personally and professionally, from the time she was a small child, and the text is very well documented with her source notes. Such complete documentation is rarely found in Hollywood biographies these days, and is very impressive, in my opinion.

All in all, I agree with Natalie's sister Lana that this book is "comprehensive, moving, shocking and riveting," and recommend it to both long time and new Natalie Wood fans.

Through exhaustive research, interviews with family and close friends, Suzanne Finstad has poignantly reconstructed the emotional and turbulent life of Natalie Wood.With much sensitivity and love, Finstad reveals the true Natalie, one of my very best friends.

As a Natalie Wood fan of the first order, I've found it hard to understand the lack of biographies offered on this international super star. One book by her sister Lana years ago, but felt that one may have had a one-sided slant because she obviously worshipped her well known sibling. Another biography years ago on Natalie and RJ, the man she married twice, seemed to be a bit sugar coated in detailing the hollywood dream couples life. But, this book hits all her peaks and valley's, her sometimes tenacious hold on reality and all the grit along with the glitter that made up Natalie Woods life until it ended at the age of 43 in a controversial drowning accident.

The author obviously did her homework if her account of how many of Natalies close friends and acquaintances she interviewed is accurate. She gives us, the readers, information that as far as I know hasn't been offered up before, and I think I've read almost everything ever printed about Natalie.

Ms. Finstad, the author paints a picture of a powerhouse superstar that has her fame and fortune balanced out by great loneliness, insecurities, and sometimes overwhelming unhappiness. However, we get a strong image of a woman that despite living her life in a fishbowl as a beautiful, rich and famous movie star, was actually quite earthy, likeable and eager to help others.

I was so wrapped up in this book I finished it in one day, figuring laundry can always wait. But, the laundry may have to build up a wee bit higher because I think I'm going to start reading this book all over again just because I enjoyed it so much. "Natasha" was definitely worth the wait!

Whether the you agree or disagree with the author's conclusions and the robustness and reliability of the research that informs them is a personal choice. What struck me most about the book is how badly written it is - something I'm afraid it shares in common with a great number of celebrity biographies puiblished today.

Natalie Wood deserves better than an author who does not know the difference between the words "determinism" and "determination" or how to use them correctly, to give just one example. The author also seems unable to construct sentences in a logical sequence. Very often it's unclear who the author is quoting.

As I say, the content may or may not be accurate - the style, I'm afraid, is poor.

WOW! THIS BOOK IS PROBABLY ABOUT THE BEST BIOGRAPHY I HAVE EVER READ ABOUT NATALIE WOOD OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. THE AUTHOR TRULY MAKES YOU CARE ABOUT NATALIE. THERE ARE TIMES WHILE READING THIS I JUST WANTED TO CLOSE THE BOOK AS IF THAT MIGHT STOP WHAT I KNEW THE BOOK WAS GOING TO INEVITABLY LEAD TO. THE AUTHOR PORTRAYS NATALIE AS SOMEONE TORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS AND TWO SELVES ONE REAL THE OTHER INVENTED. THOUGH I MUST ADMIT I AM CONFUSED ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS NATALIE'S SISTER LANA SAID THAT DIFFERED FROM THE THINGS SHE SAID IN HER OWN BOOK ABOUT NATALIE (NATALIE:A MEMOIR BY HER SISTER)BACK IN 1984. IN THAT ONE SHE SAYS SHE DID NOT BELIEVE ANY OF THE RUMOURS SURRONDING HER SISTERS DROWNING AND ROBERT WAGONER'S INVOLVEMENT. BUT IN THIS ONE SHE TELLS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT STORY. BUT BACK TO THE BOOK IT IS A TREMENDESLY READABLE NOVEL AND IS PACKED WITH LOTS OF INFORMATION ON NATALIE'S LIFE BEFORE HOLLYWOOD AND HER FAMILY HISTORY. IT DOESN'T SUGARCOAT HER, HE LIFE, OR HER DEATH. BUT IT IS NEVER DISRESPECTFUL OR SLEAZY. IT SHOWS NATALIE TO BE CONFUSED, TROUBLED, AND VULNERABLE. A MUST READ FR ANYONE EVEN SLGHTLY FAMILIAR WITH NATALIE WOOD'S LIFE AND/OR FILMS.