Customer Reviews

The Sewing Circle: Sappho's Leading Ladies

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

How the author managed to make the infinitely interesting subject matter as dry as burnt toast, is beyond me. His style is rambling, incoherent and goes off on insignificant tangents and never quite returns to the original thought. It's as if he took all of his notes, tossed them into the air, and wrote out the book from there. His editor should be tarred and feathered for having let this mess ever get into print. I LOVE books and treat them with great respect, but this is one I got so frustrated with, I flung it across the room. Often and with great force. If you have infinite patience and a lot of time to waste, by all means wade through these ramblings, as there are a few gems, but I found it hardly worth the frustration. (I read the first edition... one would hope a decent editor took this book in hand and FIXED it for the subsequent editions).
P.S. For the other reviewer who thought I hated this book because I was supposedly "angry and disappointed that Mr. Madsen has "outed" some of his/her cherished movie stars", you've gotten the very wrong end of the stick. As a lesbian, I crave books with material like this. The book is just, sadly, very, very bad.

Axel Madsen's THE SEWING CIRCLE purports to reveal the truth about Hollywood's lesbian social set--and if read in the same way one would read a gossip column it is an entertaining book, ripsnorting through the lives of as many stars as the author dares.

Portions of the book are clearly better researched than others, and consequently some exposes are easier to buy into others. Most of THE SEWING CIRCLE concerns the rumors that swirled around Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and the various women who moved in their circle; in writing of this group Madsen has done his homework and the result is quite interesting. On the other hand, Madsen makes little effort to explore the lives of such figures as Agnes Moorehead--and then, completely out of the blue, attempts to posit Judy Garland as a lesbian, which is such a leap that it makes you begin to question his portraits of everyone else as well.

That aside, although Madsen's actual style is good enough, his structure is not, and THE SEWING CIRCLE jumps here, there, and everywhere in an effort to catch the reader by surprise. Still, the book is entertainingly written. Recommended for a rainy day read, but keep your grains of salt ready.

I have a funny feeling that the one other review of this book is based on someone's being angry and disappointed that Mr. Madsen has "outed" some of his/her cherished movie stars. The truth is the truth and being gay doesn't make these stars any less nice, human or worthwhile. The book is well-written and interesting. What else can you ask of a book? I think it's so good I've bought several copies for friends.

Oh, God. Let's just get it over with and say that EVERYONE ON EARTH IS SECRETLY GAY. EVERYONE. This is one of the stupidest books I've ever glanced through - yes, GLANCED through, since I couldn't stomach slowing down to allow the words to stick in my head. Madsen, who I believe is secretly gay himself, is hellbent on making as many dead people gay as possible. And he can't write. I take particular offense at his chapter on Barbara Stanwyck. She was a brilliant actress and a very private person. Her life was relatively scandal-free. Mr. Madsen, you would be hurting right now if she were alive to crucify you in court. If only I could see that!!!

This book is very good and well worth a look at. The sociogists theorys are dicey at times, but apart from that its great.