Marilyn: The Story of a Woman (Paperback)

~ (Author) "NEW YORK CITY 1955: MARILYN MONROE BEGINS HER STUDIES AT THE FAMOUS ACTOR'S STUDIO,..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An incredibly compelling fictional biography of one of America's most familiar icons, Marilyn Monroe. Kathryn Hyatt, in telling this story in the comics medium, creates an atmosphere not possible in a prose biography. Here Marilyn speaks for herself--to her psychoanalyst, to a reporter--and ultimately to the reader of this book. Beginning where her unstable mother leaves off, Marilyn begins to dream of fame in early childhood. The reader follows Monroe's rise to stardom, progressing through the lower depths of Hollywood into the hard realities of stardom. Seen through the prism of Marilyn's inner world, her achievements and failures take on a new complexity and poignancy.

From Publishers Weekly

Hyatt has produced an eerily sensitive and engaging portrait in comics of Monroe, conveying the movie star's efforts to retain her sense of identity, her dedication to acting, her disappointments (and the men who contributed to them) and her struggles to control her now legendary career. Hyatt's portrait is one of an insecure, ordinary girl shaped early on by her family's precarious situation and movie-induced fantasies of glamour, beauty and mass attention. Raised in an orphanage after her mother's mental breakdown, Monroe, in Hyatt's portrait, seems in search of an honest emotional security that was always just beyond her grasp. What shines through is her devotion to acting (candidly critical of her own early talent, she worked hard to improve) and her perfectionism-a penchant for endless numbers of takes was not always appreciated by her directors. Hyatt focuses on several men: agent Johnny Hyde, who left his wife to devote himself to her early career; the sexually and economically exploitative studio bosses; and husband and playwright Arthur Miller, who in one arresting sequence announces their marriage on TV before consulting Monroe. Hyatt's drawing can be awkward and her subjects sometimes end up looking generic, but the surreal visual simplicity manages to sustain both narrative clarity and an affecting emotional undercurrent.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888363061
• ISBN-13: 978-1888363067
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,294,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great book, could have been better, May 25, 2006

By	sunshine lady "smiles" - See all my reviews

I love the idea of a comic book style story of Marilyns life, Facts are mixed with a bit of fiction (being that no one really knows the words Marilyn said), but all and all it is a wonderful little book, and very sympathetic to Marilyn and does go along with her life story, seems to be well researched with rare stories like when little Norma Jeans dog Tippy was shot by a neighbor. It tells about her sad childhood at the orphanage, but no mention of her first marriage and has little about her marriage to Joe Dimaggio or death which I think would have been interesting. The story centers around Marilyn's struggle to become an actress and problems with the sudio, relationship with Johnny Hyde and husband Arther Miller. I do feel there is a sense of her personality and soul that comes through. Unique & fun and Otherwise its just a cute entertaining book to collect, but for her life story I feel there are better books out there. Leaves you with alot to think about with a sad Marilyn saying "I would like to believe in the possibilty of happiness". Also to comment on the last review. I heard the story about Marilyn having a daughter also, by all accounts are false.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars marilyn monroe the real story see here i am mother by nancy miracle, September 12, 2005

By	charlie cosmo "charlie" (oregon) - See all my reviews

see the marilyn monroe foundation (...) for how to get the real story of marilyn monroe by her daughter nancy miracle a member of the dramatists guild

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just when you thought you knew everything..., March 9, 1998

By A Customer

You know how someone says of a book "I couldn't put it down"? Sometimes it's hyperbole, and sometimes they're talking about this book. After all the tell-all books and the innumerable tv movies and mini-series, this simple comic book manages to capture something new of Marilyn/Norma Jean Baker. Her soul.