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Finding Dora Maar: An Artist, an Address Book, a Life
Finding Dora Maar: An Artist, an Address Book, a Life | Brigitte Benkemoun
3 posts | 2 read | 1 to read
In search of a replacement for his lost Hermès agenda, Brigitte Benkemoun's husband buys a vintage diary on eBay. When it arrives, she opens it and finds inside private notes dating back to 1951--twenty pages of phone numbers and addresses for Balthus, Brassaï, André Breton, Jean Cocteau, Paul Éluard, Leonor Fini, Jacqueline Lamba, and other artistic luminaries of the European avant-garde.After realizing that the address book belonged to Dora Maar--Picasso's famous "Weeping Woman" and a brilliant artist in her own right--Benkemoun embarks on a two-year voyage of discovery to learn more about this provocative, passionate, and enigmatic woman, and the role that each of these figures played in her life.Longlisted for the prestigious literary award Prix Renaudot, Finding Dora Maar is a fascinating and breathtaking portrait of the artist. This work received support from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States through their publishing assistance program.
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mirnas
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Pickpick

A very interessting biography of Dora Maar written by a French journalist and a writer who has acidentally found her old Adress Book. Each chapter is a portrait of one of Dora Maar's friends or acquaintances. Excellent book if you want to know more on French inter-war and post-war Art life.

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REPollock
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Mehso-so

I love the premise of this book--the author bought an old address book online & it turned out to be the former possession of artist/photographer Dora Maar. She then uses the address book as the structural framework for a biographical/historical peek into the life of Dora Maar and her friends, lovers, etc. I didn't dislike it, but i didn't love it as much as I thought i would.

I received an ARC from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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REPollock
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The subject of this is fascinating. At 1/4 of the way in, I question the quality of the writing. Seems juvenile and disingenuous. Maybe it‘s an uneven translation?

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