verbatim: Book Group

Book group convened chez moi the other night to discuss Just Kids, Patti Smith's memoir of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe in the early '70s. I should say from the outset that I'm not a fan of Patti Smith, never was, and I can't say I know all that much about poetry or photography or really any of the art that Patti and Robert were pursuing in those days. However, I did very much enjoy the window into that world—the Chelsea Hotel, Max's Kansas City, and chance encounters with the likes of Alan Ginsberg, Jimi Hendrix, and so on.

I certainly didn't think the book was well-written enough to have earned it a National Book Award. In fact, I found the writing downright pedestrian. But I still enjoyed the story and was able to tolerate all the name-dropping and not-entirely-believable scenarios. The reactions in our group ranged from really enjoying it to just tolerating it enough to finish it.

I was fascinated by some of Smith's stories, although I felt that she was at times coyly holding back and at other times perhaps emebellishing a bit. I loved hearing about Sam Shepard and Janis Joplin and all the others, back when the New York artsy scene was an intimate place that seemingly welcomed all. It reminded me of Jacques Pépin's story of arriving in New York in the early '60s and within a few months meeting Julia Child, James Beard, and Craig Claiborne—the three luminaries of the entire food world at the time—because that was how small and accessible it was at the time. In Patti and Robert's day, you could show up in New York without a dime to your name and find your place.

I can't really imagine anyone all that much older or younger than I am enjoying this book, because it does seem to be a tiny slice of life from that era. I remember seeing Patti Smith on Saturday Night Live; I remember when Robert Mapplethorpe's name first became known outside of New York art circles. I loved looking at the photos of them when they were indeed "just kids."

Next month we will meet to discuss The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht.