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Burlesque: The True Art of Seduction
Throughout The True Art of Seduction, author Michel Grondin paints a vibrant and extensive portrait of this up and coming art, helping the reader to better understand its roots and stunning vitality. Burlesque pays tribute to all the distinguished female performers of the past, while celebrating its newest and most-skilled practitioners. Through in-depth and impassioned research, the author recounts a captivating slice of history in the process. In his rich exploration of the subject, Michel Grondin is supported by his co-author Scarlett James, the French Canadian muse of burlesque. Scarlett, sporting a physique reminding us of a 1950s pin-up artist, delivers exclusive insight into the wondrous global art of seduction. Enjoy a voyage filled with color, sensuality and elegance. Allow your senses to be titillated as you delve into this delightful fantasy experience . . . And yes, that is Scarlett featured on the cover!
332 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 13, 2019
Burlesque is an amazing art - powerful women (and men) bringing humor and joy and empowerment to their own bodies, and sharing it with an audience. You would think a book about the art would share those qualities. Sadly, this one doesn't.
One caveat - I read the e-Book version, which appears to have been badly formatted - weird bolding and highlighting can be distracting, and interrupted what little flow the book managed to attain.
This book felt like someone's Master's thesis, published with commentary from an over-eager professor (in this case, 'co-author' Scarlett James). The first quarter provides a history of the art, which manages to be both over-arching and sparse. The next quarter provides brief biographies of prominent Burlesque artists in earlier eras, which is some of the best information in the book, even if some of it feels like it's narrating an IMDB page. The remains of the book intersperse neo-Burlesque biographies with brief synopses of cities central to the resurgence, and the mingling of the two does no favors to either. The biographies don't do much to distinguish the artists, using similar descriptions for each, which kind of defeats the purpose of including them.
If you're looking for a book that captures the art of Burlesque in photographic form, keep looking. There are a fair number of photos here, but few have that joy that pin-up art or burlesque performance should bring. And a fair number are just convention group pictures or publicity photos.
This book is probably best used for its bibliography, which can point you to a number of other resources about Burlesque artists and the art itself. But as a piece of art itself, it fails to entertain, and manages to dim the luster of its own subject.
One caveat - I read the e-Book version, which appears to have been badly formatted - weird bolding and highlighting can be distracting, and interrupted what little flow the book managed to attain.
This book felt like someone's Master's thesis, published with commentary from an over-eager professor (in this case, 'co-author' Scarlett James). The first quarter provides a history of the art, which manages to be both over-arching and sparse. The next quarter provides brief biographies of prominent Burlesque artists in earlier eras, which is some of the best information in the book, even if some of it feels like it's narrating an IMDB page. The remains of the book intersperse neo-Burlesque biographies with brief synopses of cities central to the resurgence, and the mingling of the two does no favors to either. The biographies don't do much to distinguish the artists, using similar descriptions for each, which kind of defeats the purpose of including them.
If you're looking for a book that captures the art of Burlesque in photographic form, keep looking. There are a fair number of photos here, but few have that joy that pin-up art or burlesque performance should bring. And a fair number are just convention group pictures or publicity photos.
This book is probably best used for its bibliography, which can point you to a number of other resources about Burlesque artists and the art itself. But as a piece of art itself, it fails to entertain, and manages to dim the luster of its own subject.
May 18, 2012
I didn't hate it, found it informative but wish it had been a bit more organized -maybe because I read the iBooks version? Just felt like the tone was all over the place -could have benefited from the eye of a really good editor. Loved that it gave props to so many icons of Burlesque, both past and present. Made me want to find more books on the subject.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews