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A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York
Writing with an exuberant love of language and detail, Anjelica Huston shares her enchanted childhood in Ireland, her teen years in London, and her coming-of-age as a model and nascent actress in New York.
Living with her glamorous and artistic mother, educated by tutors and nuns, intrepid on a horse, Huston was raised on an Irish estate to which—between movies—her father brought his array of extraordinary friends, from Carson McCullers and John Steinbeck to Peter O’Toole and Marlon Brando. Every morning, Anjelica and her brother visited their father while he took his breakfast in bed. “What news?” he’d ask. “I’d seen him the night before,” Anjelica recalls. “There wasn’t much to report.” So she became a storyteller.
In London, where she lives with her mother and brother in the early sixties when her parents separate, Huston encounters the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac. She understudies Marianne Faithfull in Hamlet. Seventeen, striking, precocious, but still young and vulnerable, she is devastated when her mother dies in a car crash.
Months later she moves to New York, falls in love with the much older, brilliant but disturbed photographer Bob Richardson, and becomes a model. Living in the Chelsea Hotel, working with Richard Avedon and other photographers, she navigates a volatile relationship and the dynamic cultural epicenter of New York in the seventies.
A Story Lately Told ends as Huston launches her Hollywood life. The second part of her story—Watch Me—opens in Los Angeles in 1973 and will be published in Fall 2014. Beguiling and beautifully written, Huston’s memoir is a treasure.
Living with her glamorous and artistic mother, educated by tutors and nuns, intrepid on a horse, Huston was raised on an Irish estate to which—between movies—her father brought his array of extraordinary friends, from Carson McCullers and John Steinbeck to Peter O’Toole and Marlon Brando. Every morning, Anjelica and her brother visited their father while he took his breakfast in bed. “What news?” he’d ask. “I’d seen him the night before,” Anjelica recalls. “There wasn’t much to report.” So she became a storyteller.
In London, where she lives with her mother and brother in the early sixties when her parents separate, Huston encounters the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac. She understudies Marianne Faithfull in Hamlet. Seventeen, striking, precocious, but still young and vulnerable, she is devastated when her mother dies in a car crash.
Months later she moves to New York, falls in love with the much older, brilliant but disturbed photographer Bob Richardson, and becomes a model. Living in the Chelsea Hotel, working with Richard Avedon and other photographers, she navigates a volatile relationship and the dynamic cultural epicenter of New York in the seventies.
A Story Lately Told ends as Huston launches her Hollywood life. The second part of her story—Watch Me—opens in Los Angeles in 1973 and will be published in Fall 2014. Beguiling and beautifully written, Huston’s memoir is a treasure.
270 pages, Hardcover
First published November 19, 2013
About the author
Angelica Huston
4 books3 followersAnjelica Huston (/ˈhjuːstən/; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress. Huston became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award, when she won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, joining her father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston. She also received Academy Award nominations for Enemies, a Love Story (1989) and The Grifters (1990).
Huston received British Academy Award nominations for her work in the Woody Allen films Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). Among her other roles, she starred as Morticia Addams in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), receiving Golden Globe nominations for both, and played the Grand High Witch in the children's movie The Witches (1990). She also played Mrs. Gwyneth Harrigan in Daddy Daycare (2003). She has frequently collaborated with director Wes Anderson, including The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). She is also the author of the book A Story Lately Told.
Huston received British Academy Award nominations for her work in the Woody Allen films Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). Among her other roles, she starred as Morticia Addams in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), receiving Golden Globe nominations for both, and played the Grand High Witch in the children's movie The Witches (1990). She also played Mrs. Gwyneth Harrigan in Daddy Daycare (2003). She has frequently collaborated with director Wes Anderson, including The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). She is also the author of the book A Story Lately Told.
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September 9, 2023
Anjelica Huston was an American fashion model before she became an actor and director.
Huston won a best actress Oscar for 'Prizzi's Honor' and received Academy Award nominations for 'Enemies, A Love Story' and 'The Grifters.'
In this first book of her autobiography Huston tells tales starting with her childhood in Ireland and England.....up to her young womanhood in New York City. Born in 1951, Huston had colorful parents, the former beautiful ballerina Enrica Soma and the larger than life director John Huston - and met large numbers of the rich and famous.
Enrica Soma, Anjelica Huston's mother
John Huston, Anjelica Huston's father
Little Anjelica Anjelica Huston with her father John Huston
In fact Huston mentions so many people - friends, acquaintances, neighbors, nannies, teachers, crushes, models, photographers, actors, actresses, directors, etc. - that they become blended together in a confusing swirl of names.
The book also seems more like a detailed list of activities - fox hunting, partying, skiving off school, moving, modeling - than a comprehensive life story. We do get a feel for the love Huston's mom bestowed on her children and for the fun and hardships that come with having John Huston - a hard-drinking womanizer and gambler who was often away directing films - for a dad.
Young Anjelica Huston
The story gets more interesting when Anjelica becomes a fashion model in her late teens and hooks up with the mentally ill photographer Bob Richardson for a four year romance.
Bob Richardson, one of Anjelica Huston's boyfriends
I'm hoping the second volume of the biography, when Huston becomes a famous actress and has a long-term romance with Jack Nicholson, is more of a comprehensive biography.
Anjelica Huston with her boyfriend Jack Nicholson
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
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March 5, 2022(This is an ARC that I won in a Goodreads giveaway.)
I'm mad at Anjelica Huston. I was somewhat of a fan of hers all these years. With this book she killed that. I was a fan of her father's and she killed that, too.
Long before I knew Anjelica existed, I adored John Huston. As a kid, for me he was Gandalf, having voiced the role in the Rankin Bass adaptations of Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Return of the King. I love that man's voice and his imposing figure inspired awe when I saw him in Chinatown. But then his daughter took that away from me with her autobiography. Bah, I should've known better. Bios kill idols.
To an extent, I knew the Hustons were Hollywood royalty, but I didn't realize that in her youth (this book covers from her birth to early adulthood) Anjelica was sort of like the Paris Hilton of her day. A Story Lately Told is all about country estates, servants and nurse maids, horseback riding, fox hunts, party frocks and taking tea with the O'Tooles and/or getting sloshy with countless other celebrities.
Once Huston hit her teens, she skipped class day after day and played hooky to hang out in pubs where the early version of Fleetwood Mac might be seen. Basically her schooling ended. Perhaps the writing herein suffers for that. Certainly the book could've used more editing.
It's not that this book is the worst thing ever written. It's not. Huston can string a few beautiful phrases together. In fact I liken this read to walking through an art gallery, one in which an occasional picture catches the eye, but it's also filled with a tarnished Rockwell or Thomas Kinkade. Pretty dabs of color, but devoid of the deeper meaning some long for.
Apparently there's a part two to this book which delves into her acting career. I think I would have preferred that one. I suspect the other book has more substance.
I'm mad at Anjelica Huston. I was somewhat of a fan of hers all these years. With this book she killed that. I was a fan of her father's and she killed that, too.
Long before I knew Anjelica existed, I adored John Huston. As a kid, for me he was Gandalf, having voiced the role in the Rankin Bass adaptations of Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Return of the King. I love that man's voice and his imposing figure inspired awe when I saw him in Chinatown. But then his daughter took that away from me with her autobiography. Bah, I should've known better. Bios kill idols.
To an extent, I knew the Hustons were Hollywood royalty, but I didn't realize that in her youth (this book covers from her birth to early adulthood) Anjelica was sort of like the Paris Hilton of her day. A Story Lately Told is all about country estates, servants and nurse maids, horseback riding, fox hunts, party frocks and taking tea with the O'Tooles and/or getting sloshy with countless other celebrities.
Once Huston hit her teens, she skipped class day after day and played hooky to hang out in pubs where the early version of Fleetwood Mac might be seen. Basically her schooling ended. Perhaps the writing herein suffers for that. Certainly the book could've used more editing.
It's not that this book is the worst thing ever written. It's not. Huston can string a few beautiful phrases together. In fact I liken this read to walking through an art gallery, one in which an occasional picture catches the eye, but it's also filled with a tarnished Rockwell or Thomas Kinkade. Pretty dabs of color, but devoid of the deeper meaning some long for.
Apparently there's a part two to this book which delves into her acting career. I think I would have preferred that one. I suspect the other book has more substance.
February 4, 2022
In this, the first of a two-volume memoir, Anjelica Huston speaks to her coming of age.
She is the daughter of famed director John Huston, whose films include The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, and The African Queen. But she doesn't write much about this. She was the second child of his fourth wife (there would be five) yet, apart from a cursory recitation of the genealogy and family dynamics, she doesn't write much about this. It is left to guesswork to determine exactly what happened in her parents' marriage to cause their separation, as well as the specifics (emotional or otherwise) of the day her mother died in a tragic car accident. In fact, had I not done a little research of my own, I would not have known that her father had, in his younger days, struck and killed a pedestrian while driving down Sunset Boulevard. No mention is made of this or the resonance it might have had those many decades later when his (still) wife passed so suddenly through vehicular misfortune.
What is written about here is largely the architecture and environment of Ms. Huston's childhood home, St. Clerans, in Ireland. Much space is given to her surroundings - the weather, the animals, the gardens - with small snatches of character study when the mood comes upon her. There are many names to keep track of, but few solid touchpoints to equip them with singularity and meaning. It is as if (and this happens to some) those years have not only been rendered irrelevant to her, but have actually become inaccessible over the passage of time. Hence, we are left with a dry sort of triptych through the early stages of her life.
Privacy is merited for everyone, no matter the public nature of his or her profession. Boundaries, too. But then, why a memoir?
On to Volume II...
She is the daughter of famed director John Huston, whose films include The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, and The African Queen. But she doesn't write much about this. She was the second child of his fourth wife (there would be five) yet, apart from a cursory recitation of the genealogy and family dynamics, she doesn't write much about this. It is left to guesswork to determine exactly what happened in her parents' marriage to cause their separation, as well as the specifics (emotional or otherwise) of the day her mother died in a tragic car accident. In fact, had I not done a little research of my own, I would not have known that her father had, in his younger days, struck and killed a pedestrian while driving down Sunset Boulevard. No mention is made of this or the resonance it might have had those many decades later when his (still) wife passed so suddenly through vehicular misfortune.
What is written about here is largely the architecture and environment of Ms. Huston's childhood home, St. Clerans, in Ireland. Much space is given to her surroundings - the weather, the animals, the gardens - with small snatches of character study when the mood comes upon her. There are many names to keep track of, but few solid touchpoints to equip them with singularity and meaning. It is as if (and this happens to some) those years have not only been rendered irrelevant to her, but have actually become inaccessible over the passage of time. Hence, we are left with a dry sort of triptych through the early stages of her life.
Privacy is merited for everyone, no matter the public nature of his or her profession. Boundaries, too. But then, why a memoir?
On to Volume II...
December 8, 2014
First, I must say that I mean no disrespect to the few who have won or obtained an ARC and written reviews that are of a different opinion- we all have one, and here is mine.
This memoir is beautifully written, eloquently descriptive, and provides a closer look in to the remarkable life Ms. Huston has lived.
I disagree with previous reviews stating that it could have been made in to one memoir instead of two, especially if one is not familiar with Ms. Huston's life and clearly can not fathom the incredible life she has lived, which in no way can be summed up in 100 pages, or one volume. This book is merely the first three big chapters in the many lives she has lived. Had it been written as one memoir instead of two, it would still be the same length as other great memoirs, and I believe she has not yet finished the later.
Her story and life are are incredible. Her memoir is intriguing and tragic, funny and filled with intelligence and wit. And to those who will complain about the name dropping, remember- these are people she grew up around. This was the norm for her, and many of the famous friends she made at the time were not yet famous. How could one not include the people in their life while telling their story? That is not "name dropping."
I look forward to Vol 2 where she will delve
into the later chapters of her life- LA in the 70's with Jack(with whom she was NOT married), her budding career in the 80's and 90's, and her first husband, Robert Graham, whom died in 2008. That is sufficient enough for a second volume, and the year long wait.
I highly recommend this memoir. And yes, I am an adorned fan, and probably a tad biased... Although, I seem to be in agreement with the major journalists.. check out their reviews.
This memoir is beautifully written, eloquently descriptive, and provides a closer look in to the remarkable life Ms. Huston has lived.
I disagree with previous reviews stating that it could have been made in to one memoir instead of two, especially if one is not familiar with Ms. Huston's life and clearly can not fathom the incredible life she has lived, which in no way can be summed up in 100 pages, or one volume. This book is merely the first three big chapters in the many lives she has lived. Had it been written as one memoir instead of two, it would still be the same length as other great memoirs, and I believe she has not yet finished the later.
Her story and life are are incredible. Her memoir is intriguing and tragic, funny and filled with intelligence and wit. And to those who will complain about the name dropping, remember- these are people she grew up around. This was the norm for her, and many of the famous friends she made at the time were not yet famous. How could one not include the people in their life while telling their story? That is not "name dropping."
I look forward to Vol 2 where she will delve
into the later chapters of her life- LA in the 70's with Jack(with whom she was NOT married), her budding career in the 80's and 90's, and her first husband, Robert Graham, whom died in 2008. That is sufficient enough for a second volume, and the year long wait.
I highly recommend this memoir. And yes, I am an adorned fan, and probably a tad biased... Although, I seem to be in agreement with the major journalists.. check out their reviews.
December 28, 2013
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.
Angelica Huston's memoir is named after the above nursery rhyme, although I must admit that I grew up with the above version, with the line about a secret that's never been told. I searched the internet for a bit, and found variations that say, "for a tale never to be told" but not for "a story lately told." I bring this up not because I particularly care that Ms. Huston was raised with an alternative version, but because "A Story Never Told" would be a much more accurate title.
This is not so much a story, but rather a list of things owned and people known, both described in detail, but not with any amount of passion. These lists are interspersed with anecdotes of the sorts of things you would remember from childhood--big injuries, mortifying embarrassments, and the few rare occasions when she was funny or bright enough to actually capture the attention of her distant parents. I don't think I expected to come away from this feeling sorry for her, and yet I did.
I picked this book up because I heard a very engaging interview with the author on Fresh Air. I understand that it is Terry Gross' job to make fascinating interviews, but as it stands, this one pretty well misrepresented the actual tone of the book. I listened to Ms. Huston's reading of the book, and she couldn't seem more disinterested in her subject matter. The reading is emotionless and disconnected, and I don't feel that I really learned anything significant about her take on life by reading it.
This was a disappointment.
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.
Angelica Huston's memoir is named after the above nursery rhyme, although I must admit that I grew up with the above version, with the line about a secret that's never been told. I searched the internet for a bit, and found variations that say, "for a tale never to be told" but not for "a story lately told." I bring this up not because I particularly care that Ms. Huston was raised with an alternative version, but because "A Story Never Told" would be a much more accurate title.
This is not so much a story, but rather a list of things owned and people known, both described in detail, but not with any amount of passion. These lists are interspersed with anecdotes of the sorts of things you would remember from childhood--big injuries, mortifying embarrassments, and the few rare occasions when she was funny or bright enough to actually capture the attention of her distant parents. I don't think I expected to come away from this feeling sorry for her, and yet I did.
I picked this book up because I heard a very engaging interview with the author on Fresh Air. I understand that it is Terry Gross' job to make fascinating interviews, but as it stands, this one pretty well misrepresented the actual tone of the book. I listened to Ms. Huston's reading of the book, and she couldn't seem more disinterested in her subject matter. The reading is emotionless and disconnected, and I don't feel that I really learned anything significant about her take on life by reading it.
This was a disappointment.
March 15, 2022
Many have criticized A Story Lately Told because of all Anjelica Huston's visual lists during the narration and how rarely we get Anjelica's interior reflections, but it honestly—(and I get that I'm in the minority)— worked for me. It felt like Anjelica Huston was showing us old snap shots on a film projector; the unpolished nature of the narration gave Huston a beautiful vulnerability.
In one of the reviews someone said Huston reads this without feeling. I wonder (sincerely) if I listened to a different audio recording, because for me that was not true. The chapter about her mother, and the way she read the passages tugged at all my heartstrings.
I know I am outlier, but I enjoyed this just the way it is.
In one of the reviews someone said Huston reads this without feeling. I wonder (sincerely) if I listened to a different audio recording, because for me that was not true. The chapter about her mother, and the way she read the passages tugged at all my heartstrings.
I know I am outlier, but I enjoyed this just the way it is.
January 12, 2014
This memoir is dreadfully boring. I suppose if a reader wanted to read a catalog of furniture, artwork and estates and then a list of artists/actors who frequented your home, they may find this interesting, but I was not impressed. How did this get published?
November 28, 2013
Lots of names and events. Nothing of how she felt during any of it.
December 27, 2013
I loved it, can 't wait for the next one. Ignore the bad ratings from the people who won the book from good reads. Clearly most of them had no interest in reading the book in the first place!!
December 4, 2013
I didn't think I would enjoy this memoir as much as I did. I thought I had nothing in common with a movie star that lead a charmed life in Ireland, London, and New York. My parents weren't famous, but being the same age as the author I knew I had lived this same life only on a different scale.
I highlighted what made me realize girls growing up in the 50's 60's & 70's had so much in common.
Here's what I loved most about this book
Catholic. Holy Communion.Phenobarbital.Veils.Dad lifted me up to his shoulders.Blue Grass.Ankle socks.Penny loafers.Long silver needle.Tortoise shell combs.Catechism.Lily of the Valley.Collect mushrooms.We fell in love with the Beatles.Confirmed alcoholic.Roll our skirts up at the waist. Cracked Max Factor compact.Mary Quant lip gloss.Coca-Cola.Dad criticized the way I dressed.The Rolling Stones,esp Mick & Keith.Pattie Boyd.Jane Fonda.Cila Black.Marianne Faithful.Sandalwood.Patchouli.Anita Pallenberg.Jane Asher.Fresh baked apples.False eyelashes and a Fall.Joint was passed.Hypnotic tuberose.Going to go & live somewhere else.Drug addicts.Crazies.Artists.Poets.Transvestites.Out of body experience.'Lay Lady Lay.'Astronauts landed on the moon.Lancer's Rose.Woodstock.Ritchie Havens.A thousand cockroaches.Hashish.Groovy.John Lennon cap.Falling asleep to the motion of the train.Amphetamine.Ali McGraw.Bottle of Tequila.I got a suntan. And best of all Lying in my father's arms.
I hope you enjoy these memories as much as I have.
I highlighted what made me realize girls growing up in the 50's 60's & 70's had so much in common.
Here's what I loved most about this book
Catholic. Holy Communion.Phenobarbital.Veils.Dad lifted me up to his shoulders.Blue Grass.Ankle socks.Penny loafers.Long silver needle.Tortoise shell combs.Catechism.Lily of the Valley.Collect mushrooms.We fell in love with the Beatles.Confirmed alcoholic.Roll our skirts up at the waist. Cracked Max Factor compact.Mary Quant lip gloss.Coca-Cola.Dad criticized the way I dressed.The Rolling Stones,esp Mick & Keith.Pattie Boyd.Jane Fonda.Cila Black.Marianne Faithful.Sandalwood.Patchouli.Anita Pallenberg.Jane Asher.Fresh baked apples.False eyelashes and a Fall.Joint was passed.Hypnotic tuberose.Going to go & live somewhere else.Drug addicts.Crazies.Artists.Poets.Transvestites.Out of body experience.'Lay Lady Lay.'Astronauts landed on the moon.Lancer's Rose.Woodstock.Ritchie Havens.A thousand cockroaches.Hashish.Groovy.John Lennon cap.Falling asleep to the motion of the train.Amphetamine.Ali McGraw.Bottle of Tequila.I got a suntan. And best of all Lying in my father's arms.
I hope you enjoy these memories as much as I have.
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December 15, 2013so apparently we're all in agreement that we LOVE anjelica huston AND this memoir is not very good. BUT the parts about her relationship with terry richardson's father are harrowing and well recalled. it's part one of two, which is crucial to know otherwise you'll be wondering why you're 5/6 of the way done and she's still explaining the kind of hairbrush she used on her favorite doll when she was seven and playing with a vague friend-person-child (including type of wood and bristle in said brush, name of doll and fabric with which its clothes are made, and the name and title of the father of the friend who is sitting in the room watching anjelica brush the hair of the doll). still love her.
July 21, 2014
I would give this book a higher rating but I don't want to give the wrong impression. I was warned that this book was meandering and hard to follow which is true in some spots. Here and there it sounds like a list of random events and in others it sounds like "these are all the important people I know." At one point I thought of sending the book on to a new owner. However, when I got to the chapter that she shared about her mother, my heart melted and I saw a new person than the one I thought she was. From this point, I took notice and adjusted my attitude. In her acknowledgements, she asks us, the reader, to not judge her too harshly for the mistakes in her book. I will judge no more and I look forward to reading her second book which comes out in Fall 2014.
December 11, 2013
I really wanted to like this book because I've always liked Anjelica Huston. It's not a bad book, but I grew weary of the endless name dropping and cataloging of the family's many fabulous possessions. Those things are a legitimate part of her life, but they were featured too prominantly and too often for my tastes.
December 4, 2013
Angelica Huston manages to be elegant beyond belief without being in the least way pretentious. Her mother dies when she is only 17 and the sixtysomething has so much emotion in her voice when she describes what happened, you think the events took place only yesterday. A beautiful book.
December 29, 2017
This was a fast read for me and it turns out that this book is part of a two part autobiography from her. I am anxious to hear about her years with Jack Nicholson in book two and will definitely be reading it in the coming year.
Anjelica Huston is an actress I have always admired but has appeared as an "older" actress to me, given that she is presently 66, this would explain things, for she was 30 when I was born. This autobiography is about her life growing up in Ireland and London. She threw around famous names, so many that I only looked up on the ones that truly interested me.
She definitely had a privileged upbringing. However, in the beginning of the novel, she eludes to the fact that her parents were neglectful and she does not have a close relationship with her brother, given they were only a year or so apart this was rather startling to hear . As the story progresses, you learn that her greatest wish is for her parents to be together, something she never saw because at a young age, her parents started leading separate and unconventional lives. He father was more than 20 years older than her mother, and given that she was his 4th wife and he a womanizer, I think he collected women like trophies all to toss them away once he was bored with them. He reminded me a lot of Ernest Hemingway. He was very cold and a perfectionist, having expectations for his children that they could never achieve. He was away for long periods of time also since he was a director, but her mother was also away for a lot of her childhood vacationing with other lovers/friends of hers as well. Her and her brother were raised by the help. All the money she was raised with did not make up for the fact that she was neglected and ignored throughout most of her childhood. The pain of this is heard throughout her story.
She seems to have some breakthrough with her mother all for her mother to tragically die shortly thereafter at 39 years of age. It is unknown whether they would have had the relationship she craved or not.
Anjelica also had her first long-term relationship with a man who turned out to be bi-polar and schziophrenic. He was both verbally and physically abusive to her along with being unbearably controlling. As someone who experienced some of this in my first two relationships, I felt for her journey, for she met Bob Richardson when she was only 18 and he in his 40's. One can wonder if she was looking for a father figure in him. Bob is the father of Terry Richardson, a photographer like his father who has recently been in the headlines for actors no longer wanting to work with him because of his sexual misconduct.
Overall, as a lover of good strong autobiographies, I enjoyed this one immensely. Sometimes the name dropping became a touch much, maybe because it was not my era and I was like yeah yeah whoever that is...but overall, I felt she delved deep and exposed herself, which is always what I am looking for in a quality autobiography. A highly recommended story!
Anjelica Huston is an actress I have always admired but has appeared as an "older" actress to me, given that she is presently 66, this would explain things, for she was 30 when I was born. This autobiography is about her life growing up in Ireland and London. She threw around famous names, so many that I only looked up on the ones that truly interested me.
She definitely had a privileged upbringing. However, in the beginning of the novel, she eludes to the fact that her parents were neglectful and she does not have a close relationship with her brother, given they were only a year or so apart this was rather startling to hear . As the story progresses, you learn that her greatest wish is for her parents to be together, something she never saw because at a young age, her parents started leading separate and unconventional lives. He father was more than 20 years older than her mother, and given that she was his 4th wife and he a womanizer, I think he collected women like trophies all to toss them away once he was bored with them. He reminded me a lot of Ernest Hemingway. He was very cold and a perfectionist, having expectations for his children that they could never achieve. He was away for long periods of time also since he was a director, but her mother was also away for a lot of her childhood vacationing with other lovers/friends of hers as well. Her and her brother were raised by the help. All the money she was raised with did not make up for the fact that she was neglected and ignored throughout most of her childhood. The pain of this is heard throughout her story.
She seems to have some breakthrough with her mother all for her mother to tragically die shortly thereafter at 39 years of age. It is unknown whether they would have had the relationship she craved or not.
Anjelica also had her first long-term relationship with a man who turned out to be bi-polar and schziophrenic. He was both verbally and physically abusive to her along with being unbearably controlling. As someone who experienced some of this in my first two relationships, I felt for her journey, for she met Bob Richardson when she was only 18 and he in his 40's. One can wonder if she was looking for a father figure in him. Bob is the father of Terry Richardson, a photographer like his father who has recently been in the headlines for actors no longer wanting to work with him because of his sexual misconduct.
Overall, as a lover of good strong autobiographies, I enjoyed this one immensely. Sometimes the name dropping became a touch much, maybe because it was not my era and I was like yeah yeah whoever that is...but overall, I felt she delved deep and exposed herself, which is always what I am looking for in a quality autobiography. A highly recommended story!
April 28, 2014
I have almost never given a book one star. I also almost never "skim" books either but this was so boring, yet, I kept reading thinking that something in this woman's life must have happened that was interesting. A number of problems with this autobiography are that first, it is poorly written; disjointed, incohesive and lacking of any emotional resonance. Here is the memoir in a nutshell; "Dad is great, Mom is great, we live in Ireland; Tony and I are not close but we are close and he is a bully but stands by my side when Dad is a bully (huh?); I have a horse, I have another horse, I have dogs and my favorite dog dies but I've been in London for six months and never walked him because I was too self-involved with my Paris Hilton life; Dad and Mom separate and take lovers; I have a half brother and sister; I am in a four-year relationship with a bipolar schizophrenic and living a bohemian life in Paris and New York." It is with that much depth of emotion all this is lately told. Someone please tell Ms. Huston, that detailed renderings of the interior design of wherever she lived does not suffice or substitute for tone, atmosphere, or even engaging writing. I would say this book is a disappointment, but, man, except for the great theater this actress was blessed to experience with all those great English actors, her lack of consciousness of an emotional life is a disappointment.
March 8, 2014
I admire Anjelica Huston's film work and in interviews I have always found her to be a person of substance and perception. How disappointed I am by this memoir, which for me never really rises beyond the level of interest one feels looking at a glossy high-end magazine devoted to the home decor and fashions of the privileged. It's a curiously bloodless experience, rather like walking through the intact ancestral home of people who have long departed or who allow the punters in to help pay for the upkeep of their pile of bricks but would never deign to come in contact with their "guests". You're invited to ooh and ahhh over furniture and trinkets, but learn very little about the owners' day-to-day experience and emotions. I think that if I had to read one more of Huston's inventories of bibelots and jewelry, I'd lose the will to live. It's autobiography as it would be practiced by Town & Country magazine sponsored by Sotheby's and all the jewelers on and around Place Vendôme.
If I wish to continue admiring Huston I should limit my future contact to watching her work on the screen.
If I wish to continue admiring Huston I should limit my future contact to watching her work on the screen.
March 8, 2015
This book is difficult to rate, as I would give the first half two stars and the last half four. I won this book in a first-reads giveaway, and I was thrilled because I have always been a fan of Anjelica Huston. But the beginning of the book feels amateurish, the long, list-like report of an over-privileged child with too many gifts and an abundance of famous people. I was feeling disappointed, but I trudged along, not wanting to give an unfair review. I'm glad I did. As the narrated Anjelica comes of age, the writing, too, matures. It becomes deeper, and she becomes more sympathetic. She is clearly intelligent, and while this was not the most exciting read ever, it satisfied some of my curiosity about this enigmatic character I knew only through her films.
December 11, 2014
Well, was a bit disappointed with this one, too much name dropping, an erratic style of writing and did not merit my attention for I was personally uninterested in her and her stories. Though the best part for me was her relationship with her father, and some anecdotes did remind me of growing up with mine. Don't know if am interested in the follow up.
December 16, 2013
In her smoky, provocative voice, Houston recounts moments in her life that impacted her in different ways; from whimsical childhood tales to tales of loss in her early adulthood. Simple yet moving, this memoir could only be heard in her own voice. I really enjoyed it.
July 13, 2014
I wish it had been better. Lots of name dropping, endless "poor little rich girl" type diatribe about possessions, homes and the bad behavior of her parents and their friends, but the reader does not learn much about Anjelica. Oddly, the book seems to end before her life really begins.
May 23, 2016
This was just one giant name-drop.
March 15, 2024
I had no problem with the fragmented structure of this book. Huston's prose drives the stories at the just the right pace, in my view, and the tone is breezy without being frivolous. Something about that carried me along for a pleasant, poignant ride. The best aspect of her writing is the way she creates a rich kaleidoscope of detail. Without that, I might not have found this book so engaging. I kept wondering: Did she keep detailed journals throughout her childhood?
At times the detail can be off-putting. For example, she describes fox hunting, a cruel and disgusting "sport" in which wealthy people and their dogs chase down and dismember a fox, without apologizing for having participated. It was part of the world she grew up in, not a world she created. She knows how to tell a good story, and moral outrage would have spoiled, or at least interrupted, the story.
This is also a poignant story about a young woman understanding her enigmatic parents, and ultimately working her way through what must have been a complex, heartbreaking relationship with them.
At times the detail can be off-putting. For example, she describes fox hunting, a cruel and disgusting "sport" in which wealthy people and their dogs chase down and dismember a fox, without apologizing for having participated. It was part of the world she grew up in, not a world she created. She knows how to tell a good story, and moral outrage would have spoiled, or at least interrupted, the story.
This is also a poignant story about a young woman understanding her enigmatic parents, and ultimately working her way through what must have been a complex, heartbreaking relationship with them.
October 6, 2013
Disclaimer first. I received my copy free as a First Reads giveaway.
I was really glad to have won this book. I have been a fan of the actress for reasons I can't quite explain. I think I was struck by how beautiful she was initially, but also, I love the movies I saw her in. I really knew nothing about her though.
This book is set in 3 distinct parts (and locations as you an tell by the title). What gets tricky about reviewing this, is that the narrative starts out a bit disjointed, not terribly descriptive, though I could still visualize the scenes well enough. The next part gets a bit stronger both in continuity and descriptions. The third part is the strongest though and as I pondered this, it started to make sense.
You and a friend start talking about memories of growing up and what you remember and how you are able to put it in context would be very different when talking about when you were 6 years old compared to 19 years old. The same would be true with this book. Taken in that sort of context, this was a very good book. The part that bothers me the most, now that I've given myself a few days since finishing it, are that I really want to hear her tell me about what came next in her life.
I was really glad to have won this book. I have been a fan of the actress for reasons I can't quite explain. I think I was struck by how beautiful she was initially, but also, I love the movies I saw her in. I really knew nothing about her though.
This book is set in 3 distinct parts (and locations as you an tell by the title). What gets tricky about reviewing this, is that the narrative starts out a bit disjointed, not terribly descriptive, though I could still visualize the scenes well enough. The next part gets a bit stronger both in continuity and descriptions. The third part is the strongest though and as I pondered this, it started to make sense.
You and a friend start talking about memories of growing up and what you remember and how you are able to put it in context would be very different when talking about when you were 6 years old compared to 19 years old. The same would be true with this book. Taken in that sort of context, this was a very good book. The part that bothers me the most, now that I've given myself a few days since finishing it, are that I really want to hear her tell me about what came next in her life.
October 2, 2013
Lots of famous names...lots of "things" and houses and parties and shows...not a ton of substance...perhaps it's because this book only covers her early years up until she moved to LA in the early 70's.
Perhaps the second volume will be more interesting and have some depth (and presumably some perspective about what has presumably been an interesting life of experiences). This first volume was a quick read, and while fascinating to read the list of actors and artists and musicians Ms. Huston encountered all before the age of 20, at times it was more like someone making a list rather than telling a story.
Full disclosure - I received an advance copy of this book from Goodreads.
Perhaps the second volume will be more interesting and have some depth (and presumably some perspective about what has presumably been an interesting life of experiences). This first volume was a quick read, and while fascinating to read the list of actors and artists and musicians Ms. Huston encountered all before the age of 20, at times it was more like someone making a list rather than telling a story.
Full disclosure - I received an advance copy of this book from Goodreads.
July 25, 2021
As a movie fan and lover of Old Hollywood, I really wanted to read about Anjelica Huston’s life. I’ve read many articles about her interesting life and her turbulent relationship with Jack Nicholson. It was fascinating to read about her youth in Ireland, with her outdoor upbringing by her famous parents. I also was captivated by her toxic relationship with Bob Richardson. Sometimes I felt Anjelica could have written a bit more about her feelings and her view on things. Overall, it was an easy and fun read and a welcome break from ‘The Brothers Karamazov’. I think I’ll never finish that…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2013
While this book (an advance copy I won through Goodreads) was a quick read, it wasn't a light read -- Anjelica Huston packs a lot of punch into this book. The story starts off really just confirming how central John Huston was to film-making mid-century, and how the luminaries orbiting John Huston (and her mother) simply became fixtures in AH's life, as well. (Ex:, her early modeling shots were taken by Richard Avedon.)
September 19, 2015
I really thought her memoir would be a good read but I found it greatly lacking. "A Story" suffers from pacing issues and at times feels like she's simply reading a list of luxurious items she had access to because of her privileged upbringing. It should be fun to hear about her indulgent childhood but instead Huston does it in a way that is neither relatable nor engaging and simply downright boring in some parts. Hopefully part 2 is better.
November 17, 2014
This book was FANTASTIC. I read it in less than two hours--I couldn't set it down and I couldn't get enough of it. I loved reading Anjelica Huston's stories about growing up in Ireland, London, and New York, loved reading her anecdotes about those she knew, famous or not, and cannot wait to re-read it!!!
December 22, 2013
The writing is elegant, and while the deluge of dropped names inspires both envy and tedium, the passages about her father are fascinating and lovingly rendered.
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