Bed/ Time/ Story

by Jill Robinson

Lyrical and sensual, this is the true story of a love doomed from the start, but saved by two people who simply would not give up on each other.

307 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I randomly picked this up somehow as a teenager, probably from a library sale. Like many of the 60s era memoirs or works of semi-autobiographical fiction I stumbled into, it left a strong impression on me: for its unflinching honesty about female sexuality; for the vision of permissiveness and adult freedom I took from the talk of sex, drug use and cross-country moves; for its portrayal of a man as physically beautiful, emotionally connected, cherished -- in short, allowing him to have a role as an object of love, in a way that most literary canon I'd been exposed to only spoke of women.

This was also pre-internet days, and any glimpse, however doomed or tawdry, of certain subjects was more precious to me than gold. Robinson's sexual encounters with women intrigued me, and so did her allusion (never elaborated upon) of other characters in her head.

I remembered this book, essentially, as a beautiful love story -- one in which the love and connection between two people conquers the odds.

Re-reading it as an adult, I find myself more struck by the dysfunctional and codependent qualities of their relationship. I find myself angry at Jill for allowing him to treat her the way that he did, for continually forgiving his absences and abuses, for essentially becoming a caretaker for an adult man at the expense of her own two children. I wanted her to take more agency over her own life, to set boundaries. I saw the encounter with Laurie and his ex-wife, and her subsequent adoration of Nadia, in a very different light.

And on the whole I'm far less likely to see it as "romantic" when two people mistreat each other, even unintentionally, even when the people they really intend to mistreat are themselves.

But I think I got more out of this as a historical document and as an insight into a woman's life in the 60s, as I now have a lot more context for things like Esalen.

I can't find anything online about what happened to Laurie; he's conspicuously absent from her online bios. [Update: Laurie's real name was Jeremiah, and they divorced in 1977.] The book was published in 1974, and according to Wikipedia, she married someone else in 1980. It sounds as if their relationship itself did not survive sobriety or its conversion into memoir, or both.

I found this a very interesting re-read, in the end, if only because it showed the vast difference in experience and understanding between myself-then and myself-now.

[Kim Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could have sworn I'd written a review of this book a few weeks ago, but now I realize that I only thought about it and discovered that I was so terrified (and partially traumatized) by Bed/Time/Story that I wasn't quite sure what to say about it. To call this a love story is technically true. It is about Jill Robinson and a man she loved deeply. But the damage they inflicted on one another made it hard for me to understand how they not only kept loving one another, but also how they didn't literally (and I do mean literally, physically) self-destruct. One of the problems is that I started this book thinking I was reading a novel. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was a memoir ... 21st-century emotional vomiting has nothing on the 1970s. Unlike memoirs of today, this one does not feel like it's trying to shock - despite the descriptions of parenting and drugs (mainly speed), the creepy lack of boundaries at an Esalen retreat and a particularly horrifying three-way. Robinson's strength is that she is an excellent writer. She is in the heart of her story and at a distance from it at the same time. And she knows how to work a sentence, letting it speak for itself. Apologies for this somewhat unfocused review - I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to, but I would recommend it. I read it because I am researching women's literature of the early 1970s. Lots of fantastic crazy stuff out there, this being among the craziest I've encountered so far.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whacked out love story about a depressed alcoholic and a manic speed freak: in LA and NY, in excess and in withdrawal and in rehab, nauseatingly self-centered and glib throughout. Not entertaining at all.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of unconditional love between two people who both have some serious baggage and addictions to deal with. I felt so sad for the children and the adults. I felt it was very depressing.

[Dale Stonehouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robinson, the daughter of legendary Hollywood producer Dore Schary, chronicles her life in the 1960s addicted to speed and married to a talented but alcoholic husband. As their lives spiral out of control, she quits her drug while he continues drinking, but the happy ending has him drying out in a New York hospital. A nice snapshot of a different time and different view of addiction and recovery.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple becomes involved with drugs and alcohol.

[Rdb]

Read 100 of 246 pages.