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The Bathroom Chronicles: 100 Women. 100 Images. 100 Stories.
One hundred creative, intelligent, and interesting women--some well-known, some not--reveal their inner selves through candid, tender, and often humorous snapshots--both visual and textual--of a single object or corner of their bathroom.
For many women, the bathroom is the most intimate of spaces. It is the place where we encounter ourselves in the mirror each morning and every night-brushing our teeth, applying make-up, fixing our hair, getting ready to face the day, or recede from it. The Bathroom Chronicles is a beautiful, chic, touching, and deeply feminine collection of photos and accompanying short stories (sometimes no more than a sentence or two) by women about their private spaces and most cherished possessions. Lena Dunham reveals the corner by the sink where she keeps her favorite pieces of jewelry, as well as her birth control. Erica Jong snaps her poodles and insists that they love her powder room and to "fluff up their hair" in front of the mirrors. Roz Chast reflects on a shelf in the corner that she purchased from a second-hand store. It's decorated with birds, because she loves birds, and a tiny emu that was given to her by a friend when she was in Australia. Like the bathrooms themselves each of these stories and images is unique--open, private, minimalistic, messy, and beautiful.
For many women, the bathroom is the most intimate of spaces. It is the place where we encounter ourselves in the mirror each morning and every night-brushing our teeth, applying make-up, fixing our hair, getting ready to face the day, or recede from it. The Bathroom Chronicles is a beautiful, chic, touching, and deeply feminine collection of photos and accompanying short stories (sometimes no more than a sentence or two) by women about their private spaces and most cherished possessions. Lena Dunham reveals the corner by the sink where she keeps her favorite pieces of jewelry, as well as her birth control. Erica Jong snaps her poodles and insists that they love her powder room and to "fluff up their hair" in front of the mirrors. Roz Chast reflects on a shelf in the corner that she purchased from a second-hand store. It's decorated with birds, because she loves birds, and a tiny emu that was given to her by a friend when she was in Australia. Like the bathrooms themselves each of these stories and images is unique--open, private, minimalistic, messy, and beautiful.
- GenresNonfictionPhotography
216 pages, Hardcover
Published October 16, 2018
2 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 2, 2019
Who knew so many women decorated their bathroom with Hermès trinkets or towels? Not I.
The stories I read were paradoxically relatable and so far removed from my own experience. For every bath toy or damaged bit of caulking, there were summer homes and Liebermann paintings and weekends spent in Copenhagen. It seemed like the majority of these women lived lives of artistic indulgence and privilege. Almost every bathroom was inspirational in some way (and made me consider what mine says about me), but there was an ever-present level of pretentiousness that I could never quite shake.
There are 100 stories here. Sadly, it provides such a narrow view of the world. I can't criticize any woman for filling a bathroom with what inspires her, but it would seem a more honest art project to showcase a broader variety of lifestyles. Such as it is, I think this collection struggles to be relevant.
Definitely not a book to buy. It's interesting enough to earn a flip-through from your library, but leave it on the shelf.
The stories I read were paradoxically relatable and so far removed from my own experience. For every bath toy or damaged bit of caulking, there were summer homes and Liebermann paintings and weekends spent in Copenhagen. It seemed like the majority of these women lived lives of artistic indulgence and privilege. Almost every bathroom was inspirational in some way (and made me consider what mine says about me), but there was an ever-present level of pretentiousness that I could never quite shake.
There are 100 stories here. Sadly, it provides such a narrow view of the world. I can't criticize any woman for filling a bathroom with what inspires her, but it would seem a more honest art project to showcase a broader variety of lifestyles. Such as it is, I think this collection struggles to be relevant.
Definitely not a book to buy. It's interesting enough to earn a flip-through from your library, but leave it on the shelf.
April 15, 2023
It was kind of neat to get a snapshot into the lives of other women. The notes for each photo varied widely.
February 24, 2020
The author had an entertaining idea of capturing her friends' bathrooms using one shot. The shots are accompanied by short individual texts, essays, notes, telling a bit about the bathroom items. The book is aesthetically pleasing and I enjoyed the short texts, which gave the whole project a very personal touch.
August 26, 2019
This book had a really intriguing premise: photos of womens' bathrooms from around the world, accompanied by short essays about the bathroom's owner. And I really did enjoy looking through the whole book.
The book fell just a little short on the "worldwide" aspect, as the author relied on her own social network to supply the photos and essays. So there was a LOT of German bathrooms, with a good sprinkling of US. Africa was completely unrepresented... and I'm struggling to remember any South American bathrooms. Also, the photos weren't of bathrooms in entirety. Many of the photos were of a single shelf or corner. I'm nosy: I want to see all your glorious mess!
But it really was neat to see what things women the world around keep handy on their bathroom counter, or what knick knacks they're unable to let go of. One woman, for example, keeps a small toy dinosaur in her bathroom. One of her sons left it there when he was young, and she likes to keep it there as a memento. Another woman had a collection of her grandmother's empty perfume bottles.
It's not a long read; totally worth checking out if your interest is piqued.
The book fell just a little short on the "worldwide" aspect, as the author relied on her own social network to supply the photos and essays. So there was a LOT of German bathrooms, with a good sprinkling of US. Africa was completely unrepresented... and I'm struggling to remember any South American bathrooms. Also, the photos weren't of bathrooms in entirety. Many of the photos were of a single shelf or corner. I'm nosy: I want to see all your glorious mess!
But it really was neat to see what things women the world around keep handy on their bathroom counter, or what knick knacks they're unable to let go of. One woman, for example, keeps a small toy dinosaur in her bathroom. One of her sons left it there when he was young, and she likes to keep it there as a memento. Another woman had a collection of her grandmother's empty perfume bottles.
It's not a long read; totally worth checking out if your interest is piqued.
February 9, 2020
Cool idea, this. Great photos, great writing. Really intriguing little snapshots (of prose and photos).
March 24, 2022
I need this coffee table book.
June 17, 2025
Loved this book! Very enjoyable, different and so interesting to see inside these women’s hearts through a few words and a bathroom pic!
August 27, 2022
More of a coffee table book but really cute!
October 27, 2018
When my boss ordered this book, she thought it was different from what it actually was; as a result, she was disappointed when the UPS man delivered it in the box of books he dropped off at our library. I'm the cataloger and I see a lot of books on a regular basis. This book was unique. It offers a lot of perspective. I don't have a place of my own yet. My fiance, son, and I all live with my dad still. So, it gave me a glimpse into the future: what will MY bathroom tell about me? It was a very quick read; I read it in less than an hour. I loved how different all the bathrooms were. It's a good example of what the world is like. The pictures were my favorite part, though. They stole the whole book. I cannot wait until my little family is out on our own and I get to (okay, my fiance might have a little say :P) decorate our bathroom. Will it be sentimental? Silly? Normal? Outlandish? Who knows? But I cannot wait to find out now.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews