A Woman of Uncertain Character: The Amorous and Radical Adventures of My Mother Jennie (Who Always Wanted to Be a Respectable Jewish Mom) by Her Bastard Son

by Clancy Sigal

A poignant and raucous memoir of a mother — feminist, fighter against injustice, and unbridled lover — and her madcap son.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Womens, Jewish

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Clancy Sigal was the child of a love affair between two idealists. His parents Jennie Persily and Leo Sigal were labor organizers. Jennie, a single mother, raised Clancy on her own. Chicago-born, he was an ordinary street kid until the army sent him overseas. He attended the Nuremberg war crimes trial, and then enrolled at UCLA where his classmates included the later Watergate conspirators, Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. Blacklisted by a movie studio, and chased by the FBI, he lucked into a job as a Hollywood talent agent for clients like Humphrey Bogart. He slipped into Great Britain as an illegal immigrant and had a years-long affair with the writer Doris Lessing. Intending only a tourist weekend, he stayed in London for 30 years where, as well as broadcasting for BBC, he collaborated with the ‘anti psychiatrist’ R.D. Laing in the care and feeding of “incurable” schizophrenics. Relocating to Hollywood, he co-wrote “Frida” (Kahlo) and the Hemingway love story “In Love and War”.

Reviews

[Carl Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this memoir more than I did (and in fact I broke my own rule and participated in rating inflation). It's the story told by one of the victims of Hollywood and Joseph McCarthy's black list and I think those folks deserve great respect for their bravery and their love of our country's ideals. I do. The story of growing up at the heels of a revolutionary union organizer has its own fascination, but than the darn thing begins spinning its wheels.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really should be a movie.

[Julia Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved hearing about Jennie, who seems to have been a truly heroic, remarkable woman. Her son, however, the writer, makes the story much more about himself and his ongoing obsession with his cad of a father, trying every possible way to emulate and please him--unsuccessfully, of course.

I found little in the way of apology on Sigal's part for his thuggish, misogynist behavior. Although the book is well-written, it seems he still has much to learn.

And I still want to know more about Jennie, who deserves a much more thorough and appreciative account.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, my goodness! What an outrageous mother had Clancy Sigal! She runs around like a crazy person, gets herself entangled in the labor movement, has run-ins with the police - you name it, she does it. But she’s an inspiration to women everywhere who want to assert themselves in the world at large and do not wish to be controlled by anyone but themselves. A must-read for feminists everywhere.

[Jane Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This special woman

An unusual memoir. A boy tells the love story of his mother and father, mixed in with tales of union organization, socialism, and communism.

[Dayva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the most fascinating book I’ve read this year. It oozes love and candor. A very fine read, indeed.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Normally I love stories about strong-willed women w/ red hair. In fact I feel a deep bond w/ women of this nature. Usually I give a book three chapters, and if it doesn't grab me by that point I won't read it. I could NOT finish this book. Maybe it was just bad timing for me, but it was a book that I had to 'make' myself read.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked the story of his mother and her radical ways, wasn't so keen on the references to his son who it seemed he must of produced in his late 60s-otherwise a fun but not brilliant read

[Kimber Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intermittently lost my attention.

[Micahlibris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will appeal to a limited audience--primarily those of Jewish decent and 1960s radicals. Sigal is a good writer, but this felt like it was not intended for everyone.

[Stephen Hero · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a time, WXLT aired reruns of the TV series Gentle Ben in place of this novel.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Stars!