Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing and candid.
Review: A favorite passtime of mine is browsing my corner bookstore in my lunch break, and I have a weakness for biographies. Can't seem to get enough of them! But I am reasonably clean when it comes to other dangerous addictions.
While daydreaming, I stumbled over a biography written by Marlene's daughter, Maria Riva.
It was (surprisingly) well written, and I ended up skipping lunch altogether to read instead.
Apparently some talent from mom's boyfriends has rubbed off on Marlene's daughter, Maria.
I was especially intrigued by the relations to Erich Remarque;-- that affair of Marlene's might have been one of the longest relationships in her glittering gallery of affairs.
I read a lot of Remarque's books in my young days, and I still return to them from time to time.
Actually, Remarque is the reason I was reading anything about all of this in the first place.
Review by Palle Jorgensen, September 2004.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible book!
Review: I have read this book many times over the years and never cease to be appreciative for such an interesting and insightful and witty biography (and in essence, autobiography)!You really get a sense of the 'fascination' of Marlene Dietrich - or I suppose you could say her sense of 'self-fascination' and how she projected her image and mystique onto others and how easy it must have been for people to succumb to it. Maria Riva provides such a full-out and well-rounded accounting of her mother's life and personality - that it's practically intoxicating. Tho' certainly, it is also provides a great 'warning' in terms of how to view this most 'celebrated' figure - and how dangerous it could be to your heart and soul and psyche to become too deeply involved or fall under the sway of this beguiling, selfish, suffocating, nurturing, romantic and ultimately, unknowable woman. Still, after reading this book, who would not have liked to meet and spend time with this woman, this icon? Just an incredible book! And as noted in a prior review, Maria Riva certainly has an incredible memory for events and a gift for giving you the 'feeling' of a life so grandly lived.
Rating: 
Summary: a surprisingly engaging read
Review: I read this book expressly as a result of seeing Maria Riva being interviewed by Larry King. I never was a big Dietrich fan - prior to reading this book, all I knew of her was the caricatures. I love a well-written biography, though, so sought this book out after seeing the interview. Maria Riva's story of her mother's life and hers as they intertwined is both a tribute and an expose'. Her mother was an odd duck (putting it mildly) and Riva doesn't shrink from any aspect of her mother's life and personality, "warts and all". She loved her mother before, during, and after realizing how different their lives were from other people's, and even after recognizing her mother's shortcomings as a person and as a parent. "Dietrich" does indeed seem to have been a contradiction in terms - indisputably talented (which was also recognized by her colleagues at the studios), staunchly supportive of people she liked (when she liked them), but also bigoted, manipulative, and phenomenally self-centered. The fact that these qualities could co-exist simultaneously, and the way they affected those around her, is what makes the story so interesting. Riva's writing style is easy to read. Chapters are well paced, and the story never bogs down in any one time or event. The fact that she was able to publish nearly 800 pages without belaboring any particular event is indicative of how much there is to tell. (Bonus - lots of photos!)
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for Marlene - but zero for peevish Riva
Review: JEAN COCTEAU: "Marlene Dietrich. Her name begins with a caress and ends with a whiplash." The whiplash of Dietrich's life could be this book. In many ways it is fabulous - in many more, it is utter tripe. he accounts of Dietrich's life, loves - and above all her films with von Sternberg, both in pictorial and written account, are stunning and unique. They surpass Marlene's own autobiography far and away. The book, however,implodes upon one vital factor - its spirit. There is none. Riva attempts to paint a vcicious picture of her "Mommie Dearest" but comes off as a petulant child who has been sent to her room for misbehaving, and decides to rain abuse on her (unhearing) parents. Riva paints a portrait of herself as the "Perfect American" - waxing lyrical about the statue of liberty, hamburgers and mustard when she enjoyed one of the most priviledged upbringings of the 20th century. She attempts to endear herself to all - animal rights activists, Americans, French, English - all except her mother. And falls flat on her face. This is a biography of DIETRICH, not Riva, although Maria seems to forget that often. Which is a shame. The overwhelming feeling one gets after reading this book is not the bitchiness of Marlene, but the snide griping of her daughter. Riva is the least likable thing in the book. Her compulsive need to disagree constantly with her mother (except the beautiful passages she writes about costuming and direction upon the von Sternberg films and Dietrich's stage shows) on matters as diverse as film premiers, paramount stars and flower arrangements, borders on obsession - and grinds against the back teeth by the end of the book. That said - without the self-aggrandising prose, derogetory sniping and idle bitchiness, MARLENE is an engrossing and - yes - extremely good biography. Perhaps, with a little less Maria and a little more Marlene, it could have been great.
Rating:
Summary: Maria Riva's
Review: Maria Riva's conversational style of writing makes this page-turner a very easy read. The author's honesty and compassion comes through over and over again. She clearly has mixed emotions about her famous mother, but in my opinion she did a yeoman's job in giving an objective account of her mother's life. Another plus is the way she anchors her narrative with brief, relevant references to historical events, such as the depression and events leading to World War II. The background information about Hollywood in the 30's, 40's and 50's is also nearly as fascinating as Marlene Dietrich herself. While it's hard to believe that anyone can write nearly 800 pages about a Hollywood moviestar, Maria Riva has done it with intelligence and style. I feel as though I knew Marlene Dietrich personally and wish I could get to know her daugher better.
Rating:
Summary: Very easy to read.
Review: Maria Riva's conversational style of writing makes this page-turner a very easy read. The author's honesty and compassion comes through over and over again. She clearly has mixed emotions about her famous mother, but in my opinion she did a yeoman's job in giving an objective account of her mother's life. Another plus is the way she anchors her narrative with brief, relevant references to historical events, such as the depression and events leading to World War II. The background information about Hollywood in the 30's, 40's and 50's is also nearly as fascinating as Marlene Dietrich herself. While it's hard to believe that anyone can write nearly 800 pages about a Hollywood moviestar, Maria Riva has done it with intelligence and style. I feel as though I knew Marlene Dietrich personally and wish I could get to know her daugher better.
Rating:
Summary: A star biography you can't put down
Review: The litany of shocking, incredibly tawdry and abusive things Marlene did do not dull the luster of Marlene's magnificent screen presence. That is a tribute to Maria Riva's extraordinary ability to look clearly at her mother's good side as well as her bad. This was a thoroughly entrancing book, full of insights and gossip about Marlene's friends and colleagues (and lovers.) Especially wonderful were the memories of the old days of movie-making, in the 30's, when von Sternberg beautifully photographed her face.
Rating:
Summary: German enigma
Review: This book gets stronger as it goes along, because we begin to understand how the relationship between Riva and Dietrich evolved over the years as the author had to become the caretaker of her mother. In the first half of the book, when Riva is recounting the "glory years" of 1930's Hollywood, she has a tendency to talk about her own fondness for egg salad sandwiches...not exactly interesting stuff. But as she grows up, her observations grow as well, and soon we are left with a biography that leaves Dietrich naked before us and yet endears her to us as well. She may not have been a wonderful mother, but it is still clear that Riva respected and loved her, and this comes through in the pages. Dietrich was a fascinating presence on screen and is an equally fascinating one in print.
Rating:
Summary: Maria and her Mother
Review: This is a book of 780 pages. Maria seemed quite sarcastic about her mother through the first 200 pages. I keep on reading....I still wonder about the first 200 pages. What Maria was thinking of? She gives dimensions to her mother I would never have known. I was sorry Maria became an alcohoic when her mother was entertaining American Troops overseas in WW 11 and I admire her courage I think Maria is an intelligent woman. She was careful not to say too much about herself. she should write a book about herself alone.She did splendid work! Sometimes bitter sweet as life often is A must for a Marlene Dietrich admirer!
Rating:
Summary: Maria and her Mother
Review: This is a book of 780 pages. Maria seemed quite sarcastic about her mother through the first 200 pages. I keep on reading....I still wonder about the first 200 pages. What Maria was thinking of? She gives dimensions to her mother I would never have known. I was sorry Maria became an alcohoic when her mother was entertaining American Troops overseas in WW 11 and I admire her courage I think Maria is an intelligent woman. She was careful not to say too much about herself. she should write a book about herself alone.She did splendid work! Sometimes bitter sweet as life often is A must for a Marlene Dietrich admirer!
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