Rating: 
Summary: Very well-written, and yet . . .
Review: I agree with the other reader that Thurman has done a marvelous job of research, and that the book is often brilliantly written. But somehow I came away from it less interested in Colette than before. Perhaps it was Colette's breezy indifference to writing for collaborationists, and of writing an anti-semitic novel because she knew it would sell (even though her then-husband was Jewish). She seemed to live her life avoiding not only philosophical questions but even the most basic moral ones like those involving loyalty and decency to others. Her much-vaunted sexual freedom is along the same lines, as she abandons her lesbianism whenever it requires any genuine commitment. I always vaguely felt that her fiction was a bit thin, and now I have a clearer idea of why I feel that way. Thanks to Judith Thurman for a good biography, but here's hoping she picks someone more substantial for her next subject.
Rating: 
Summary: A thread of continuity.
Review: I am reading the book for the second time (that is rare for me), excellent insight into the movers and shakers at the last turn of the century. Great references to other writers and artists whom Colette supported financially and emotionally. I am using the names she referred to frequently to create a list of women cross referencing their stories or biographies with hers. This book gave me an improved image of Colette and a desire to read more of her material.
Rating:
Summary: Comme ci, comme ca (pardon my French)
Review: I bought Thurman's bio of Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen in Danish after seeing "Out of Africa" in 1986 in Copenhagen, where I'm from. I never finished it, and sold it eventually. Then, two years ago I came across it in a used book store here in CA (the English edition), read it and adored it. It is one of the few books which I have read more than once. Sometimes we come back to a work of art and wonder how we could be so blind/deaf the first time around. I may feel the same way about Thurman's bio of Colette down the road, but as of today I must admit I had a tough time getting through it.The fairly small print didn't help. Keeping track of the enormous gallery of people in her life took away a great deal of the reading pleasure, and Thurman's sentences are very long and not always "clear headed". Yes, Colette had quite a life, but somehow her life comes across as more interesting than her persona. My favorite parts are those that tell of her complicated relationships with her parents. I learn more about myself from reading such analysis than I would from three years of therapy! An A+: When Thurman writes about the "fin de siecle" in France she in fact shows herself to be a far better historian than biographer. (In the Dinesen bio she was both) And France around 1900 is remarkably like our world of today, which makes it very topical. I don't know how much of the Colette bio is Thurman and how much is other biographers and that too is a big minus. Colette has been covered extensively by many writers, and I wish that Thurman had spent 1990-1998 reading, researching and writing about someone who has not been "bio'd" so often or, even better, not at all. There were a few bios on Dinesen before Thurman's, but she was almost "virgin snow" compared to Colette. The fact that Colette was a very flawed human being doesn't mean someone should not write about her; in fact, flawed people often make the best subjects for a bio. Unfortunately, Thurman sounds at times star-struck, other times she sounds like a puritan, shocked, sometimes even somewhat envious, which of course are precisely some of the feelings and reactions that people had and still have about/to Colette. Dinesen is a much more likable person, much easier to relate to, and the movie "Out of Africa" made her the sort of romantic heroine that Colette probably never could be or would have wanted to be. Two very different women, two very different biographies. If a movie is ever made about Colette, one would hope they focus on a specific period and only a few people in her life as was done in "Out of Africa" in order to avoid the kind of horrible bio picture that Richard Attenborough's film about Chaplin was, where they rush through his entire (long) life in three hours with a "revolving door" of characters coming and going, leaving you dizzy and frustrated. I do recommend listening to the interview archived on the Diane Rhemes (spelled correctly?) show website: (type in Thurman's name on Yahoo and it will come on the long list of Thurman webpages) She interviewed Thurman when the book came out in 1999. You can "hear" Thurman blushing at times when speaking of Colette's wild times, and perhaps that is ultimately the problem with the Colette bio: Someone uncomfortable writing about sex, lesbians, bondage, nude dancing, etc. will come across as a prude. Colette, I imagine, would have been proud to have that effect on people in the year 2002, OR maybe she'd be sad that we really have not progressed as far as we'd like. Thanks for all the reviews - it's very interesting to read what other readers think - A virtual book club. I hope Thurman reads the reviews by the way. Writers can learn far more from "regular folks" than from critics who are feel obligated to either gush over a book or thrash it vicously, depending on who the critic is.
Rating: 
Summary: So what!
Review: I didn't find the book very interesting although it could have been. I didn't get a feel for the people. It jumped around and was rather dull a good bit of the time. I am sorry I wasted the time and the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Difficult read
Review: I found this to be a very difficult read for someone, like myself, who never read anything by Collette and did not really know anything about her. We chose it for our book club and most of us felt the same way. The beginning was very difficult to get through while both trying to get used to Thurman's writing style and trying to keep up with all of the people she introduces. There was no real depth behind anyone's introduction. I didn't find myself caring about what happened to anyone. Collette was not a nice person, a horrible mother and yet I felt that Thurman was trying to show her in an abused wife role which didn't really fit. I couldn't really figure her out or where she was coming from. I know this is a biography and that Thurman is just telling the facts, but I found it very challenging to read and try to make sense of all of those pieces of information.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not great book
Review: I had never heard of Collette before reading about this book and purchasing it. I have found the book interesting not only because of the subject but also because of the insight it provides into the time period. I downgrade it for two reasons. I agree with the other review that it is difficult to read but have found that if you stick with it, you eventually get into the flow of the writer's style. Also, it is probably more appropriate for someone who knows the subject and her work to make the complete connection with the author's comments.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, and it held my interest, but.......
Review: I must admit, I really didn't know much about Colette until I read "Secrets of the Flesh" Only that she was some sort of genius. After all, one writer said of her...."There is enough beauty in ten of her lines to content a lesser writer for a lifetime." I found this to be true after reading this book. "I've had enough! I Want..I want...I want to do what I want!...I want to go on stage, to become a mime, even an actress. I want to dance naked if I feel that a leotard...cramps my style, I want to retire to an island...or spend my time in the company of women who live by their charms..I want to write"..... COLETTE 1923 And she does...... Colette does it all, not giving a damn what people thought. She
says, "I have never been able to take interest in anything that
doesn't relate to life." Judith Thuman did her homework! "Secrets" is almost 500 pages long and filled with interesting details about Colette's life...for example...she weight-trained, loved food, danced naked, loved women, was not a feminist,adored cats, wrote by the light of a blue lantern, was not discreet about her sexualality, and her mother, Sido, was a huge influence on her. "I write with my senses, with my body....all my flesh has a soul."---Colette, Retreat from Love My suggestion.... after reading "Secrets of the Flesh"
Put on some Aretha
Franklin or Alisia Keys and dance naked in your living room. If Colette did it in Public, we sure as hell can do it in our own
home!
Rating: 
Summary: Madonna has nothing on Colette!
Review: I must admit, I really didn't know much about Colette until I read "Secrets of the Flesh" Only that she was some sort of genius. After all, one writer said of her...."There is enough beauty in ten of her lines to content a lesser writer for a lifetime." I found this to be true after reading this book. "I've had enough! I Want..I want...I want to do what I want!...I want to go on stage, to become a mime, even an actress. I want to dance naked if I feel that a leotard...cramps my style, I want to retire to an island...or spend my time in the company of women who live by their charms..I want to write"..... COLETTE 1923 And she does...... Colette does it all, not giving a damn what people thought. She
says, "I have never been able to take interest in anything that
doesn't relate to life." Judith Thuman did her homework! "Secrets" is almost 500 pages long and filled with interesting details about Colette's life...for example...she weight-trained, loved food, danced naked, loved women, was not a feminist,adored cats, wrote by the light of a blue lantern, was not discreet about her sexualality, and her mother, Sido, was a huge influence on her. "I write with my senses, with my body....all my flesh has a soul."---Colette, Retreat from Love My suggestion.... after reading "Secrets of the Flesh"
Put on some Aretha
Franklin or Alisia Keys and dance naked in your living room. If Colette did it in Public, we sure as hell can do it in our own
home!
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, Enjoyable Study of A Wonderful Person
Review: I say "wonderful," though I don't mean in the chaste, good person sort of way, but in a fiery, accomplished one. This biography, amazingly in depth (though at times almost too chronological, and not enough insight into Colette's persona) reveals all that Colette did and was, the good, the bad and the ugly, though despite her flaws she contributed an oceanful of herself--her books, her plays, her child, her love, and her histrionic talents to the world. She lived without being afraid to be herself in a time, as Thurman truthfully puts it, when contempt for both women and homosexuals (of which she was both) ran rampant. Thurman has definitely done her research, and switches back and forth between a sort of fictitious, dreamy scape and a very forward, matter of fact report, which can get a little austere. I went back and forth to being completely absorbed to just reading it to get past this or that part, but thankfully, there was much more to praise than to criticize. I found Willy's "character" particularly amusing. The pictures are a nice gesture, my favorites being the one where Colette is holding a cigarette, dressed in drag, and the one where she's in a dance costume, kneeling and watching Willy. They both sum up that Moulin Rouge, anything goes, youthful era, which Colette basically incarnates. I hope we can all be sort of like her, in one way or another. On the whole, this is one piece of nonfiction I indefinitely enjoyed, and Thurman, though not perfect, is a dedicated and effective author. Recommended highly.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, Enjoyable Study of A Wonderful Person
Review: I say "wonderful," though I don't mean in the chaste, good person sort of way, but in a fiery, accomplished one. This biography, amazingly in depth (though at times almost too chronological, and not enough insight into Colette's persona) reveals all that Colette did and was, the good, the bad and the ugly, though despite her flaws she contributed an oceanful of herself--her books, her plays, her child, her love, and her histrionic talents to the world. She lived without being afraid to be herself in a time, as Thurman truthfully puts it, when contempt for both women and homosexuals (of which she was both) ran rampant. Thurman has definitely done her research, and switches back and forth between a sort of fictitious, dreamy scape and a very forward, matter of fact report, which can get a little austere. I went back and forth to being completely absorbed to just reading it to get past this or that part, but thankfully, there was much more to praise than to criticize. I found Willy's "character" particularly amusing. The pictures are a nice gesture, my favorites being the one where Colette is holding a cigarette, dressed in drag, and the one where she's in a dance costume, kneeling and watching Willy. They both sum up that Moulin Rouge, anything goes, youthful era, which Colette basically incarnates. I hope we can all be sort of like her, in one way or another. On the whole, this is one piece of nonfiction I indefinitely enjoyed, and Thurman, though not perfect, is a dedicated and effective author. Recommended highly.
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