(Post 8) I've read a book

I read by The Final Years of Marilyn Monroe – The True Story by Keith Badman. I chose this book because I have always had an interest in Marilyn Monroe and found her captivating.   This is a factual book that looks at the last 2 years of Monroe’s life and the events that lead up to her death. The book is written in an investigative style, almost as if Badman is a detective investigating Monroe’s death.

The opening chapter looks at Monroe’s childhood, which I found fascinating. Monroe, actually called Norma Jean, clearly had a very troubled time when she was little and often spoke of the horrible things she endured as a child, but Badman also uncovers some happier moments, and times when she did experience love.  I really liked when Badman describes Norma Jean’s Saturday trips with her Mother, where the two of them would take a walking tour around the streets where all the movie stars lived in Hollywood Hills. Norma Jean would also intently put her little hands and feet over the famous implants of the Hollywood stars hands and feet on Hollywood Boulavard. I like that Badman didn’t say that the child was beginning to sow the seeds of wanting to become a star herself, but the suggestion is there in the description of the little girls actions.  

The whole of the book is a great exploration of Monroe’s life and shows how difficult things were for her even when she was very successful. It shows her life to be extremely sad.  I would love to use the idea of someone who seems to have a wonderful life on the outside, but who is actually very unhappy in a future piece of my own work. I would highly recommend the book to anyone who likes Monroe, but it also great even if the reader doesn’t have an interest in the actor, as it is a bit like a detective story.