An inspiring story but one told in an often uninspired manner.
Motorcyclist and artist Dodwell recounts her globe-trotting travels and love affairs in this debut memoir.
The author was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1944to a policeman father and a homemaker mother. She loved to draw from an early age, but she writes that her father discouraged her from pursuing a career in fashion design. She ended up studying nursing and marrying a hardworking Yale Law School student–turned–naval officer who ended up making a lot of money in the financial industry. Dodwell was initially happy as a homemaker and dearly loved being a mother to her daughter, Maida, but she soon felt stifled in suburban Westport, Connecticut, and resentful that she was unable to pursue a career of her own. After the family moved to San Francisco, Dodwell took the opportunity to study art at the San Francisco Art Institute, and a whole new world began to open up to her. As her marriage started to fall apart due to infidelity and her husband’s resentment over her artistic interests, Dodwell discovered two new passions that would shape the rest of her life: motorcycles and travel. “What would you think about your mom getting a motorcycle?” she asked her daughter, when the latter was 12 years old. Her child responded, in typical kid fashion, “I’d be so embarrassed in front of my friends!” So, five years later, after Maida went off to college in 1989, Dodwell began taking long motorcycle journeys, the most remarkable of which was a solo round trip across the southern coast of Australia, from Melbourne to Perth.
In this remembrance, Dodwell recounts stories of her adventures around the world, including participation in the famous Peking to Paris Car Rally, a 43-day, 16,000-kilometer overland drive, with her co-driver, Gennie Obert. She also describes the design and construction of her Australia-themed homestead in Sonoma, California, which married her history of travel with her passion for artistic collaboration. Dodwell’s prose effectively captures her enthusiasm for new experiences, as when she recounts embarking on her trip across Australia: “At the top of the ridge, I took a left and was suddenly smacked in the face with the enormity of my crazy adventure. At that 1500-foot elevation I got my first glimpse of what lay before me—the biggest expanse of desert I had ever encountered.” Overall, Dodwell’s stories read easily. However, she tends not to offer many specifics. The result is a lot of summarizing, which creates a less immersive and engaging experience than one expects from travel writing. That said, Dodwell tells a compelling story of stepping outside of the prescribed gender roles of her era in a dramatic fashion. Her journeys and romances are the stuff that novels are made of, and they make for an affecting story. Even so, it’s easy to imagine a more compelling version of the book that’s structured less straightforwardly and focuses on a few specific experiences from her life in greater, more specific detail.
An inspiring story but one told in an often uninspired manner.Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-953596-22-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: The Publishing Portal
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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