Marlene

I think that if C. W. Gortner's latest historical fiction novel, Marlene - A Novel of Marlene Dietrich (#571) had been half the length, it would have been twice as good.  In his Acknowledgements, he does say that he wanted to concentrate on Marlene's early years and struggles, not so much her "seemingly meteoric rise to fame". 


So the first half of this novel is a salacious account of Marlene's many, many, many sexual encounters.  I would hesitate to call them love affairs, because the way she is portrayed here, it doesn't seem that she was capable of actually loving anyone except in a physical sense.  Between the tedium of bisexual trysts, her fondness for cross-dressing, and her mother issues, I would have given up on this book, except for the fact that I owed GoodReads a review after winning a copy.


Frankly, I found the most interesting part of this book Gortner's recounting of her loathing of Hitler and her refusal to return to Germany to become part of his propaganda machine.  After she became an American citizen, and a target for Nazi reprisals, she spent her time entertaining the troops in war-torn Europe with the USO.  Sharing the same hardships as the soldiers near the front lines, these tours eventually earned Marlene Dietrich the French Legion d'honneur, and Medals of Freedom from the Belgian, Israeli and US governments.  That's a Marlene I could admire.  I wish we had seen a lot more of that woman here.


I can't recommend this book.  I wish I had read a straight (!) biography of Marlene Dietrich instead.  I would have learned more about her that way and skipped the boring bits Gortner finds so titilating. 


P.S.  I should have known from the cover photograph; of all the glamour photos that exist of Marlene Dietrich, those in charge of this publication choose one that emphasizes her left hand, making it look like a huge claw wearing an enormous ring.  Rather sinister, I think!