There is just something about Marilyn Monroe. There's got to be. How else does one explain the enduring popularity of this '50's movie star even today in the year 2011? There was just something about the woman.
I remember, as a kid, hearing her name mentioned on a plethora of television shows by the stars of that era. I kept wondering who this 'Marilyn Monroe' was. Why was she so adored? Someone tell me. Please. Then I saw her for myself, my first pictures of her, video of the woman when she entertained the troops during the Korean War.
Wow. There was something about her. What it was - even as the kid I was at that time - I couldn't put a name to it; but there was something about her that would make one stand up and take notice.
Thereby, when I catch sight of this book which professes to parlay 'poems, intimate notes, and letters' of hers for release to the public, I was naturally intrigued. I had no clue as to what I might learn - if anything - but as there is something about Marilyn Monroe, I knew it was a book I could never pass up.
'Fragments' is precisely that: fragments of her life. It begins with a rather lengthy type-written letter she wrote while married to her first husband James Dougherty.and concludes with answers to a list of interview questions she wrote out in 1962, the year of her death. In between it all is an array of personal notes, forays into poetry, letters to friends and associates, and a selection of photographs giving evidence to this 'dumb blonde' as not being all that dumb. She was a reader. The back cover of the book shows her reading James Joyce's 'Ulysses'. She was thinker. She started her own production company at one point, apparently seeking more challenging roles than what she is most popularly known for today. Her clear attachment to Lee and Paula Strassberg, and the acting classes they provided, show she meant business in this acting business.
Thus, I opened the book and I sought to learn. Was this subtle undercurrent of a beautiful woman with an engaging mind the trait to make her who she was? Unfortunately, while I believe there in lies the unraveling of the mystery to Marilyn Monroe, this book fails to fill in all the holes. It is interesting, but as their is no steady narrative - either thematically or chronologically - to carry a reader forward, there can be difficulties in maintaining a steady interest.
Sometimes, her notes say nothing - as any of our notes would say nothing. Mere scratches on a piece of paper. And yet, because it is about Marilyn, it was worth the time spent.
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