'It was the summer that Coltrane died. The summer Jimi Hendrix set his guitar in flames and China exploded the H-bomb. There were riots in Newark and marches against the war in Vietnam. The world was on the brink of change. It was the summer of love. And the summer of a chance encounter that would change the course of my life. It was the summer I met Robert.' Just Kids is the story of two innocents who shed sheltered lives and braved the city in search of art and freedom. In each other Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith found kindred spirits and pursued their mutual dreams, from Brooklyn to the Chelsea Hotel into the world. Each would eventually reach the pinnacle of artistic achievement and their vow to always care for one another survived painful trials and separations. Mapplethorpe's unforgettable portrait of Smith for the cover of Horses forever fuses their indelible mark on our culture. Intimate and broadly evocative of New York in the early 70s, Just Kids - part romance, part elegy - is finally about friendship in the truest sense, and the artist's calling.
Just Kids
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Review
'With a memoirist's sleight of hand, Patti Smith recaptures
two wondrously malleable young spirits...' -- Scotland on Sunday, January 2010
'Before Maplethorpe died ... Smith promised him that she would write their story. Just Kids is the fulfilment of that promise: a touching tribute to their love as well as an incisive account of being young, ambitious and artistic in Seventies New York ... She pours that sorrow and that maturity into this heartfelt, illuminating book.' -- Telegraph, February 2010
`The most beautiful, incredible autobiography - it will make you ache for a time and a place that you probably never knew, New York in the 1970s' --Nick Hornby
two wondrously malleable young spirits...' -- Scotland on Sunday, January 2010
'Before Maplethorpe died ... Smith promised him that she would write their story. Just Kids is the fulfilment of that promise: a touching tribute to their love as well as an incisive account of being young, ambitious and artistic in Seventies New York ... She pours that sorrow and that maturity into this heartfelt, illuminating book.' -- Telegraph, February 2010
`The most beautiful, incredible autobiography - it will make you ache for a time and a place that you probably never knew, New York in the 1970s' --Nick Hornby
Book Description
Winner of the 2010 Non-Fiction National Book Award Patti Smith's evocative, honest and moving coming-of-age story of her extraordinary relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Anyone familiar with the lives and works of
Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe will know
that this story cannot have a happy ending.
Mr Mapplethorpe's death from AIDS-related illness
in 1989 drew a sad line underneath a unique
friendship. 'Just Kids' is Mme Smith's memoir of
that extraordinary relationship.
That they were kindred spirits from the start is evident
in Smith's affectionate prose. The energy that held them
together, in love and in adversity, contributed immeasurably
to their respective artistic achievements.
I had not realised how intertwined their creative paths
had been until reading this beautifully written book.
The 'High Priestess Of Punk' is a surprisingly gentle
and sensitive narrator. Starting with tender and vivid
reflections of her childhood in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
we quickly see that she will not linger there for long.
That she was an outsider (albeit a somewhat timid one)
from the start made her eventual pilgrimage to the dark
beating heart of culture in New York City inevitable.
She and Mapplethorpe fell into each others lives as much by
chance as by design. The descriptions of their early struggles
to establish a place for their art are unsentimentally drawn.
Her tales from the bowels of the Hotel Chelsea and accounts of
the brutal pecking order of bohemian wannabes at clubs like
Max's Kansas City are littered with the names of iconic
characters from this colourful period of the city's history.
It is as much a story of a time and place as it is an
excavation of her own emotional and creative trajectory.
That each of them eventually found their place (she in the
world of rock and roll and he in the photographer's studio)
would perhaps not have happened in quite the same way had
their mutual dependency, support, encouragement and love
not had the chance to flourish in those heady early years.
That their lives eventually moved in different directions
did not diminish the intensity and importance of their
primary and enduring attachment to one another.
'Just Kids' is a grown-up tale of two souls in search of meaning.
Highly Recommended.
Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe will know
that this story cannot have a happy ending.
Mr Mapplethorpe's death from AIDS-related illness
in 1989 drew a sad line underneath a unique
friendship. 'Just Kids' is Mme Smith's memoir of
that extraordinary relationship.
That they were kindred spirits from the start is evident
in Smith's affectionate prose. The energy that held them
together, in love and in adversity, contributed immeasurably
to their respective artistic achievements.
I had not realised how intertwined their creative paths
had been until reading this beautifully written book.
The 'High Priestess Of Punk' is a surprisingly gentle
and sensitive narrator. Starting with tender and vivid
reflections of her childhood in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
we quickly see that she will not linger there for long.
That she was an outsider (albeit a somewhat timid one)
from the start made her eventual pilgrimage to the dark
beating heart of culture in New York City inevitable.
She and Mapplethorpe fell into each others lives as much by
chance as by design. The descriptions of their early struggles
to establish a place for their art are unsentimentally drawn.
Her tales from the bowels of the Hotel Chelsea and accounts of
the brutal pecking order of bohemian wannabes at clubs like
Max's Kansas City are littered with the names of iconic
characters from this colourful period of the city's history.
It is as much a story of a time and place as it is an
excavation of her own emotional and creative trajectory.
That each of them eventually found their place (she in the
world of rock and roll and he in the photographer's studio)
would perhaps not have happened in quite the same way had
their mutual dependency, support, encouragement and love
not had the chance to flourish in those heady early years.
That their lives eventually moved in different directions
did not diminish the intensity and importance of their
primary and enduring attachment to one another.
'Just Kids' is a grown-up tale of two souls in search of meaning.
Highly Recommended.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book arrived swiftly and safely. It is a wonderful autobiography, the best I have read in years. Sensitively and honestly written, it is obvious that Patti Smith is a world away from celebrity culture. She is not influenced by money, status or fame..how bloody refreshing. She gives perceptive insights into many of the fast movers in the late 60s and early 70s American pop and art culture. I only wish I had no short term memory so I could read it again afresh....BRILLIANT
43 of 46 people found the following review helpful
By Kate Willard
Format:Hardcover
This is an interesting memoir, especially for fans of Mapelthrope or Patti Smith. For the younger generation who may not be familiar with these two names. Maplethorpe was a photographer with a style that was recognizable no matter his subject (he died of AIDs in his early 40s in 1989) and lets just say he wore his homosexuality proudly (for more on mapelthorpe I recommend Mapplethorpe: A Biography). Smith is the poet singer song writer often referred to as the grandma of punk rock and an activist for many causes to this very day. In this Memoir Smith writes about her relationship with Maplethorpe in the late and early 1970s before they became famous. I thought it was fascinating to read about these two icons before they realized who the were or wanted to be. Its hard not to think of Smith as a poet rebel, guitar in hand or Mapelthorpe as the in your face artist, but Smith's book takes the reader back to when both were "Just Kids." You see Smith and Maplethorpe as young people, not always secure in who they are, groping to find their passions that were burning inside but not fully understood. In this memoir Smith also presents a picture of a New York that no longer exists, and that alone makes this wonderful reading. Not all song writers can successfully write lyrics as well as prose, Smith though has a gift with the written word that is transcendent. Heart felt and honest, like her music, I highly recommend this book. For more honest reading concerning Hollywood Icons in the 1960s I have to recommend "Misfits Country."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved this book
There is innocence in this book - Patti Smith tells this heart-breaking story beautifully - the other five star reviews say it all - for an artist, poet, actor reader, writer... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Matthew Scurfield
4.0 out of 5 stars
I liked it !
What a woman !What a life ! I enjoyed reading this book very much so I recommend it to you (and it doesn't matter if you're 80 or 20, passion has no age!)
Published 3 days ago by Cori73
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully full of life!
I recommend this book to everyone! Even if you are not a fan of Patti Smith or Robert Mapplethorpe... its a beautiful true story worth reading! You'll not regret!
Published 15 days ago by Tiago Ribeiro
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet memories
I found this book surprising sweet and nostalgic. The prose is fluid and pleasant to read and the adventures of young Patti and Robert, before the days of fame and fortune, are... Read more
Published 23 days ago by D. Giusti
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishing!!
What an exceptionally beautiful and candid tale of adventure but ultimately, a lifelong friendship. Extremely touching and could not have been composed better..
Published 1 month ago by mrs c baynham-swales
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
I've followed both artists for over 30 years; been to several Mapplethorpe exhibitions; I have several of his books and everything, including the occasional bootleg, by Patti... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sawboy
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful
this was bought as a gift so I don't really know but I think it went down well thank you
Published 2 months ago by louisebrandwood
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank you
Thank you Patti Smith, for sharing with us your story. I have listened. I hope many others will allow themselves the opportunity to do the same.
Published 2 months ago by Philippa
5.0 out of 5 stars
c & c
cheap and cheerful, does what it said on the packet, being a student couldn'
t ask for a better site
t ask for a better site
Published 3 months ago by wayne elkins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible
This book kept me up all night , I was completely lost in the world of Patti and Robert`s life together as a mutual inspiration. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Roids
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