Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice read, 23 Jan 2005
This book left a strong impression on me. But I loved it in the end. Rebirth triumphed over tragedy. A great story about a sad little rich and famous girl who lost and found herself again, of the pains she went through, of the horrors she inflicted on herself and of her acknowledgement of her path to self-destruction, an acknowledgement that led to her self-redemption. It is beautifully written. Tatum emerged as an intelligent and strong person. What emerges in this book is the fact that she has done a lot of work on correcting her flaws. I finished the book admiring her and learning not to be too hard in my judgment of others, especially child prodigies. I recommend THE USURPERS AND OTHER STORIES.
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Paper story, 22 Mar 2007
The life of Hollywood offspring is bad enough, but to be a neglected child star is even worse. That is at the heart of Tatum O'Neal's autobiography "A Paper Life" -- but the book itself has an uncomfortable bent, even as it unflinchingly looks at her life, her marriage, and her drug addictions.
Tatum's parents were a quickly-divorced couple, who managed to produce two kids in less than a year before they split. Tatum and her brother Griffin lived with their addicted, neglectful mother for several years, before the young girl (and not her brother) was swept away by her dad, Ryan O'Neal. But life with Ryan wasn't the paradise she thought it would be: He was abusive and a blatant womanizer, with amours ranging from Bianca Jagger to Farrah Fawcett to Ursula Andress.
Tatum soon became a star in her own right, even winning an Oscar for her role in the movie "Paper Moon" -- which only made Ryan resent her more. After breaking loose of her father, she married tennis star John McEnroe and had three children, but his volatile temper and her escalating drug addiction almost destroyed her life.
How I fell to the bottom of the food chain and yet dragged myself back up -- that type of memoir is usually a bit of an uplift. And it's remarkable that O'Neal was able to undergo many of the experiences she did, and still be alive to talk about it, even if her life is apparently still far from perfect.
O'Neal gives an unvarnished, unromanticized look at Hollywood and the life of a child star, especially one who was forced to grow up before she was emotionally ready to. Stars such as Melanie Griffith (a fling of her father's) and Michael Jackson (back when he looked human) show up in the pages briefly during her adolescent years, and O'Neal pulls no punches.
Unfortunately, "A Paper Life" isn't quite an autobiography. It feels more like eavesdropping on a private therapy session; a catharsis on paper. That focus on the negative is certainly understandable -- O'Neal was an abused child, a neglected one who searched for parental figures. Her life was undoubtedly rotten for a long time.
There's nothing wrong with revealing that side, with all its phantom pain and blood, but after awhile it gets rather uncomfortable to read only the bad, never the good, and the intense focus that every fight or attack has. The only good experiences that Tatum relates are linked to the terrible ones, such as living temporarily with Cher because of her rotten home life.
"A Paper Life" brutally rips away the veils, revealing Tatum O'Neal's difficult life. But be forewarned: It's less an autobiography than a chronological therapy session.
|
|
|
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book, 19 Nov 2005
Tatum O'Neal's A Paper Life is void of fallicies and unnecessary words. We are told the story as it is and one cannot help but sympathise with her and all her ordeals. She sets the picture beautifully and she allows us into her world. What I particularly liked about this book, was how easy it was to read. Not much concentration is needed to understand what Tatum wants us to understand and acknowledge. She also spares us the irrelevant and sentimental details which so often cause distortion.A must-read book!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by John McEnroe
![Paper Moon [DVD] [1973] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513n-7pskyL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Ryan O'Neal
by Janice Dickinson
