Marlene: A Novel of Marlene Dietrich

There's something about the whole concept of fictional biography that makes me feel a little crawly. It's one thing to use a real person within a story of your own invention as Doctorow does in Ragtime, but quite another to attempt to write a biographical novel in which you mix established facts with fictionalized episodes. What does that even create? It's not reality, but not wholly fiction.Gortner relies heavily on relationships in his recounting of the life of Marlene Dietrich. Familial and sexual relationships dominate the story, and the latter often feels so prurient that it made me uncomfortable. Again, it's one thing to know a fact about someone's life, in this case that Dietrich led a very separate life from her husband Rudi Siebert, yet remained married to him until his death. It's quite another to be treated to sex scenes and pillow talk between celebrities.In spite of the accounting of Dietrich's relationships, I never got a feel for who she was. One would think... would hope anyway, that if you're going to fictionalize the life of a star, the account would bring that person vividly to life. But Gortner never manages to get very far into who Marlene Dietrich really is, even inside Gortner's own head. I know no more about his Dietrich than I know about how my neighbors feel about Mariah Carey, and frankly, by about page 300 I'd ceased to care.Marlene: A Novel is for people who want some kind of fantasy about Dietrich. That's fine, but it's not for me. Gortner gets two stars for creating a highly readable book if nothing else. And when you think about it, that's something of a triumph for someone writing in a genre this awkward.

I am not a writer, I can't put into words how much I loved this book, the life of Marlene Dietrich is a very fascinating book that I read in a day and a half, I didn't want to stop reading, I saw these people in so many movies and headlines over my life time, Christopher's writing was like reading about someone I knew, I was there, I could picture it all.Her life was not an easy life, but she made the most of it, she had affairs with most of her leading men and some women, she was married and had a daughter, it was not a conventional marriage by our standards, but it was her life and I loved that Christopher told it like it was, she was German and had a really deep hatred of Hitler, left Germany before war began and spent a lot of time entertaining American troops in some really nasty parts of the war..Wonderfully written like all of Christopher's books.

MARLENE is C.W. Gortner's best work to date. The story, which focuses on Marlene Dietrich's early life in Germany and Hollywood up to and through the end of World War II, is compellingly told and richly detailed, capturing both the spirit and personality of a legendary woman whose strong and complex personality defied convention. Gortner's Marlene leaps off the page, with impeccable voice and pacing. This isn't a novel for people seeking a whitewashed, G-rated version of Marlene Dietrich--but if you want a fast-paced read that draws you in and leaves you awestruck by the life and power of one of Hollywood's legends, this is a book you absolutely must read.

Check out the full review at Kritters RamblingsMy second C.W. Gortner epic read and I am officially a fan!This one centers around Marlene Dietrich who had such an epic life. From living in Germany and working in theater there to moving to Hollywood and living the ultimate Hollywood life and even to the USO tour and seeing the front lines of a war that involved her home country, she had an extraordinary life.Before reading this book, I knew very little of Marlene Dietrich, if anything! Before this book, I read her book on Chanel and I knew much more about her. I actually liked going into this book blind, it was fun to read a story and just enjoy it for the mix of fiction and non fiction that it was.

"I am at heart, a gentleman."Summary: A gripping story of a dynamo woman forging her own path way ahead of her time. She is a wild and strong original, and hailed as the ninth-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema. Historical biography based on all true people and events; I absolutely loved this book and wish I could have been friends with Marlene Dietrich! 8.5/10The good: I chose this book because I had read another book by this author (Mademoiselle Chanel) and loved it. I knew nothing about Marlene Dietrich going into it other than she had great legs. I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down and learned that this woman was so much more than a Hollywood star. It is well written with lots of character development throughout. I found myself researching and looking up lots of people and events to see how much of this book was true, and every character and event are all based on fact. Marlene is a strong woman, quite a character (loved that she wore her tuxedo and suits regularly), and a woman way ahead of her time. She is much more than a Hollywood star and my favorite part of the book was the ending when you learn all about what she did during WWII; volunteering at canteens, going on a war tour performing for troops, donating her salary to war efforts, helping refugees and more. She received the Medal of Freedom in November 1947, for her "extraordinary record entertaining troops overseas during the war." She also received the French Legion de'Honeur. I highly recommend this novel and have added another person to my list of "if you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive."The bad: The only real critic I have is that the ending came on abruptly. It would be nice if everything in this were fact, but the author admits that she was private and there were areas that were challenging to fill in the gaps. He does a great job though. Lastly, I wish it was longer because it was so good!

Really enjoyed this. Research is excellent.My Dad saw Marlene in France when she was entertaining troops. He admired her for doing this. As this is one of the few things he said apart from it was hard having to carry all your equipment while going ashore on chest high water. She must have impressed him

Inevitably when you award stars you base it on your feelings and how much you were engaged in the writing. It worked the author used narrative to bring Marlene to life and that is 2hat he has done. A thoroughly good read. I didn't want the book to end.

Brilliant!!!!

i have not read this yet but am really looking forward to it i really enjoyed gw gortners catherine de medicishirley cahill

Cracking read, couldn't put it down