Carole Radziwill's Fortunate Journey: JFK Jr's Confidant, Wife of a Prince, Friend of Carolyn Bessette
Written: Mar 11 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Interesting and down-to-earth approach to the memoir
Cons: Slow in the middle, ending could use a few more chapters
The Bottom Line: An interesting memoir to read, available in paperback.
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| RcknRbn3's Full Review: |
What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love, is the story of Carole Radziwill's journey to becoming the wife of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin, Anthony Radziwill. Readers expecting a tell-all version of life with the young Kennedys will be disappointed. This memoir is as down-to-earth as the author.
This is a memoir about growing up in Suffern, New York, with wild summers in the 1970's spent with relatives in Kingston, and how Carole Radziwill grew up to become a journalist at ABC News, and the wife of a man whose best man at the wedding was John F. Kennedy Jr. The first part of the book is dedicated to describing Carole's childhood and formative years.
Themes of love, friendship, tragedy, and loss are central to the book. Carole Radziwill writes about the struggles and everyday experiences of being the wife of Jackie O's nephew. The Radziwill's lives are filled with trips to doctor's offices, surgeries, and a battle with cancer, however, soon affter they are married. Anthony's fight against cancer is described year, by, year, as Carole Radziwill writes about their journey from diagnosis to the final days.
Intertwined in this memoir is Carole's friendship with Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, beginning when John Kennedy first began to date her. Carole and Carolyn become fast friends, sharing the joys and burdens of being the women in the lives of a Polish prince and the Prince of Camelot.
This book could easily be about a brave five year battle with cancer. It could also be the story of how an ordinary girl grows up to become one of Carolyn and John's best friends. Carole Radziwill's memoir is all of those things, and more. The last part of the book highlights the sudden tragedy of Carolyn and John's tragic flight on July 16, 1999.
There are 404 pages in the book, but I managed to read it in one night. There were parts where the book seemed to stall, but the ending picked up the pace and left me wondering what happened next. If I had one critique it would be the sudden ending. Though predictable, I wanted to know more details at the end of the book.
The most refreshing aspect of the book was how Carole Radziwill managed to show a personal, human side to the larger-than-life Kennedy descendants, and the paparazzi favorite, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Radziwill tells her own story with emotion, making this a book that readers will enjoy for many different reasons.
Recommended:
Yes
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RcknRbn3
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Robin
Location: Western New York
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