Synopses & Reviews
Anjelica Hustonand#8217;s and#8220;gorgeously writtenand#8221; (andlt;I andgt;O, The Oprah Magazineandlt;/Iandgt;) memoir is and#8220;an elegant, funny, and frequently haunting reminiscence of the first two decades of her lifeand#8230;A classicand#8221; (andlt;Iandgt;Vanity Fairandlt;/Iandgt;).andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;In her first, dazzling memoir, Anjelica Huston shares the story of her deeply unconventional early lifeand#8212;her enchanted childhood in Ireland, living with her glamorous and artistic mother, educated by tutors and nuns, intrepid on a horse. Huston was raised on an Irish estate to whichand#8212;between moviesand#8212;her father, director John Huston, brought his array of extraordinary friends, from Carson McCullers and John Steinbeck to Peter Oand#8217;Toole and Marlon Brando.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;In London, where she lived with her mother and brother in the early sixties when her parents separated, Huston encountered the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac. She understudied Marianne Faithfull in andlt;Iandgt;Hamletandlt;/Iandgt;. Seventeen, striking, precocious, but still young and vulnerable, she was devastated when her mother died in a car crash. Months later she moved to New York, fell in love with the much older, brilliant but disturbed photographer, Bob Richardson, and became a model. Living in the Chelsea Hotel, working with Richard Avedon and other photographers, she navigated a volatile relationship and the dynamic cultural epicenter of New York in the seventies.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;A Story Lately Toldandlt;/Iandgt; is an and#8220;evocativeand#8221; (andlt;Iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt;), and#8220;magically beautifuland#8221; (andlt;Iandgt;The Boston Globeandlt;/Iandgt;) memoir. Hustonand#8217;s second memoir, andlt;Iandgt;Watch Meandlt;/Iandgt;, will be published in November 2014.
Review
and#8220;[An] elegy for a vanished world, [andlt;i andgt;A Story Lately Toldandlt;/iandgt;] becomes a seductive social history of the 1960sand#8212;and the story of [Hustonand#8217;s] fractious separation from an indomitable father and grief for the loss of the mother who was the ballast of her life.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Impressively written in a style that is as graceful and natural as breathing and as observant as that by a and#8216;born writer.and#8217;and#8230;[Huston] comes of age surrounded by talent, pot, fame and photographers, and tells her tale with unexpected distinction.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Hustonand#8217;s privileged childhood is described with great texture. The enormous estate in Ireland where her family lived is a rambling, magical place. The names that are dropped in this book donand#8217;t constitute name-dropping, but are simply the names that populated her childhoodand#8230;[Huston] is a smart and subtle enough writer not to aim for a pop diagnosis, but instead, once again, [goes] for something truer, deeper and richerand#8230;[A] stirring memoir.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Anjelica Huston grew up in what sounds a fairy taleand#8212;magically beautiful, yet tinged with loss, sadness, and monsters.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;andlt;i andgt;A Story Lately Toldandlt;/iandgt; proves that Huston is a third-generation storyteller. As she chronicles her earliest memories through age 22, she echoes the rhythms and structures of novels like andlt;i andgt;Portrait of the Artist as a Young Manandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;i andgt;What Maisie Knewandlt;/iandgt;, focusing on surface sensations of youth while implying profound internal changes.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Anjelica Huston has lived a big, colorful lifeand#8212;big and colorful enough to fill two volumes of an autobiographyand#8230;Huston has a way with a descriptive phrase, and itand#8217;s on display in andlt;i andgt;A Story Lately Toldandlt;/iandgt;.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;[Hustonand#8217;s] lovely, novelistic writing carries the bookand#8230;.As a storyteller, sheand#8217;s having more fun than a monkey in a lingerie drawer.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Evocative.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;An elegant, funny, and frequently haunting reminiscence of the first two decades of her lifeand#8230;A classic.and#8221;
Synopsis
Anjelica Huston's "gorgeously written" (O, The Oprah Magazine) memoir is "an elegant, funny, and frequently haunting reminiscence of the first two decades of her life...A classic" (Vanity Fair).
In her first, dazzling memoir, Anjelica Huston shares the story of her deeply unconventional early life--her enchanted childhood in Ireland, living with her glamorous and artistic mother, educated by tutors and nuns, intrepid on a horse. Huston was raised on an Irish estate to which--between movies--her father, director John Huston, brought his array of extraordinary friends, from Carson McCullers and John Steinbeck to Peter O'Toole and Marlon Brando.
In London, where she lived with her mother and brother in the early sixties when her parents separated, Huston encountered the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac. She understudied Marianne Faithfull in Hamlet. Seventeen, striking, precocious, but still young and vulnerable, she was devastated when her mother died in a car crash. Months later she moved to New York, fell in love with the much older, brilliant but disturbed photographer, Bob Richardson, and became a model. Living in the Chelsea Hotel, working with Richard Avedon and other photographers, she navigated a volatile relationship and the dynamic cultural epicenter of New York in the seventies.
A Story Lately Told is an "evocative" (The New York Times), "magically beautiful" (The Boston Globe) memoir. Huston's second memoir, Watch Me, will be published in November 2014.
About the Author
Academy Award-winning actress and director Anjelica Huston has received honors from the National Society of Film Critics;andnbsp;the Independent Spirit Awards; and the Golden Globe Awards; as well as multiple Oscar, BAFTA, and Emmy awards or nominations. Huston most recently starredandnbsp;on the hit TV showandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;Smash.andlt;/iandgt; She is the author of the memoirs andlt;i andgt;A Story Lately Toldandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;i andgt;Watch Meandlt;/iandgt;.Academy Award-winning actress and director Anjelica Huston has received honors from the National Society of Film Critics;andnbsp;the Independent Spirit Awards; and the Golden Globe Awards; as well as multiple Oscar, BAFTA, and Emmy awards or nominations. Huston most recently starredandnbsp;on the hit TV showandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;Smash.andlt;/iandgt; She is the author of the memoirs andlt;i andgt;A Story Lately Toldandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;i andgt;Watch Meandlt;/iandgt;.