Friday, May 22, 2009

WHAT REMAINS by Carole Radziwill


A summary:

What Remains is a vivid and haunting memoir about a girl from a working-class town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill. Carole grew up in a small suburb with a large, eccentric cast of characters. At nineteen, she struck out for New York City to find a different life. Her career at ABC News led her to the refugee camps of Cambodia, to a bunker in Tel Aviv, and to the scene of the Menendez murders. Her marriage led her into the old world of European nobility and the newer world of American aristocracy.

What Remains begins with loss and returns to loss. A small plane plunges into the ocean carrying John F. Kennedy Jr., Anthony's cousin, and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Carole's closest friend. Three weeks later Anthony dies of cancer. With unflinching honesty and a journalist's keen eye, Carole Radziwill explores the enduring ties of family, the complexities of marriage, the importance of friendship, and the challenges of self-invention.

MY opinion:

She seems to want to pull you in by milking her relationship with the Famous John and Carolyn Kennedy...so the beginning of the book is a little odd and doesn't lead into the history of her own life us a lower-class New Yorker very well, BUT her descriptions of living through cancer and learning how to be a part of a Royal family...this was better. I read it in a week, which is good for me, so it was worth the read for sure. I'd be curious to see if she could write something else. Sad story, really.

*** out of *****

1 comment:

Janet said...

Sounds good. I'll look for it at the library. Enjoyed your recent pics - gave me a cravin' for some laaaabsta!