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A review by ee_em_em_aye
The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo by F.G. Haghenbeck
4.0
Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954) has a devoted following and in recent years I’ve read a number of novels based on her life – The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo: A Novel by Mexican writer F. G. Haghenbeck is by far the most enjoyable.
The problem with dead people is that if you’re telling their story there’s not a lot of new material to work with so it can get a bit same-same. For example, while I quite enjoyed The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver I found the plot followed a little too faithfully to the movie Frida for my liking so there was nothing new.
A Love Letter from a Stray Moon by Jay Griffiths is billed as a poetic re-imagining of the life of Frida Kahlo and is certainly lyrical and passionate but left me wanting something with a bit more substance and a bit less reliance on shock value.
In all honesty I was swayed to buy this new re-imagining of Frida Kahlo’s life by the cover, which was designed by Lisa Congdon, a great illustrator and a recent discovery. (She blogged about the book cover)
Haghenbeck tells a compelling, lively and interesting version of Frida Kahlo’s life that picks up familiar occasions and characters but does it in a way that feels fresh and new. There is ground covered here that readers will also find in The Lacuna and A Love Letter from a Stray Moon but it’s ground that’s covered in greater detail, or with more believability than the other two ‘Frida books.’
The genesis of the story – and it’s a great and immediate hook – is the idea that a notebook of Frida’s recipes for the Day of the Dead, which was about to exhibited, has disappeared. The book expresses her passion for Día de Muertos celebrations and includes recipes and the stories associated with them – these recipies are included at the end of each chapter in a way some will find reminiscent of another Mexican-authored book, Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate.
The story features all the Frida highlights - her tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera, the development of her artistic vision, her complex personality, her lust for life and her existential feminism. Her early family life, her affairs with icons like Trotskyand O’Keeffe, her time in USA and life at her Mexican home La Casa Azul are all covered here – but in a context that gives Frida a true personality; in The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo she is more than just an angry woman or a painter strapped to a bed.
I read The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo on the train to and from work. Even if you know nothing about Frida Kahlo this is an interesting and enjoyable novel full of the heat and passion of life, love and food in Mexico. It is easy to get into and compelling enough that you can regularly return to it and quickly and easily pick up the story again.
Read this book if you love Frida Kahlo or just need a bit of daily inspiration.
P.S. Of all the Frida Kahlo books my favourite is definitely The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait (ISBN 9780810959545), which is the reproduction of Frida Kahlo’s diary. It’s well worth looking out if you’re keen to hear from the woman herself.
The problem with dead people is that if you’re telling their story there’s not a lot of new material to work with so it can get a bit same-same. For example, while I quite enjoyed The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver I found the plot followed a little too faithfully to the movie Frida for my liking so there was nothing new.
A Love Letter from a Stray Moon by Jay Griffiths is billed as a poetic re-imagining of the life of Frida Kahlo and is certainly lyrical and passionate but left me wanting something with a bit more substance and a bit less reliance on shock value.
In all honesty I was swayed to buy this new re-imagining of Frida Kahlo’s life by the cover, which was designed by Lisa Congdon, a great illustrator and a recent discovery. (She blogged about the book cover)
Haghenbeck tells a compelling, lively and interesting version of Frida Kahlo’s life that picks up familiar occasions and characters but does it in a way that feels fresh and new. There is ground covered here that readers will also find in The Lacuna and A Love Letter from a Stray Moon but it’s ground that’s covered in greater detail, or with more believability than the other two ‘Frida books.’
The genesis of the story – and it’s a great and immediate hook – is the idea that a notebook of Frida’s recipes for the Day of the Dead, which was about to exhibited, has disappeared. The book expresses her passion for Día de Muertos celebrations and includes recipes and the stories associated with them – these recipies are included at the end of each chapter in a way some will find reminiscent of another Mexican-authored book, Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate.
The story features all the Frida highlights - her tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera, the development of her artistic vision, her complex personality, her lust for life and her existential feminism. Her early family life, her affairs with icons like Trotskyand O’Keeffe, her time in USA and life at her Mexican home La Casa Azul are all covered here – but in a context that gives Frida a true personality; in The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo she is more than just an angry woman or a painter strapped to a bed.
I read The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo on the train to and from work. Even if you know nothing about Frida Kahlo this is an interesting and enjoyable novel full of the heat and passion of life, love and food in Mexico. It is easy to get into and compelling enough that you can regularly return to it and quickly and easily pick up the story again.
Read this book if you love Frida Kahlo or just need a bit of daily inspiration.
P.S. Of all the Frida Kahlo books my favourite is definitely The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait (ISBN 9780810959545), which is the reproduction of Frida Kahlo’s diary. It’s well worth looking out if you’re keen to hear from the woman herself.