Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette Book

This is an excellent, if slightly unusual biography - Colette herself was highly unusual, of course, and this is one of the few biographies I've read where the subject triumphs. I mean, yes, yes, that's partly my own sympathies speaking up, isn't it: when you mostly read biographies of artists (especially writers and movie stars? riiiight) and politicians (especially Alexander Hamilton and T.E. Lawrence? riiiiight), then an overall sense of failure is going to crop up. But Secrets of the Flesh is the life of a woman who did what she wanted and got away with it. That's not a story we often get to hear - although actually, Colette's life introduces us to several more of that kind of woman, Natalie Barney especially (perhaps also Marguerite Moreno, though I only got a sketchy picture of her life and unlike Barney's it is more difficult to figure out from ... Google).

Thurman's book is incredibly enjoyable, insightful, and beautifully written. It has, though, an unusual and potentially off-putting quality, which is that Thurman is herself a palpable presence. I think Terry Castle's review pointed out that Colette's personality is such that it could easily overwhelm a biographer - which is spot on. And if writing about Colette is going to be a wrestling match anyway, why deny your presence in the ring? It's not that Thurman inserts any odd memoir-ish "my life with Colette" passages, if that's what you're worried about, but she has a definite narrative role, making you very aware of what she is doing, and where she is going. I really liked this part of Secrets of the Flesh, though I realize it might distress people with stricter standards of academic purity than I have got.