Review by Eliezar -- Barbra Streisand: On the Couch
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Eliezar
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Review by Eliezar -- Barbra Streisand: On the Couch
[Following is a volunteer review of "Barbra Streisand: On the Couch" by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D..]
3 out of 4 stars
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Barbra Streisand: On the Couch. By Alma H. Bond. Ph.D.
Classic! Streisand’s biography put as a first person narrative in this historical non-fiction psychoanalytic novel, Dr. Bond deserves some applause.
Bond portrays Barbra Streisand as a normal day-to-day human being and not Barbra Streisand, the celebrity (that we all know from a distance). She shares her love, pain, loss, grief and especially thoughts and then we all see that she is a woman whom life has dealt with, given so many blows but is still standing strong.
This book is about Streisand’s rise to fame, spurred by her Father’s (never-to-be) accomplishments to which she fully accomplished on behalf of her loving Dad. Being not so caring, her mother was not so accommodating and was avoidably unavailable. Her dealings with different kinds of people in the while growing up, young and old colleagues, godfathers and the likes in the Movie industry made her vulnerable. It is a story of love, hurt, anxiety, anger… and Fame (with all its ills).
Coping with a gay son that is HIV positive, in a not so friendly society and, on the other hand, the Media. This story details Streisand’s life; her childhood, adolescence, adulthood, her entanglements… loves and hates, her relationships, betrayals, separations, disappointments and the theatre.
All as captured by a Psychoanalyst, Dr. Dale Darcy.
The Character is strong-willed and blunt as described in her own words, “I have a quick temper… as a ‘power-crazed castrator’.” Her choice of words is witty and funny as her accent is described, “…heavy Brooklyn accent, projecting her words forward toward the front of her mouth, almost like a slight open-mouthed pucker. She spoke in a fast New Yorkish way, using Brooklyn inflections and spare Consonants.”
When asked who she was, she did not hesitate to state out her weaknesses, “I’m a person of contradictions,”… “I’m scared and I’m strong. I’m supposed to be a magnificent, powerful woman, but I’m too terrified to get on a train by myself… the real Barbra Streisand is scared or overwhelmed by lots of things…,”.
This book portrays how a normal life is lived, you win some and lose some (not all is balanced), learn to accept all situations in good fate for a healthier, happier life.
Language is very clear, convincing and straight. The clear-cut story line makes it captivating and very real. The style is very informal and quite comfortable for every attentive audience to understand.
The idea of using characters and their real names is spot on. It gives the opportunity to quickly check their faces and accomplishments through the net and (perhaps) check out the work being described in the exact period stated in the book. One gets to check the closeness between the character and Streisand and their relationship over the years. One gets to know the actual characters and attitude.
These same characters, some having really good stances and others, not so good (that is life) make the story real, filled with true-life events and experiences as told by Barbra Streisand through the eyes of a Psychoanalyst.
Barbra Streisand, being a lovable woman gives the author’s description total credibility.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
Reason: There exists some very avoidable errors, misspellings, punctuation marks, etc., where unnecessary. Here are some samples;
Pg. 6. “…, and I was in a hurray to get home…”
Pg8. “She has a way of stroking…with long, pale, spiky, fingers, as if she were soothing a crying child.”
Pg. 23. “I felt so bad that I had to send the session…”
Pg. 26. “…, and had no patience with a prepubescient boy…”
Pg. 150. ““Ryan had…, which is probably why we got a long so well….”
There are more samples. This shows that the book (or perhaps the pdf format downloaded) was not thoroughly edited.
******
Barbra Streisand: On the Couch
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Eliezar's review? Post a comment saying so!
3 out of 4 stars
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Barbra Streisand: On the Couch. By Alma H. Bond. Ph.D.
Classic! Streisand’s biography put as a first person narrative in this historical non-fiction psychoanalytic novel, Dr. Bond deserves some applause.
Bond portrays Barbra Streisand as a normal day-to-day human being and not Barbra Streisand, the celebrity (that we all know from a distance). She shares her love, pain, loss, grief and especially thoughts and then we all see that she is a woman whom life has dealt with, given so many blows but is still standing strong.
This book is about Streisand’s rise to fame, spurred by her Father’s (never-to-be) accomplishments to which she fully accomplished on behalf of her loving Dad. Being not so caring, her mother was not so accommodating and was avoidably unavailable. Her dealings with different kinds of people in the while growing up, young and old colleagues, godfathers and the likes in the Movie industry made her vulnerable. It is a story of love, hurt, anxiety, anger… and Fame (with all its ills).
Coping with a gay son that is HIV positive, in a not so friendly society and, on the other hand, the Media. This story details Streisand’s life; her childhood, adolescence, adulthood, her entanglements… loves and hates, her relationships, betrayals, separations, disappointments and the theatre.
All as captured by a Psychoanalyst, Dr. Dale Darcy.
The Character is strong-willed and blunt as described in her own words, “I have a quick temper… as a ‘power-crazed castrator’.” Her choice of words is witty and funny as her accent is described, “…heavy Brooklyn accent, projecting her words forward toward the front of her mouth, almost like a slight open-mouthed pucker. She spoke in a fast New Yorkish way, using Brooklyn inflections and spare Consonants.”
When asked who she was, she did not hesitate to state out her weaknesses, “I’m a person of contradictions,”… “I’m scared and I’m strong. I’m supposed to be a magnificent, powerful woman, but I’m too terrified to get on a train by myself… the real Barbra Streisand is scared or overwhelmed by lots of things…,”.
This book portrays how a normal life is lived, you win some and lose some (not all is balanced), learn to accept all situations in good fate for a healthier, happier life.
Language is very clear, convincing and straight. The clear-cut story line makes it captivating and very real. The style is very informal and quite comfortable for every attentive audience to understand.
The idea of using characters and their real names is spot on. It gives the opportunity to quickly check their faces and accomplishments through the net and (perhaps) check out the work being described in the exact period stated in the book. One gets to check the closeness between the character and Streisand and their relationship over the years. One gets to know the actual characters and attitude.
These same characters, some having really good stances and others, not so good (that is life) make the story real, filled with true-life events and experiences as told by Barbra Streisand through the eyes of a Psychoanalyst.
Barbra Streisand, being a lovable woman gives the author’s description total credibility.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
Reason: There exists some very avoidable errors, misspellings, punctuation marks, etc., where unnecessary. Here are some samples;
Pg. 6. “…, and I was in a hurray to get home…”
Pg8. “She has a way of stroking…with long, pale, spiky, fingers, as if she were soothing a crying child.”
Pg. 23. “I felt so bad that I had to send the session…”
Pg. 26. “…, and had no patience with a prepubescient boy…”
Pg. 150. ““Ryan had…, which is probably why we got a long so well….”
There are more samples. This shows that the book (or perhaps the pdf format downloaded) was not thoroughly edited.
******
Barbra Streisand: On the Couch
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Eliezar's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Pancake Money by Finn Bell
