Publisher's Weekly Review
This sympathetic biography, with its extensive bibliography and detailed notes, is a solid addition to the already vast library about the legendary star, even though Casillo (The Fame Game) produces no startlingly new insights. Applying present-day hindsight to Monroe's life, from her unstable upbringing to her death at 36, Casillo highlights the long-lasting damage from Monroe's childhood neglect and sexual abuse, and how it contributed to her later struggles with drugs, alcohol, and mental health issues. He also shows how often others, including the Kennedy brothers and her third husband, playwright Arthur Miller, sought to use the sex symbol for their own purposes, even as Monroe desperately pinned her hopes on these men and others to help her achieve personal and professional fulfillment. More than half a century later, the poor medical care Monroe received for her frequent bouts of suicidal depression and her inappropriate relationships with medical professionals-like many, dazzled by her fame and charisma-remain appalling. Casillo occasionally overreaches when applying modern expectations to a very different era, but he provides readers with a well-written examination of the mystique of a woman who still fascinates decades after her untimely death. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A deep dive into the model and screen legend's glamorous but troubled life.In the decades since Marilyn Monroe's (1926-1962) death, our fascination with her remains strong. Her allure has sparked the imaginations of talents ranging from Andy Warhol to Joyce Carol Oates to the producers of the TV series Smash, and she has been the subject of countless biographies. In his latest book, Casillo (The Marilyn Diaries, 2014, etc.) rehashes much family material about Monroe, but he pays particularly sympathetic attention to her emotional journey. Delving into the well-known narrative points, he begins with Monroe's unhappy and frequently abusive childhood. Dependent on a single mother who was suffering from severe mental health issues, she was frequently put into foster care and at one point abandoned in an orphanage. As Monroe blossomed into a stunningly attractive young woman, a modeling career quickly led to minor film roles and subsequent star turns in such 1950s classics as Gentleman Prefer Blondes and The Seven Year Itch. While developing into one of the most famous movie stars of her time, she increasingly struggled with deep insecurities and dependency on pills and alcohol. Her acting talent continued to expand, but by the early 1960s, her personal life was plummeting. Often feeling paralyzed by low self-esteem working in front of the camera, she often displayed erratic behavior that caused long delays on film sets. This accelerated during production of her last completed film, The Misfits, and influenced a fatal blow with her dismissal from the ill-fated Something's Got to Give. Casillo focuses a good portion of the book on Monroe's fragile emotional state in these remaining years. She had an obsessive fear of aging and losing her sexual appeal. While not offering much new information, the author thoughtfully re-examines the facts and myths surrounding the events leading to Monroe's death, touching on her affairs with both John and Robert Kennedy and her continued substance abuse problems. A compelling exploration of a beguiling film icon's lifea significant if not quite definitive addition to the ever expanding Monroe literature. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
There will never be a time when the world isn't fascinated by Marilyn Monroe. Her seductive beauty continues to transfix, her abbreviated but iconic movie career to delight, her fabled love life to bewitch. But as familiar as Monroe might seem, in reality, she remains an enigma: a crowd-pleasing loner, an erratic professional, a featherbrained businesswoman. Casillo explores the myriad facets of Monroe's personality with a respectful but incisive eye. Beginning with Monroe's illegitimate birth and impoverished childhood in and out of foster homes and orphanages, Casillo traces the deep roots of Monroe's essential feelings of inadequacy and longing for acceptance. Fame did nothing to alleviate these deficiencies as she became a pawn of the studio system and plaything for predatory lovers and erstwhile friends. There is a pervasive sadness in Casillo's intricately nuanced portrait of this misunderstood idol, a despondency borne of her ambition to be both loved and beloved, revered and respected. A worthy addition to the Monroe canon.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist
