Christie Brinkley's UPTOWN GIRL-the Beauty Bares All

Christie Brinkley's daughter, Alex, with her ex-Billy Joel, said to her mom after reading UPTOWN GIRL, "You really spilled the beans." Brinkley asked her what that means and Alexa told her, "You know mom, you really told it all."  Brinkley does share your life's story from a young girl with a father who used harsh corporal punishment on her and her brother and then gave up paternity rights to her mother and step-father who became her beloved father. Four marriages that ended in divorce although she maintained "I never wanted to end things with Billy." She faults his drinking and feeling abandoned while Joel toured and "the worst kind of loneliness because you just can't make it work together." Brinkley's first marriage was to a young French man she met in Paris where she went to study art before she was 20. She was discovered by a photographer in the city which was the catalysis to a rapid rise in the modeling world. "Modeling was never in my plan. Never." Her fourth marriage to Peter Cook was sensationalized in their divorce proceedings revealing his illicit affair with an 18-year old. There's the harrowing helicopter crash that she and the other passengers miraculously survived. She spilled the beans about having made love to Taubman, her 3rd short lived marriage while he was in his hospital bed following the crash, their short lived marriage and the birth of her son, Jack. Taubman signed sole paternity over to Brinkley for a payout all at his request. Through everything Brinkley writes in a style that feels honest and direct. Her decades as a COVER GIRL and swimsuit model always presented a happy, smiling and of course, beautiful face. There's much more to the surface with Brinkley than just an exceptionally pretty face and I found myself admiring her for her confidence without conceit, her devotion to friends and family and her convictions. "Write you own script!" was her mainstay mantra that served her well. I found myself invested in getting to know Brinkley and relating to her as a career woman, wife, mother, daughter and friend. I'm sorry I didn't catch her performing in "Chicago." But, I'm recommending UPTOWN GIRL for its depth into the life and character of a highly photographed woman whose inner beauty radiates through her setbacks and successes. It was an inspiring and compelling read from cover to cover. 

NIGHT WATCH-Skittish Civil War Novel on the Outskirts of VA Disappoints`

Jayneanne Phillips Civil War novel NIGHT WATCH won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction (2004) although I found it a disappointing melodrama. The novel blends historical fiction along with romance and psychological mystery that misses being engaging on all flanks. The story jumps between the last year of the Civil War to a decade later set in the mountains of W VA and within an insane asylum in Alexandria. The casualties of war are borne on the battlefronts as well as the home fronts for those left behind in its wake. The story is first set atop the highest ridges in western VA which sided with the Union. Here we meet Eliza and her young daughter, ConaLee and their closest  neighbor, Dearbhla. Learning how the three managed to sustain themselves was the most interesting part of the novel. This provided an insight into the difficulties endured by those left behind by loved ones who fought on the battlefields. There is a shroud of mystery regarding the man Dearbhla raised from infancy who enlists with the Union Army. The father to the infants Eliza gives birth to during the war and then turns over to nearby widows remains nebulous. In fact, the storytelling tended to be oblique and confusing. The isolation and stark existence noted was not without its joys and unity amongst Eliza, ConaLee and Dearbhla. However, their safety is destroyed by a straggler who finds their shelters. He demanded to be called Papa while he invaded their home and held them captive. Several years after the war and years of abuse, Eliza' withdrew into a catatonic state. "Papa" took everything of value from them and abandons Eliza and ConaLee outside the sanatorium in Alexandria. The historical asylum and physician are factual but this trajectory takes an insane plot turn that draws estranged parties into an unrealistic reunion that borders on ridiculous. The far superior novel COLD MOUNTAIN told an engrossing story of women managing on their land during the Civil War years. NIGHT WATCH was solely compelling when describing the scant existence during and just after the war. Although ambitious in broaching life inside the newly established Asylum, it made light of the conditions and treatments rendered. The Asylum was merely an ambush for a preposterous plot twist. NIGHT WATCH left the mountaintop too soon, spent too much time in the Asylum and the fatal encounter inside its walls was inane.  Why this won the Pulitzer is a mystery and travesty. Phillips missed the opportunity for writing historical fiction with relevancy.