Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein
Summary (from the publisher): The oldest daughter of revered composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein offers a rare look at her father on the centennial of his birth in a deeply intimate and broadly evocative memoir.
The composer of On the Town and West Side Story, chief conductor of the New York Philharmonic, television star, humanitarian, friend of the powerful and influential, and the life of every party, Leonard Bernstein was an enormous celebrity during one of the headiest periods of American cultural life, as well as the most protean musician in twentieth century America.
But to his eldest daughter, Jamie, he was above all the man in the scratchy brown bathrobe who smelled of cigarettes; the jokester and compulsive teacher who enthused about Beethoven and the Beatles; the insomniac whose 4 a.m. composing breaks involved spooning baby food out of the jar. He taught his daughter to love the world in all its beauty and complexity. In public and private, Lenny was larger than life.
In Famous Father Girl, Bernstein mines the emotional depths of her childhood and invites us into her family’s private world. A fantastic set of characters populates the Bernsteins’ lives, including: the Kennedys, Mike Nichols, John Lennon, Richard Avedon, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, and Betty (Lauren) Bacall.
An intoxicating tale, Famous Father Girl is an intimate meditation on a complex and sometimes troubled man, the family he raised, and the music he composed that became the soundtrack to their entwined lives. Deeply moving and often hilarious, Bernstein’s beautifully written memoir is a great American story about one of the greatest Americans of the modern age.
The composer of On the Town and West Side Story, chief conductor of the New York Philharmonic, television star, humanitarian, friend of the powerful and influential, and the life of every party, Leonard Bernstein was an enormous celebrity during one of the headiest periods of American cultural life, as well as the most protean musician in twentieth century America.
But to his eldest daughter, Jamie, he was above all the man in the scratchy brown bathrobe who smelled of cigarettes; the jokester and compulsive teacher who enthused about Beethoven and the Beatles; the insomniac whose 4 a.m. composing breaks involved spooning baby food out of the jar. He taught his daughter to love the world in all its beauty and complexity. In public and private, Lenny was larger than life.
In Famous Father Girl, Bernstein mines the emotional depths of her childhood and invites us into her family’s private world. A fantastic set of characters populates the Bernsteins’ lives, including: the Kennedys, Mike Nichols, John Lennon, Richard Avedon, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, and Betty (Lauren) Bacall.
An intoxicating tale, Famous Father Girl is an intimate meditation on a complex and sometimes troubled man, the family he raised, and the music he composed that became the soundtrack to their entwined lives. Deeply moving and often hilarious, Bernstein’s beautifully written memoir is a great American story about one of the greatest Americans of the modern age.
Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this memoir from HarperCollins.
Author Jamie Bernstein is the oldest daughter of renown composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. In this memoir, she tells the story of her childhood and early adult life, all of which are heavily dominated by the charisma and large personality of her famous father. Jamie and her younger siblings Alexander and Nina were raised by her parents largely in New York City. Her father's fame and connections meant that they regularly interacted with famous individuals including the Kennedys and John Lennon. Although their father traveled frequently for work, he was a hands-on and loving father and an eternal teacher when he was around. All three of his children were heavily influenced by his love of music and approach to life.
"In my mind's eye, my father is always in a scruffy brown wool bathrobe; my cheek still prickles at the memory of his scratchy morning hugs. He was frequently away on conducting tours, often for weeks at a time; we never felt we got enough of him" (11). The great takeaway from Jamie's tale is both the larger than life aspect of her father's personality but also her own lifelong devotion to him. Although as a young adult she was sometimes resentful of his constant intrusion and shadow over her life, ultimately she is grateful: "Daddy himself was the greatest passport of all" (345). Indeed, the title itself captures this theme of how much the family was overshadowed by Leonard, as Jamie was nicknamed "famous father girl" by friends in second grade (44). Jamie's mother Felicia fades into the background of this novel just as she did in life when compared to the grand persona of the maestro.
This was an entertaining coming of age tale with the added bonus of featuring several famous individuals, apartments overlooking Central Park, and large country homes. I appreciated Jamie's candid discussion of her family's joys and heartaches and liked that the book concluded with a discussion of her father's legacy and memory in the years after his death.
Stars: 4
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