Kirkus Review
A chronicle of a close friendship that might seem unlikely on the surface.Early on, Simon (Boys in the Trees, 2015) writes that "no one is more interested in famous people than other famous people," so perhaps the most avid readership for this thin memoir will be famous people who want to read about famous people writing about even more famous people. Simon and Jackie (no last name necessary) would seem to inhabit different circles of fame, but here they seem equally at home in each other's worlds. The author and her subject were neighbors on Martha's Vineyard, and they worked together during Jackie's publishing career on a series of children's books. Yet what really brought them together was the friendship each had with director Mike Nichols. "Almost every woman I met during the 1980s was besotted with him.I'm not exaggerating when I say that Mike was the preliminary conduit to Jackie's and my friendship," writes the author, as she dishes on just how much and how often Nichols would turn the tables and ask her about Jackie. Little wonder, then, that there was a coolness between the woman he married, Diane Sawyer, and the women who thought about marrying himor settled for something less permanent. Jackie asked Simon to sing at her daughter's wedding, the two went out to the movies together (they avoided Oliver Stone's notorious JFK), and Jackie warned Simon about marrying her second husband, who turned out to be gay. The author suggests that some might find the two of them to be an odd couple and that she risks "ridicule or denouncement" in writing such a book. But there's a full-circle irony in how Jackie had long tried to persuade Simon to write a memoir; now she is the subject of her second.A behind-the-scenes glimpse at parties where the famous mingle with the famous. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Simon (Boys in the Trees) writes about her friendship with the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in this intimate memoir. The two women were neighbors on Martha's Vineyard and developed a close friendship after meeting at a party. Later, they worked together on a series of children's books written by Simon (Kennedy Onassis was an editor at Doubleday). The two bonded over reminiscences of mutual friends, especially film director Mike Nichols, whom both women were infatuated with. Simon weaves some amusing anecdotes into the narrative, such as a nightmarish formal dinner party given by Katherine Graham, who required the guests to face the center of the table and take turns giving their opinions on NAFTA. Simon's writing is rich and florid, and she is quite frank when writing about herself but carefully avoids revealing any gossip concerning Kennedy Onassis. However, she manages to convey a great deal about Kennedy Onassis's personality through the conversations they had (she obviously had very old-fashioned views about women and men and tried to convince Simon to leave her then husband, writer James Hart, because he didn't have a "real job"). Elizabeth McGovern narrates and captures the personalities of the speakers. VERDICT A revealing and captivating memoir that will appeal to fans of both women.--Phillip Oliver, formerly with Univ. of North Alabama, Florence
