A Freewheelin' Time

A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties

By: Suze Rotolo

Narrated by: Christina Delaine

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Suze Rotolo chronicles her coming of age in Greenwich Village during the 1960s and the early days of the folk music explosion, when Bob Dylan was finding his voice and she was his muse.

A shy girl from Queens, Suze was the daughter of Italian working-class communists, growing up at the dawn of the Cold War. It was the age of McCarthy, and Suze was an outsider in her neighborhood and at school. She found solace in poetry, art, and music - and in Greenwich Village, where she encountered like-minded and politically active friends. One hot July day in 1961, Suze met Bob Dylan, then a rising musician, at a concert at Riverside Church. She was 17, he was 20; they were both vibrant, curious, and inseparable. During the years they were together, Dylan transformed from an obscure folk singer into an uneasy spokesperson for a generation.

A Freewheelin' Time is a hopeful, intimate memoir of a vital movement at its most creative. It captures the excitement of youth, the heartbreak of young love, and the struggles for a brighter future in a time when everything seemed possible.

©2008 Suze Rotolo (P)2020 Tantor

An introverted artist's tale...

...of being adjacent to genius. Suze's story feels true, even if some of the details seem a little off: this is a personal history, and she tells it like she remembers it, not worried about tarnishing Dylan's reputation with her avowals of his less-than-perfect behavior. She is a sensitive person, and it shows in her writing, which relates her enthusiasm for art and music long before she meets Bob at age 17 (he is 20). Her life as a "red diaper baby" and developing artist in Greenwich Village is poignant on its own. Also interesting apart from Dylan is Suze's travel ban trips to Cuba in 1965ish.

There are probably better titles if you're looking for a deep dive into Dylan's early development, but Suze's story presents him as her first serious romance, and both of them act in very relatable, human ways.

Where’s Bob Dylan ?

Mostly enjoyed the book, Somewhat interesting to hear about her adventures Greenwhich village in the 60d although already familiar with that period. . She does sound like a special and very nice person. However, she is sparse on details of her relationship with Bob Dyaln, what he was like , his personality, some insight into his being that she must’ve seen after all her years with him. I mean she goes deep about everything else. Maybe she was protecting him. But disappointed it is mostly her memoirs of her life back then that included him occasionally but with little focus on him. That’s ok but contradictory since she has that album cover of them together implying it’s a lot about him and their relationship. Probably done for sales to lure readers to buy the book to hear about Dylan which she doesn’t deliver. Sorry for her passing and condolences to her family and friends.

An extraordinary woman sheds light on her time, and Dylan

Suze Rotolo’s story of making her way from age 17 to 23 in the Greenwich Village of the early 60s is above all, inspiring as a beacon of how a strong young woman navigated her way through an era that didn’t support strong women. It’s no surprise Dylan found her irresistible, and yes, as a huge Dylan fan, I loved the insights into his character at the dawn of his career. The narrator seems to channel Suze’s vibe. I wish I could have known her, and Dylan was lucky that he did. She broke it off because she couldn’t live with the insanity and loss of privacy that accompanied his life of superstardom, but she bears full witness to his genius (and faults, though never harshly). I’m so glad for her that she made such wise choices and created such a fulfilling life for herself (though the book doesn’t extend into her life beyond the 60s). Well done! Life well and fully lived, on her own terms.

A dull list of people

The point of this book seems to be listing all of the famous people the author has met. That makes it as dull as an inventory of coal fired power plant parts. Yawn.