Just Kids

By: Patti Smith

Narrated by: Patti Smith

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Award, Nonfiction, 2010

It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation.

Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to 42nd Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max's Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a community of the famous and infamous - the influential artists of the day and the colorful fringe. It was a time of heightened awareness, when the worlds of poetry, rock and roll, art, and sexual politics were colliding and exploding. In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years.

Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late 60s and 70s and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists' ascent, a prelude to fame.

©2010 Patti Smith (P)2011 Patti Smith

Critic reviews

“Smith’s beautifully crafted love letter to her friend Robert Mapplethorpe functions as a memento mori of a relationship fueled by passion for art and writing. Her elegant eulogy lays bare the chaos and the creativity so embedded in that earlier time and in Mapplethorpe’s life and work.” ( Publishers Weekly, Top Ten Books of the Year)

“The most enchantingly evocative memoir of funky-but-chic New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s that any alumnus has yet committed to print.” (Janet Maslin's top 10 books of 2010, New York Times)

“Reading rocker Smith’s account of her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, it’s hard not to believe in fate. How else to explain the chance encounter that threw them together, allowing both to blossom? Quirky and spellbinding.” ( People, Top 10 Books of 2010)

For creative people this is a must read!

This was an unbelievably and unabashedly upfront look into the life of a multi talented artist who put everything on the line to do art without seeking recognition. I walk away inspired by all of the great poet and musicians who inspired her and I see her original body of work as not derivative of any source. this is the ultimate goal of any artist. To be inspired and lifted up by those who came before and to add to the infinite catalog what the human heart is capable of.

Remarkable

I'm 11 years younger than Patti. This book confirms what I already knew - I was born 10 years too late. A New Yorker by birth, I happily envisioned all the places she described so lovingly. Thank you, Patti, for bringing Robert back to us.

Beautiful

One of the best books I've ever read about friendship. At times I thought there was too much name dropping, but by the end I was sold. Pure magic.

A Must Read (Listen) Book

You just need to read this. Truly, truly a poignant reflection of the intertwined lives of two people that represent the tumult and freedom and beauty and sorrow of a generation.

Sample first -- but hauntingly beautiful regardless

Patti Smith's memoir is as special as everyone told me it was. This was the first time that I listened to an audio book, and I would advise sampling before getting this one. For all the poetic detail and manifold colors of her writing, her narration has a monotone cast that occasionally undermined my enjoyment. Her pronunciation of certain words made me wince, such as "drawing" as "draw-wing." I hate to carp, but it's a gorgeously written and powerful book that deserves widest circulation, a portrayal of an artist's life and her intimate relationship with another singular but much more controversial artist, photographer Robert Maplethorpe.

The most depressing book I have read in a long tim

What made the experience of listening to Just Kids the most enjoyable?

but I could not put it down.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I had no favorite characters. It was gloomy at first and then became sad.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I guess it was best the Patty read it herself because she conveyed exactly what she meant.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I simply could not wait for it to end but I did not want to abandon it either.

Moving story

I highly recommend this audiobook, read by Patti Smith. It’s a beautiful and touching story of her soul connection with Robert Maplethorpe.

Wonderful audio book

I read the print version several years ago and enjoyed it. The audio read by Patti is even better. I feel like I know her now.

An extraordinary love story

This is such a great book! I loved every single second of it. Patti Smith is a brilliant writer and I was really touched by the breath and depth of the love and respect between her and Robert. It's truly a remarkable story that is beautifully written from a perspective of pure love. The narration was too slow for every environment, but being able to hear Patti Smith read her own poetic words is an excellent reason to lay in a hammock and allow yourself to be transported.

Took some time to get into it, but worth it

Patti reads a bit monotone, but certainly by the time she and Robert are living at the Chelsea Hotel, it is a fascinating story that I enjoyed tremendously.

Helps to be roughly her age and get the references and people.

She is a remarkable, talented intellectual and enigmatic person.

Enjoyed the book tremendously