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  • Just Kids

  • By: Patti Smith
  • Narrated by: Patti Smith
  • Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (5,088 ratings)

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Just Kids

By: Patti Smith
Narrated by: Patti Smith
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Editorial reviews

In 1989, just before famously controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe died too young of AIDS complications at age 42, he made his very best friend promise to tell their story. Patti Smith took many years to do it, but the incredible result, Just Kids has proven well worth the wait. Winner of the National Book Award, Smith's delicate tribute to her relationship with Mapplethorpe and their love affair with New York City is read by Patti Smith herself.

No one else could narrate this, and no one else could have written this. After Smith ditched college to move to New York in 1967, a chance encounter in which Mapplethorpe saved her from an expectant date by pretending to be her angry boyfriend touched off one of the most historic artistic partnerships the city had ever seen. Embarking at first as lovers, they clung to their art and each other through poverty and misfortune in the late-60s, moving steadily closer to the center of cultural influence in the 70s. Mapplethorpe struggled with coming out of the closet and Smith struggled to find an artistic medium that suited her best. Together, they swam through everything that made New York great and terrible, each eventually emerging as a pioneering independent spirit that to this day knows no equal.

Smith's voice as both the writer and the narrator is simply unimpeachable. Reflective and soft-spoken, she humbly attempts to capture two decades of this inspirational partnership. Listeners can tell she is thinking through every image she has written here, pausing occasionally to let it sink in for herself or to let the dialogue get caught in her throat. By turns haunted and poetic, by turns silly and sarcastic, Smith trips along these enchanting bits of history in a way that is utterly endearing. It's not at all like inviting somebody famous to entertain you with gossip at dinner. Real respect must be paid. Listeners will be in awe of the fact that Patti Smith comes across as a totally normal person who stumbled into an extraordinary life. Even if you've already passed totally engrossed through the hard copy of this book, to hear it from Patti Smith's own mouth is simply an otherworldly experience. This audiobook is an essential companion to the text that will not only bear repeated listening, but will beg for it. Megan Volpert

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)

Featured Article: The 20 Best Audiobooks Read by the Author


There’s an undeniable authenticity in a listen that’s told by the very person who penned it. From iconic memoirs to far-out fantasies, these immersive audio performances are uniquely genuine, all performed in the author’s own voice. If you want to experience how special it can be to listen to a narrative exactly the way it was intended, check out our list of the 20 best audiobooks read by their authors.

What listeners say about Just Kids

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A beautiful account of the complexities of relationships

I loved this book. Patti Smith tells the honest story of love, friendship, art, and navigating life. I loved it from start to finish.

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Had me hooked in about 5 minutes.

What did you love best about Just Kids?

Until listening to Patti Smith, I preferred the professional readers. I felt like I got to know her as a child, young adult and mature woman as I listened to her.

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Loved this book

I loved Patti’s story, I found it so moving, Her “truck driver” voice (audiobook) transformed in my mind to a beautiful song as I fell in love with PAtti and robert. Patti seems so trusting and honest in her delivery of their story, I want to call her, I want her to be my friend. I want to know more of this genuine human. Loved this book. Thank you Patti.

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wonderful

I loved this book. it was so moving and a great walk down memory lane.

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if I could give it 10 stars I would

Beautifully written and beautifully narrated. Changed my life. I don't want to write too much and do it a disservice- just listen to it 💜

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Young and pure

Yes. This is one of the best. A living connection to a past purity, an artistic purity and inspiring idealism with real tenderness. Thank you Patti Smith and Robert

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5 Star, so tender and touching!!!

Dear, Patti. I just finished Just Kids. I want to thank you for allowing me to get to know you and Robert in such a sweet and deeply personal way. Your words are so raw and vulnerable. I think Robert would be so very proud of you!!

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Blown away

I have listened to some extraordinary books, both fiction and nonfiction, over the years. Until now, I have never reached a point where the book ends and I cannot wait to listen to it all over again. Patti Smith‘s daft hand and poetic mind make this experience of being just kids invaluable.

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Very interesting

I was amazed by this story - I’d seen some of Robert maplethorpes work at the Whitney years ago and to hear his story was amazing and even more amazing Patti Smiths story too and how they intertwined. Patti is a poet and artist and I loved hearing the story in her voice. The story was honest ,interesting and informative - well written and well read.

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Captivating

Patti Smith is an enchanting story teller, inspiring us with the stories of her life shared with Robert Mapplethorp. A gem.

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