Then Again

By: Diane Keaton

Narrated by: Diane Keaton

Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Janet Maslin, The New York Times • People • Vogue

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR —Financial Times • Chicago Sun-Times The Independent • Bookreporter The Sunday Business Post

Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it Scotch-taped on a pencil box she’d collaged. I even found a pamphlet titled THINK on her bedside table. Mom liked to THINK.

So begins Diane Keaton’s unforgettable memoir about her mother and herself. In it you will meet the woman known to tens of millions as Annie Hall, but you will also meet, and fall in love with, her mother, the loving, complicated, always-thinking Dorothy Hall. To write about herself, Diane realized she had to write about her mother, too, and how their bond came to define both their lives. In a remarkable act of creation, Diane not only reveals herself to us, she also lets us meet in intimate detail her mother. Over the course of her life, Dorothy kept eighty-five journals—literally thousands of pages—in which she wrote about her marriage, her children, and, most probingly, herself. Dorothy also recorded memorable stories about Diane’s grandparents. Diane has sorted through these pages to paint an unflinching portrait of her mother—a woman restless with intellectual and creative energy, struggling to find an outlet for her talents—as well as her entire family, recounting a story that spans four generations and nearly a hundred years.

More than the autobiography of a legendary actress, Then Again is a book about a very American family with very American dreams. Diane will remind you of yourself, and her bonds with her family will remind you of your own relationships with those you love the most.

©2011 Diane Keaton (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“For anyone looking to join one woman’s—albeit a famous woman’s—touching and funny journey into the vortex that is the parent-child relationship, Then Again features an especially honest tour guide.” (USA Today)

“A poem about women living in one another’s not uncomplicated memories. . . . Part of what makes Diane Keaton’s memoir, Then Again, truly amazing is that she does away with the star’s ‘me’ and replaces it with a daughter’s ‘I.’ ” (Hilton Als, The New Yorker)

“Although peek-behind-the-curtain moments are delicious—Woody Allen! Warren Beatty! Jack Nicholson! . . . this is a [memoir] about a mother and a daughter, with insights and confessions and lessons to which all readers can relate.” (The Wall Street Journal)

This book is torture!

What would have made Then Again better?

The book is scattered, moving from person to person, period to period...full of details that are uninteresting to anyone but the writer herself.

What was most disappointing about Diane Keaton’s story?

This could have been anyones story. A truly great writer can make any life event captivating. Ms. Keaton apparently does not have this skill. I have always enjoyed Diane as an actress and celebrity personality, this unfortunately took most of her charm away for me.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The entire book- with a ghost writer more interesting.

Any additional comments?

Choose another bio.

Oh no, not Again!

This was a disappointing book for me in many ways. Unfortunately it was also fairly lacking in highlights or even low low points, making its most outstanding feature being like a featureless landscape, a one note sonata that can pretty much be summed up with the opening Hi, my name is Diane, I love Woody Allen, to, Bye, my name is Diane, isn't Woody the best?! PS, I never was a WA fan, it could have been a prejudicial reaction on my part.

couldn't get past her strange delivery

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Listening to this book was confusing because it was sometimes impossible to tell who was speaking, her mother or herself. I had a very hard time with the way Keaton reads her words, with breathless pauses all over the place, in between rushed-together phrases. And i had looked forward to hearing the author's voice, which can sometimes be a huge pleasure. I also wasn't very interested in Diane Keaton's mother's life, I'm sorry to say. The book just didn't grab me. it was easy to put down, and i didn't finish it.

Just awful

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Not possible. The author shows virtually no insight, no growth, or maturity coming from her experience. She merely rambles on, lingering far too long on her mother's illness and death,

Has Then Again turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I love biographies and autobiographies.--I'm just turned off by poorly written ones. From John Adams and Abigail Adams to Steve Jobs, biographies can be entertaining and enlightening.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Diane Keaton?

Keaton was passable as narrator. At times though, she would have an insincere little laugh that left me feeling uncomfortable.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I've enjoyed Keaton on-screen in many roles. It is true she oftern plays the same "Annie Hall" type character--which you hear often in the book. Unfortunately, she did not seem to know who she was--and thus she failed at how to play herself. Her lack of insight left me disappointed.

Any additional comments?

Not recommended reading.

Sadly...

I really looked forward to listening to Diane's book. She is a wonderful actress and I've really enjoyed watching her in films, but her writing and reading did not inspire me to stay with the audio book.

Boring

I appreciate the author's attempts at writing an artistic, non conformist autobiography. However, her story is still flat and boring. I learned nothing about what I thought would be an interesting life. Oh, she's bulimic. Woody Allen's funny. Zzzzz.

She Should Have Had A Scriptwriter

Would you try another book from Diane Keaton and/or Diane Keaton?

no

Has Then Again turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

Any additional comments?

I love her in the movies and thought she might have had an interesting life. I was wrong.
I think actresses should leave their stories for biographers to write.

Thank goodness I reached the end

What could Diane Keaton have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The dialogue was hard to distinguish between characters. Moved from more likeable sections - reflections on her relationships and family to very boring excerpts from journals, again and again - they dominated. should have stayed as an unpublished personal journal of her journey with her mother.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

boredom, just wanted to try and find an interesting part. then I got to the end - thank goodness

Any additional comments?

I love Diane Keaton's movie performances, always have. hate herv writing style if this is an example of it.

PARTLY FASCINATING

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I love Diane Keaton, but I wanted to hear more about her own career and less about her family.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Then Again?

Obviously, Diane Keaton wanted to tell the story of her mother, as well as of herself and her relationship to her mother, but as a reader and admirer of Diane Keaton, I would liked to have read more about her story and less about her family's.

Should be titled "The Sorrow and the Pity"

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I can't imagine anyone enjoying this book. It is an excruciating listen. Self pity is the theme.

What could Diane Keaton have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Less self-pity.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Pass.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

ANGER.

Any additional comments?

Loved the movies, hated this book.