Life with Picasso

By: Francoise Gilot, Carlton Lake, Lisa Alther - introduction

Narrated by: Mary Sarah

Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Françoise Gilot was in her early 20s when she met the 61-year-old Pablo Picasso in 1943. Brought up in a well-to-do, upper-middle-class family, who had sent her to Cambridge and the Sorbonne and hoped that she would go into law, the young woman defied their wishes and set her sights on being an artist. Her introduction to Picasso led to a friendship, a love affair, and a relationship of 10 years, during which Gilot gave birth to Picasso's two children, Paloma and Claude. Gilot was one of Picasso's muses; she was also very much her own woman, determined to make herself into the remarkable painter she did indeed become.

Life with Picasso, written with Carlton Lake and published in 1961, is about Picasso the artist and Picasso the man. We hear him talking about painting and sculpture, his life, his career, as well as other artists, both contemporaries and old masters. We glimpse Picasso in his many and volatile moods, dismissing his work, exultant over his work, entertaining his various superstitions, being an anxious father. But Life with Picasso is not only a portrait of a great artist at the height of his fame; it is also a picture of a talented young woman of exacting intelligence at the outset of her own notable career.

©1964 Francoise Gilot and Carlton Lake (P)2020 Tantor

Fascinating story, for Picasso fanciers

I'm fond of Picasso, and decided to read this book after watching the eponymous film with Anthony Hopkins.
This is a fascinating autobiographical story, and I'm admired by this woman.
Sometimes I found it hard to listen the audiobook because of French namings and monotonous reading

Arghhhh

Why does this woman talk like this? Like she’s imagining herself to be sitting in the Deux Magots twirling an oyster on the end of a toothpick between finger and thumb? Whilst actually sitting in a kitchen in Morristown NJ. Great stuff in this book, but oh, the pretentious, twee delivery.

Too long

I think I would have enjoyed this book if it was 50% shorter. Too much detail and boring in spots, and the monotonous sing song narration often put me to sleep.

Great story, annoying narrator

The narrator doesn’t simper, exactly, but she affects a little-girl baby voice that comes quite close. Gilot was one of the few women of the 50’s/60’s who actually said NO to a man. Eventually. I heard her interviewed once and she spoke in a much stronger voice than this. BUT. Her memories of life with the great P more than make up for the narrator’s annoying, cloying voice. I’m glad I persevered.

What an amazing biography!

I found this biography absolutely fascinating. Setting aside the private words and actions of a person, which I believe were unfairly shared with the world, if the information presented is true, it offers a rare, haunting and very interesting look into the life of the people who are discussed.

Great story, horrible narration

Loved to hear the first hand account of the great artist. It was fascinating to hear about his depth in art and shallowness in his real life.

Loved it

Great story telling and very stylistic narrator, fitting with book's characters.

It's a great preview of what kind of person Picasso was, or rather how Francoise perceived him as.

it's interesting to think how, if he wasn't a hopeless narcissist, he would have likely never reached the heights he did as his name wouldn't have been as inflated as it is now. By hearing about his childhood, it seems like his ego was inflated very early in life, only backed up by all the people loving his work.

Like one of the books characters says, a great artist, but a terrible human being.

Which begs the rather sad question. How many artists like him, with art that was equally as good if not better, simply never made it because they didn't have the ego needed to inflate the value of their own art? How many people in other jobs lose opportunities to their more narcissistic colleagues that have no problem taking it all and advertise themselves much better? And where are we headed as a society which rewards narcissism better than altruism?

Overall a great read, I would recommend to anyone.

The writing is superb, the narrator is irritating

The story was so good that I forced myself to abide the narrator, who over emphasizes the pronunciation of each letter in each word. The story deserves 5 stars for its anecdotes and insights into relationships. It also illuminates Picasso as a person, not just an artist.

Ok Story, Annoying Narrator

I would have pushed through to hear this story but the narrator has the most annoying way of reading. She over-pronounces the French words (I am bilingual and it was so distracting to hear her try so hard to sound French that it was difficult to even understand the word she was trying to say). Also, the story is really not terribly compelling. I was interested to hear this story, at first, but was disappointed.

Narrator and story

The story of Picassos life as told by his wife is excellent. The challenge is to get past the narrators breathy voice. As I listened further, I began thinking that perhaps the lack of emotion (extreme happiness or severe sadness) in the narrator’s voice was meant to portray her life as a child and young woman and the need to hide those emotions from her father. She hid them from Picasso as well. It takes getting used to the narrators voice, but once you do, the story is outstanding.