Bread of Angels

A Memoir

De: Patti Smith

Narrado por: Patti Smith

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A radiant new memoir from artist and writer Patti Smith, author of the National Book Award winner Just Kids

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: TIME, NPR, THE NEW YORKER

“God whispers through a crease in the wallpaper,” writes Patti Smith in this moving account of her life. A post–World War II childhood unfolds in a condemned housing complex where we enter the child’s world of the imagination. Smith, the captain of her loyal and beloved sibling army, vanquishes bullies, communes with the king of tortoises, and searches for sacred silver pennies.

The most intimate of Smith’s memoirs, Bread of Angels takes us through her teenage years where the first glimmers of art and romance take hold. Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan emerge as creative role models as she begins to write poetry then lyrics, ultimately merging both into the songs of iconic recordings such as Horses, Wave, and Easter.

She leaves it all behind to marry her one true love, Fred Sonic Smith, with whom she creates a life of devotion and adventure on a canal in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Here, she invents a room of her own, a low table, a Persian cup, inkwell and pen, entering at dawn to write. The couple spend nights in their landlocked Chris-Craft studying nautical maps and charting new adventures as they start a family.

A series of profound losses mark her life. Grief and gratitude are braided through years of caring for her children, rebuilding her life and, finally, writing again—the one constant in a life driven by artistic freedom and the power of the imagination to transform the commonplace into the magical, and pain into hope. In the final pages, we meet Smith on the road again, the vagabond who travels to commune with herself, who lives to write and writes to live.

Exquisite Wordsmith

This memoir is beautifully written, enthralling, heartbreaking and glorious. Even those who are not an avid fan of her music could hopefully appreciate a well written very human story.

Patti Smith at her best

Interesting to hear. I believe it’s easier as an audio book than reading it. It’s complex but rewarding.

Magic in the word

Every syllable, every word, every depth of description and spirit and life and love. Remarkable!!!

Poetic, luminescent, achingly beautiful and honest

I have never been a fan but saw her interviewed recently and was touched by her honesty. This book is jewel….multifaceted.

Another book to get lost in Patti’s world of daydreams, memories and relatable moments that shape us all.

Patti was recently quoted as saying she will often struggle over a few paragraphs. It shows. There are sentences so well constructed and composed as to place you directly at the center of her recollections. Her vast knowledge of books and extensive vocabulary are all on display as adornments to color her memory. Her ability to tap into a childlike wonder with adult perspective makes the book a joy to get lost in. As always, her voice is a pleasure to listen to and contains the inflection of a wise master of ceremonies. It’s like listening to the stories of a wise sage. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the chilly fall air and coming winter months ahead. A warm hug from the punk poet.