Laurie LisleReseñas

No matter what others may say about this book, no matter that Georgia O'Keeffe is an amazing artist and a groundbreaking independent woman before the word "feminist" had been coined, no matter what you may already know or not know about her - this book was tedious. The only reason I finished reading it was because it was for my book group. More like a term paper, a school report, or a newspaper article than a biography about what most people think of as a fascinating woman. She may have been fascinating, but that doesn't come across in this book. The writing style was all "tell" and little to no "show." And the few photos included were so disappointing. First: they were in black & white and second: they didn't include any paintings. How can you publish a book about art without any photos of the art? If you must read this because this is the only thing about O'Keeffe you could find, you'll want to read it with access to the internet to refer to all the paintings, people, landscapes, and photos that are mentioned.

I gave this a three not because of interest because the life of Georgia OKeeffe is definitely interesting, but the writing is pretty straight forward - almost textbookish. Still, I learned much about an amazing, talented, and forceful woman. Georgia was born on a farm in Wisconsin, but after deciding that she wanted to be a painter at an early age, headed for New York City where her work became noticed and promoted by the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. They soon lived together and were eventually married.

Before that, however, Georgia spent time as an art teacher in Virginia and Texas. However, she always returned to Stieglitz. The relationship between a young female artist and a man much older than she was interesting and difficult. He controlled her, yet he promoted her. Their relationship lasted a lifetime and was one of seemingly deep love and devotion although they led vastly separate lives at times.

I was not aware of Georgia's work painting much of New York City. Her work in New Mexico is much more familiar. She was a strong woman with a great sense of herself; she knew what she wanted and culture, art critics, or her husband stood in the way. At the same time, she often found herself giving in to expectations especially of Stieglitz. She had many friends who supported her and who in turn she supported. At the same time, she could be extremely abrasive and rude.

Interesting person.

The author shares many of her experiences as a writer, as a woman and especially as a gardener in New England in a village named Sharon. Many tidbits of history are shared: some personal, some regarding her house and a great many about flowers, shrubs and trees. At times it was a bit like reading someone's diary or journal, overall an interesting reading experience.

Four Tenths of an Acre: Reflections on a Gardening Life

"The ritual of gardening gives a rhythm, even rapture, to everyday life that is apart from the routines of writing and the flows of relationships.
Tending my garden became the same as taking care of myself."
(Laurie Lisle)

It was a delight to walk life's path with Laurie.
I appreciated the gardening histories and the step by step transformations both of her personal life and the essence of her garden.

Her chronicle often made me pause and consider my own life, my own garden.
I smile at the intertwining of life and gardening.
Taking that bare plot of ground, honestly assessing plus and minus and moving ahead to create something uniquely your own.
When there is clash in your color palette or "too much" of this or that, you gently redistribute and redesign.
A pioneer can be as welcome as an old fashioned favorite.
And the gardening saga goes on and on.

Thank you Laurie, I had fun reading this.
I identified many times with your joys
and trials.

This was a goodreads giveaway.

good history of her background

O'Keeffe's personal mystique is as intriguing and enduring as her bold, brilliant canvases. Here is the first full account of her exceptional life -- from her girlhood and early days as a controversial art teacher...to her discovery by the pioneering photographer of the New York avant-garde, Alfred Stieglitz...to her seclusion in the New Mexico desert, where she lived until her death.

This biography of Georgia O'Keeffe comes highly recommended, based on the reviews I've seen. It certainly was voluminous and went into great detail about her day-to-day life. But I felt at times that the author bent over backwards to make O'Keeffe look stubborn, nasty, and self-centered, as opposed to individualistic and determined. Actually I'd use all five terms to describe her. It's the balance I wondered about.

Also, something I found disappointing about the book's formatting, the author chose to use endnotes (at the end of the book), rather than footnotes (on each page or at the end of each chapter). I didn't even realize the endnotes were there until I was already part way through the book. On the other hand, I'm not sure how useful they really are, considering that Ms. Lisle allowed many sources to be simply named as a source, leaving out what specifically they said about Ms. O'Keeffe. Not quite anonymous, but not attributed either. Why bother?

And one last point, although Georgia O'Keeffe's relationship with Juan Hamilton is discussed in the book's ending chapters, apparently, Mr. Hamilton was not used as a source. I'd guess he declined to be included. I think it's a very telling omission. An unfortunate one.

I'm not her biggest fan, so .......

Four Tenths of an Acre: Reflections on a Gardening Life, by Laurie Lisle, is a memoir that recounts the author's 20 years of gardening in a small New England village. After a divorce, Lisle purchases a country house and moves from Manhattan to make a new life. Through the years at her new house, she builds a garden, has two significant relationships and eventually marries a painter who does not - at first - understand the deep need she has to garden.

Throughout the book, Lisle explores creativity - especially her own creativity as a writer and gardener. She finds that, for her, the internal life of her writer's mind needs to be balanced by putting together a garden that reflects who she is and where she has come from. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of gardening and how it relates to writing. Additionally, Lisle also interweaves ideas from history, literature and the visual arts to explore how creativity lives and breathes in her garden.

I found this to be a good book by a woman who is not afraid to explore her fears and flaws. However, I did find myself questioning some of her choices and wanting to call her up to give her advice. When she writes about all the different plants that didn't do well in her garden, I wanted to give her new plant lists so that she could have some success. And when she described the outright animosity that her two significant others had toward gardening, I wanted to tell her that if these men didn't like the fact that she had something that didn't include them, that perhaps she should find someone else.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in gardening and the life of the creative mind.½