It was only recently that I discovered Edith Piaf and her songs. After listening to both Non, je ne regrette rien and La Vie en rose, I was hooked. I have since then bought a two CD collection of her songs, a picture, the movie based on her life, and this biography.

I enjoyed this book. I knew some of her life story, but I had no idea how passionate she was about singing and love. Though she didn't find any long lasting happiness with any man, her fans were always there for her.

I would recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of this extraordinary woman and anyone else who wants to know why Edith Piaf is considered one of the best singers of the 2oth century and understand why she is still fondly remembered in both her home country, France, and the rest of the world. ( )

Much more comprehensive than the autobiography, this volume answers most of the questions I was left with after watching the confusing and somewhat superficial biopic La Vie en Rose.
It seems that Edith proved the maxim that one must suffer for their art. A truly extraordinary life. ( )

glbt tag for her having quite a lot of queer friends and coworkers.

disability tag for her massive chronic debilitating ailments.

I love that this was as well-researched as it could possibly have been, given the subject matter. I think I just wish there were more to the story. The last quarter of the book dissolves into a litany of Edith's illnesses, addictions, and incessant touring and convalescence, while the best and most interesting parts are everything from her harrowing childhood through her Resistance work in defiance of the Nazis. I wish there had been more of the Resistance work especially. ( )

Marked this book as 'to read' after seeing the review in the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8450663/No-Regrets-The-Life...

Was fascinated by her half sister, Simone Bertaut's book [b:Piaf|1362868|Piaf|Simone Berteaut|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183001000s/1362868.jpg|1352667] and am curious to see what this one says as it seems to imply that Simone wasn't alltogether truthful.

It is hard to judge a book of this nature solely upon the quality of writing. While the writing might not be extraordinary, I am rating the book above-average based upon the enormous time and effort that Carolyn Burke put into researching the material. ( )