Maria Riva

As Marlene Dietrich’s daughter, Maria Riva had rare access to so many details about the great Dietrich, including both personal anecdotes of course, but also having been backstage or at the studio when she was performing. She quotes passages from Dietrich’s diaries as a teenager in Germany during WWI all the way through to her personal letters late in life. The photos sprinkled throughout the book are fantastic. She was quite familiar with her mother’s lovers over the years, and aside from it being an extraordinary list (my god, I should have written them all down), she includes quite a bit of their intimate correspondences and details of their affairs. Dietrich was quite open with all of this with her husband, who she remained married to and cordial with, but carried on a separate life. Riva traces Dietrich’s entire life, all the way to the sad bed-ridden, alcoholic decade at the end, so if you want a complete picture of the woman, it seems like this book would be essential reading.

Riva makes the mistake of quoting conversations that occurred decades previously in great detail, as if they were recorded verbatim, but on the other hand, one gets the gist of what her mother’s attitudes were towards people or the events of the day, and I would guess it’s for the most part accurate. Still, for a four-year-old to be listening in to a conversation between director Joseph von Sternberg and Dietrich and then to quote it at length six decades later, one wonders how much of was created by the adult Riva, and there are many such instances.

However, a bigger problem with the book is quite simply its length. If you’re Victor Hugo or Leo Tolstoy, you have every right to pen 800 pages, but if you’re just an average mortal with average writing skills, you probably do not. The book should have been about 400 pages shorter. Aside from being far too detailed about every last aspect of Dietrich’s life, Riva also includes quite a bit of her own biography, casting herself in the most influential and favorable way (except when she went through a substance abuse phase), as well as occasionally adding historical information. It’s beyond self-indulgent and one wonders where the editor was in the process of writing it. She regularly states her own opinions about scenes from Dietrich’s movies, historical events, or people, for example, saying of Dolores del Rio that she wasn’t beautiful, and that when wasn’t still, projecting mystery, “you smelled tortillas curling on heated stones, chilies drying in the sun, sweet babies clinging to her skirts, one suckling at her breast.” Good lord. Suffice it to say it would have been wiser had she been more objective.

The fact that she opens up about having been sexually molested by Dietrich’s female secretary as a teenager was brave and admirable, though she makes the mistake of conflating homosexuality with pedophilia (“Even an innocent parent would not have put a young girl into an unsupervised, wholly private environment with such a visually obvious lesbian”). She also seems to diminish her mother’s stories about how studio executive Harry Cohn demanded sexual favors of her, saying that “her diaries make no reference to his demands, nor to her ‘shocked’ refusal,” when he was a notorious sexual predator.

Another issue with the book is its tone, which is frankly quite harsh towards her mother. I believe most of what she wrote and appreciated her honesty, because I think it gave me an accurate view of what Dietrich was really like, as opposed to glamorizing her. However, it is so unpleasant in places, revealing personal things that no one would want published (e.g. her mother’s favorite sex act, her suppositories, douching habits, saggy breasts, incontinence, etc), and often making snarky, sarcastic comments about what her mother said or did. It’s as if she was working through her mommy issues out in print. It’s true that Dietrich was a flawed human being who was selfish, abrasive, and anti-Semitic, among other things, but to portray it so gracelessly – and for so long – requires that the reader take breathers every couple hundred pages to slog through this.… (lisätietoja)

When John returns to Italy to find a wife, Jane seizes the opportunity to move to America. John, a worker at the Ford factories, and Jane live in a boarding house along with several other immigrants. Jane quickly befriends Hannah, the mistress of the house, who helps expand Jane's world.

I have mixed feelings about the book. I liked and enjoyed the characters but I found the story itself very unsatisfying. The author spent a lot of time analyzing the characters, which she should have left up to the reader. The story itself was a bit dull, lacking vibrancy and excitement. Overall, not a book I would re-read or recommend.… (lisätietoja)

You Were There Before My Eyes is a historical novel by Maria Riva. It is 1913 in Cirie, Italy where Giovanna “Jane” Zanchetta lives. Jane has big dreams and they do not include staying in her village. Then Giovanni or John returns from America looking for a bride. John is an employee of the Ford Motor Company. When John’s first choice for a bride falls through, he is encouraged to consider Jane. They are soon wed and start their journey to Michigan. Jane discovers many new wonders along the way. She must learn English and how to run a modern household. She is grateful for the help from Hannah Geiger, John’s landlady who helps her adapt to America. After a while, John purchases them their own home. Jane must deal with regulations enforced on employees for their homes by Ford (inspectors). America enters World War I which brings its own set of challenges for Jane and her circle of friends. What is in store for Jane in the future? Read You Were There Before My Eyes to find out.

You Were There Before My Eyes was not what I expected. I found the book to be too long (587 pages) and slow paced. To be blunt, it was dull, tedious and predictable. The dialogue was awkward (it was bad) and Hannah Geiger’s accent was exaggerated. There was overuse of the word “vifey” and it was a struggle at time to decipher her dialogue. It was obvious that the author did her research on Henry Ford and his company (she knew many details and included them in the story). The book seemed to be an opus to Mr. Ford. Maria Riva was overly descriptive. I did feel that the author captured what new immigrants went through upon coming to America. However, we did not need some of the minute details that she included (describe an outfit down to the buttons on it for example). We are subjected to endless pages of Jane cleaning her home, cooking, baking, doing laundry, and taking care of her children. Every holiday is described and historical event. It seemed like the author was trying to include every historical event that took place during the time period of this novel as well as the inventions (postcards, Kellogg’s cereal, Sears Roebuck and their mail order catalog). The characters are not fleshed out and given life. They were flat and there were numerous peripheral characters. The book lacked emotion and depth. It felt like the author did not connect with her own story. It is just the telling of a story (reminded me of a person who reads out loud in a monotone voice—uninspiring, bland). I finally reached the end and it felt incomplete. Unfortunately, You Were There Before My Eyes is not a book I can recommend.… (lisätietoja)

I don’t think I will ever forget this novel. It got off to a bit of a slow start, but the last portion more than made up for it. It begins in 1913 Italy, where we meet a young Italian girl named Giavanna. She lost her mother at a young age and feels oppressed in her small Italian village where she looks after her father.

When a local boy returns to Italy from America for a visit with his family, Giavanna impulsively seizes on her chance for a way out of the stifling village to go and live in America. The boy’s name is Giavanni (nicknamed John in America) and he works as a mechanic for Henry Ford. The two marry and John takes Giavanna (now nicknamed Jane) to Michigan where they live for a few years in a boarding house with German immigrants, Hannah and Fritz. Fritz and the other male boarders all work for the Ford Motor Company and are enamored with the Model T and Henry Ford. It is during these years that the boarders all form a strong friendship that lasts throughout their lifetimes.

There is much dialogue about Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company that seemed tedious at times. All of the business talk seemed to tie in with other current events from the years between 1913 up until World War II. During these years, John and Jane start a family and slowly grow to love each other. John moves up in the company, eventually being sent to Europe to help in opening more Ford plants in other countries.

These were the years that Germany begins their mistreatment of the Jews and Mussolini comes into power. Life gets complicated. This last portion of the book is simply riveting, especially so because of the stories and relationships that the author
detailed throughout the earlier portion of the book.

This is a great choice for history lovers and those who love historical fiction. It presents a wonderful picture of immigrant life, friendships, food and politics from the 1900’s through the early part of World War II.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pegasus Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give an honest review.… (lisätietoja)