Book 149 – The House of Gucci by Sara Gay Forden

• Started: November 19, 2021
• Finished: November 23, 2021
• Pages: 348
• Non-Fiction
• Rating: 4/5

REVIEW (BOOK)

If you couldn’t tell from the full title of this blog, books and fashion are two of my favorite things. I had had this book on my list for a while, even before I knew the movie was coming out, but added it to my hold list at the library as soon as we got tickets for opening night. As soon as I picked it up and saw how thick it was, I knew that it was going to be a more intense read than I expected. There was a family tree in the beginning, but it helped also pulling up the IMDB page for the upcoming movie so I could put faces – even if they were of actors – to names. The author had clearly done a ton of research and delved very deeply into the history of the brand, not just the internal family disputes.

The book starts off with Guccio Gucci creating the brand after being inspired by the luggage of the wealthy at the hotels where he was a bellhop and continued up until the book’s publication in the early 2000s. There was a lot of financial information – how the different subsidiaries operated internationally, how family shares were broken up, and how the firm eventually went public – and it was a lot to wrap my head around. The other thing I struggled with was a sense of time. The book was mostly chronological but occasionally chapters would delve specifically into a topic and go far and beyond the timeline we had been working in. Which did make sense but more dates could have been helpful. At the end, the author included a sweeping decade by decade overview of the fashion house and it really captured each period clearly and succiently.

If you are interested in the history of Gucci, or looking to learn more after watching the movie (which glazed over a ton!!), I would recommend this book. It’s not always the most interesting – and not due to the author’s writing style, I thought that it was colorful and lively – but just due to the nature of some of the content. That being said, it was extremely informative and such a deep dive into one of the world’s most recognizable brands. I learned so much and am glad I read it.

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REVIEW (MOVIE)

Immediately after finishing the book, we headed to the theater to watch the movie. Since it was so very fresh in my mind, I was easily able to make comparisons to the book. It fell short. The acting was amazing, the settings beautiful, the designs gorgeous. But the script, just couldn’t pick a lane. It seemed to want to focus on Patrizia’s role in Maurizio’s life and death, but also needed to include various other background information on the family. Which totally makes sense! But then the murder/trial didn’t come up until the last ~20 minutes. And Patrizia wasn’t a huge focus in the book. We had a good understanding of their courtship and relationship after the divorce but not as much during their marriage.

The movie also completely removed one of Maurizio’s and Patrizia’s daughters which was jarring. I get that she might not have wanted to be included but it seemed as though the family was against the movie as a whole so that was a weird line to draw. Other things the movie changed was Maurizio’s relationship with Paola Franchi, his girlfriend at the time of his death. They made it seem as though the broke up with Patrizia because of her whereas there was never any indication that he had affairs in the book and he even had at least one other girlfriend worth mentioning between his separation and death.

The movie also introduces a small and real plot line over Maurizio’s inheritance of his father’s Gucci shares. In the movie, it is spelled out that the shares were not signed by his father, Rodolfo, before his death (which has huge tax implications) and later the financial police attempt to arrest Maurizio over the fraud. He runs away to Switzerland (again, real) and it is never mentioned again. In real life, there was a lot of evidence that the signatures on the shares had been forged – and people who were willing to admit they had falsely signed them – but Maurizio was acquitted on all charges. This was a pretty important plot point in showing a) he was bad at handling money/had his own personal issues that put the company at risk and b) he was continuously able to skate through life without consequences.

I think the movie would have been a lot stronger if there was a greater focus on one aspect of the story, be it the changing nature of the company itself, the specific family drama that transpired, or the relationship between Maurizio and Patrizia and how that led to his eventual murder. If you watch the movie without reading the book, I think that you will still find it disjointed and jumpy. I’m still glad we saw it because I love going to the movies, but it could have been much stronger.

Book 124 – Don’t Call it a Cult by Sarah Berman

• Started: September 29, 2021
• Finished: September 29, 2021
• Pages: 289
• Non-Fiction
• Rating: 4.5/5

REVIEW

My second book on NXIVM! I think this one scratched the itch I was looking for in the first, though I was probably able to better appreciate this book due to the background I received in The Program (review can be found here). In this book, there was a greater focus on the various female victims of Raniere, and more specifically those who were part of DOS (Dominus Obsequious Sororium), a secret society of sex slaves in the upper echelons of NXVIM. Pretty gross stuff, but Berman was able to portray the various actors (both people who act for a living and the more general sense of the word) in very dignified fashion. She sat in on Raniere’s trial and was able to get personal interviews with his victims and that kind of first-hand accounting brought out details and a greater understanding of their mindset that would be hard to wrap your head around otherwise.

The book jumped a lot but it didn’t get confusing. It actually added to my enjoyment as it created a more thriller-like atmosphere. It’s really such a wild story anyways and it’s one of those cases where the truth is definitely stranger than fiction. Since it was published earlier this year, the author was able to include even more information on the trials and the subsequent fallout/sentencing. It was quite empowering to read about the survivors of his cult working through their trauma and gaining back their confidence and ability to live normal lives as their time away from Raniere and NXVIM grew.

One of my earlier complains about The Program was that they did not get into the nitty gritty of the cult. It was in great part to Toni Natalie’s leaving before it grew into the terror that we know it now to be – though she was still harassed for years afterwards – and so Berman’s conversations with those were still there until the very end fleshed things out. It could get pretty dark, but unfortunately that was the reality for many as they were sucked into Raniere’s sphere of influence.

I really enjoyed this book and feel as though I’ve learned all I need to about NXVIM at this point. It’s so wild to think that this was all happening over the past 5-10 years, hundreds of millions of dollars spent, and so many people were sucked it. Below find resources mentioned in the first book:

TheFallofNXIVM.com

Cult Education Institute

International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)

Open Minds Foundation

Cult Experts

Families Against Cult Teachings

Freed0m of Mind

Book 41 – The Hot One by Carolyn Murnick

• Started: March 30, 2021
• Finished: March 30, 2021
• Pages: 242
• Non-Fiction (Memoir / True Crime)
• Rating: 3.5/5

REVIEW + SUMMARY

This book was really just okay. The author was a talented writer but the book felt more like her way of working through her experience in a way that didn’t need to become published work. She spoke of conclusions she reached – a sense of self-awareness or closure – but then the whole book screamed “I am not there, not even a little.” Which is fine, of course, but this book is being sold as a much different experience than it describes; in trying to write about the murder of her childhood best friend, Murnick is only able to tell the story with her own experience at the center.

Carolyn and Ashley are childhood best friends, like sisters through middle school and slowly splintering off when high school hits. They stay in touch throughout and into college until Ashley is murdered at 22 years old. Carolyn is forced to reckon with the emotional fallout, figuring out who her best friend transformed into and the court case that follows up the arrest of her killer.

On one hand, I very much understand the bond that Murnick described – the intensity of friendships at pivotal points in your life and how they leave a lasting impact no matter how much you grow apart. I get what it feels like to grow up – or at least feel like it – and look at someone you were once inseparable from and realize that you would not give this person the time of day had you just met. I also, to a point, feel that there is a comparison game in all friendships, especially when you are young (Ashley was the “hot one” and Carolyn the “smart one,” in a clearly defined either/or). But I think Murnick took many of these issues too far. She speaks of growing past this with her new female friendships, celebrating their happiness and their success but in relationship to the now-dead Ashley, Murnick is in a strict arrested development. She is still uncomfortable with her sexuality and in awe of Ashley’s sexual prowess. She continues to romanticize the thought of what her friend experienced in a way that still seems very young. At the time of writing she is in her thirties and it seems she would have understood by then that the fantasy is almost always better than the act; that people are more graceful and coy in their heads when in reality our bodies make weird noises and people knock heads and awkwardly laugh and they still can enjoy every minute.

For much of the book Murnick came off as very insecure, which isn’t inherently a bad thing, but it’s not particularly the type of narration I care for and it was especially jarring when she discussed events as though she had moved past those feelings when she clearly had not. Especially with the hot vs. smart comparison. I don’t want to say it’s all in her head because that’s not exactly true and in no way are our thoughts formed in a vacuum but it just seemed that this continued to define her, even when no one else saw her in that way. The tragedy of Ashley Ellerin being murdered was real and devastating, but the book merely focused on how that affected the author and, in my opinion, did not pay enough reverence to the deceased.

I know this book was a memoir but I thought it would be more along the lines of The Program by Toni Natalie (review here) where it still did a deep dive into the act that had taken place. There was no biography of Ashley, no thorough explanation of who she was outside of Murnick’s best friend. The killer received the same treatment, perhaps more rightfully so, where his life was overall glazed over outside of his heinous act. Overall, it was a fine book and I don’t mind that I read it because it was so short but I don’t think that it did the victim(s) the justice they deserved.

Book 35 – In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

• Started: March 15, 2021
• Finished: March 19, 2021
• Pages: 396
• Non-Fiction (True Crime)
• Rating: 4.5/5

REVIEW + SUMMARY

This is a classic book, one I had always heard of but never knew the full story behind. Even though it is non-fiction, it reads more like a novel, especially for the first part. Truman Capote, the author, also never inserts himself into the book, even though from reading more about his experience writing it, he seems as though he would have made a good character. It’s a truly horrible story, an absolutely senseless murder and I became quite sad thinking about it, especially looking up pictures of the Cutter family. I hate how they suffered and the thought of what their final moments would have been like. Capote does an incredibly job both humanizing the victims, the killers, and the various people in all of their lives.

In 1959, four members of the Cutter family (Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, Kenyon) are killed in their home. Their killers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, are friends from jail, a pair of ne’er do wells hoping to make a quick buck by robbing the wealthy Cutters. The men leave with no more than $50 and continue galavanting across the U.S., into Mexico, and then back again before they are caught. Their trial, sentencing, and eventual deaths in 1965 are all recorded in the book and we get a strange insight into how their crime affected the ends of their lives.

This book covered so much and in the end, I was kind of ready for it to end. It was mostly interesting but there was just so much research into the Hickcock and Smith’s lives, it seemed a bit unnecessary at some points. This was exasperated by the fact that the language is clearly of another time – which is not a particularly bad thing, but it grated on my resolve. That being said, I thought the book was an overall fascinating and deep dive into the murders and the murderers. Capote clearly extensively interviewed many of the characters and was able to paint a very vivid scene of the small town and the people in it. I would definitely recommend, but forewarn a reader that the tone varies quite a bit in the four parts and that, even though it begins as a thriller, it can not be speed read as one once you get about halfway through.

Book 23 – Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

• Started: February 19, 2021
• Finished: February 21, 2021
• Pages: 299
• Non-Fiction
• Rating: 5/5

REVIEW

Holy cow this was so good! When I decided to get more into non-fiction I thought recent scandals would be a good place to start. The Program, about NXIVM, was first and made me realize exposés were right up my alley (review here). Another downfall I wanted to learn more about was the “startup lead by the lady with the deep voice” as I described it to my husband. “Theranos?” he quickly answered; Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup was the first result when I googled books about the company. This book, written by the journalist who broke the story of the company’s large-scale fraud for The Wall Street Journal, was a deep dive into how the startup grew, despite the red flags raised by numerous employees and partners.

The prologue to the book starts in 2006 with an anecdote describing Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, coming back from Switzerland after presenting her company’s technology to a European tech giant. While her spirits were high after the presentation, the scientists who came back with her did not share the same optimism. One confided in Henry Mosley, the Chief Financial Officer at the time, that the technology hadn’t worked exactly as it should, so a fake result was shown instead. Mosley brought his concerns with the technology and the financial projections they had been sharing, both of which seemed to be dubiously supported, to Holmes. She fired him on the spot. This story set the tone for the rest of the book; a tale of secrecy between departments, exaggerated claims, and a founder who would not allow dissent.

It was fascinating to read just how many people raised issues with Theranos from its inception and, even more so, how Holmes was able to so enrapture her supporters that the opposing viewpoints were continuously dismissed. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and perhaps there are more people willing to come forth now that Theranos has been disbanded, its lies exposed. Even still, the book paints a picture of a ruthless company with a paranoid level of security that makes me believe there could have been even more who wanted to speak up but were intimidated into not saying anything. As someone who has worked in a toxic office (fortunately, not nearly to the level of the Theranos office), I understand how trapped you can feel. I imagine an office where 12+ hour work days are normal, the threat of litigation looms, and most importantly the goal is a scientific breakthrough that could dramatically change lives for the better it would be so much more difficult to walk away or speak up. Fortunately (not fortunately), for so many employees they never had to decide if they should just walk away: employees were fired more regularly than they could hire replacements.

The book read almost like a thriller as lies were exposed and the ante was upped through lawsuits and billion dollar valuations. It became especially taut when the author, John Carreyrou, began his research and became a key player in Theranos’s downfall; his initial article was the true defining moment when Theranos began to lose its footing. It was wild to read about how he and his sources were threatened and followed, yet they continued to stand up for themselves and the truth. Thank goodness they did because Theranos expanding their unreliable technology could have had horrible implications on the health of many around the world. It sucks because if it was not for the tyrannical rule that Holmes and her partner/then boyfriend Sunny Balwani, ruled the company and their inability to take criticism, it’s possible they could have actually created a breakthrough technology. I don’t think it would have looked anything like the dream on which she initially sold investors, but it could have been important nonetheless. Unfortunately, now we’ll never know.

Holmes is currently awaiting trial on counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Book 21 – Priceless by Robert K. Wittman with John Shiffman

• Started: February 16, 2021
• Finished: February 16, 2021
• Pages: 318
• Non-Fiction (Memoir)
• Rating: 4.25/5

REVIEW

My foray into non-fiction continues! Part true crime, part memoir, I found this book incredibly interesting. I love art, even if I don’t always understand it, and find the world of fine art fascinating. As the FBI’s sole full time art-crime investigator and undercover agent, Robert Wittman has a unique perspective on the seedy underside of the fine art black market. The story was widely based around his experiences and the evolution of his role but also delved into various aspects of art history. He covered everything from the rise of Rembrandt, the creation of multiple museums and art collections, all the way to some of the most famous art heists.

The drama and suspense of being undercover felt very real and kept tensions high even as he interjected stories of the FBI’s bureaucratic issues. It’s very easy to romanticize these stories, as they so often are in Hollywood, or to think of art theft as a victimless crime but Priceless points out just how high the stakes are, both for the agents and for society as a whole. Art is such an important part of our culture and our history and should be shared with the greater public. That’s why, Wittman points out, that his greater goal was to recover art – the arrest was just a cherry on top.

I really liked how varied his stories were. Some were very high risk as he faced off against international gangsters, and often without any weapon of his own; in one of his first cases, however, he discovered a janitor and an electrician who had been stockpiling their own mini museum of artifacts. A common thread through these stories that served as a good sense of grounding was all the bureaucracy. You’d really think that some of the paperwork or agency in-fighting would fall to the wayside when such valuable art was at stake but it just upped the ante for many.

If you are interested in a more fictional look into the world of fine art, I recommend The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe. I didn’t love the way it ended but getting there was a wild look into fine art collection and sales.

Book 17 – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

• Started: February 7, 2021
• Finished: February 8, 2021
• Pages: 241
• Non-Fiction (Memoir)
• Rating: 4.75/5

REVIEW

Wow, I really enjoyed this book, full title Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory. Doughty is a talented storyteller and deftly intertwines her own (wildly colorful) experiences working at a crematorium with traditions and the history of death. Fascinated with death at a young age, she dives in head first to the world of corpses and the purely physical experience of what happens once we die. Over the course of her time at the crematorium, and mortuary school afterwards, her views continue to evolve but they are based around this: Americans don’t know how to deal with death anymore. We no longer have traditions and rituals in place and, like many aspects of our time while alive, dying has become commercialized. She seeks to better inform the public so that they can have, what she calls, a Good Death.

A little over two years ago I felt inundated with birth: I worked with five women who were all due within a two month span of each other; I attended baby showers and back-to-back baptisms for cousins on both my side and my husband’s; and, as a newlywed, knew that some were wondering about when we would be growing our family. While we are still not ready for that stage of of our lives, it was wonderful to observe those who were around us. Now, in 2021, I feel the cold shadow of death hanging around the edges of my life. Fortunately, I am still very young and healthy but my grandparents, ranging from their late 80s to early 90s, are not. COVID-19 has taken the lives of millions around the world and is only starting to slow now, a year later. An important woman in my life was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and, while it does not appear to be a particularly malignant case, a reminder of our mortality has reared its ugly head. It is scary and something I try not to think about too much. Doughty wants us to recognize that this is normal, but it doesn’t have to be. Death is just another part of our lives.

Accepting death doesn’t mean you won’t be devastated when someone you love dies. It means you will be able to focus on your grief, unburdened by bigger existential questions….

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty, page 232

As she began to interact with death and grieving on a daily basis she was forced to confront her own mortality and what she would like to happen to her upon death. She is able to describe what would make her Good Death: being prepared to die (both mentally and logistically), being of sound mind, and with as little suffering as possible. The sound mind is an important aspect: modern science has become so focused on staving off death that it has failed to measure or track the quality of those extra years. As we head into our late 80s and 90s our bodies’ ailments increase tenfold, not to mention what can happen to our minds. At what point, the book questions, is it just not worth it? Obviously it varies to person to person, but without thinking about it or having the conversation, we leave it up to chance – or worse, a caring relative with the opposite ideas – if and when our own mental facilities dwindle.

The only reason I did not give this book a 5/5 is because as much as she talked about dealing with death in a more head-on, healthy way, her focus seemed to be on how we can accept our own deaths and not those around us. She did speak to how the lack of planning that happens these days has impeded the grieving process – relatives become overwhelmed with all the necessary logistics that they lose sight of their own emotions (though I suspect it is a welcome distraction for some, that does not mean it is a healthy one). Oh well, I suppose it’s because our grief over losing a loved one is different than the act itself of dying and that’s what therapy is for. It would be so much easier if she just had all the answers.

In the last chapter of the book, Doughty cites a paper in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology that lists the seven reasons humans fear dying:

1. My death would cause grief to my relatives and friends.
2. All my plans and projects would come to an end.
3. The process of dying might be painful.
4. I could no longer have any experiences.
5. I would no longer be able to care for my dependents.
6. I am afraid of what might happen to me if there is a life after death.
7. I am afraid of what might happen to my body after death.¹

Some of these, for me, are easier to accept that others. One and three are particularly difficult for me with one being kind of impossible since I cannot control the feelings of others. After reading her book, seven becomes decidedly less of an issue, especially if proper plans are set before an (un)timely death. Even just labeling these fears/concerns makes me feel more able to confront them.

Overall, this book gave me a lot to think about, hitting at a particularly meaningful time in my life. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is curious about what happens to our bodies after death, interested in different traditions/cultures, or is just looking for a laugh. I do plan on reading her other books (From Here to Eternity and Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?) and will report back when I am done.

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¹ Diggory, James C., and Doreen Z. Rothman. “Values Destroyed by Death.” The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 62, no. 1(1961): 205-10

Book 15 – The Program by Toni Natalie with Chet Hardin

• Started: February 2, 2021
• Finished: February 3, 2021
• Pages: 284
• Non-fiction
• Rating: 4/5

REVIEW

My second non-fiction book of the year. I enjoyed it but I still haven’t quite found my exact niche. Written by Toni Natalie, a woman who was intimately involved with Keith Raniere, head of NXIVM, and later spurned his affection causing her to be the cult’s Number One Enemy, the book offered a unique insight into the rise of the organization and the terror it inflicted on its enemies. She was assisted by Chet Hardin, a writer at Metroland, who also gave her a voice throughout the 2000s as NXIVM became more publicly profiled. It was an extremely easy read, almost like a story an old friend would tell you, except that story involved brainwashing and torture and eventually devolved into a sex cult. So while the style was casual and easy to consume, the subject matter was not. It was especially hard from such an objective point of view where the group is so obviously a cult and their teachings are so obviously a scam. The book did not delve extremely into the full details of how people were sucked in, but I believe so much of the appeal is from being there in person and bearing personal witness to Raniere (or any cult leader) and his followers.

The book was extremely informative, considering I knew next to nothing about the story, vaguely recalling details as they came out in 2018 and 2019 (so recently!!!). Much of the book focused on Natalie’s specific experience with Raniere/NXVIM which continued through to the present, even though she officially left him and the organization in 1999. It is hard to wrap your head around such a cult not only existing, but thriving, and wreaking such havoc on so many even in this day and age. Obviously Scientology is still up and running, but it has become almost a punch line to the general public, though I don’t doubt that an insidious nature still runs deep in its veins. I would say the book has a happy ending because Raniere is found guilty on all counts, but that would discount the many lives he ruined through his organization, of both those who followed him and those who dare spoke out. I am sure that there are more victims than the book could recognize and, unfortunately, still more who hold out hope for their savior to come back.

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The book included a list of resources, and I will include the online ones below:

TheFallofNXIVM.com

Cult Education Institute

International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)

Open Minds Foundation

Cult Experts

Families Against Cult Teachings

Freed0m of Mind

Book 13 – The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Grann

• Started: January 22, 2021
• Finished: January 30, 2021
• Pages: 334
• Non-fiction
• Rating: 4/5

REVIEW

I’ve decided to read more non-fiction (which means any non-fiction really) in 2021 and this was my first go at it. I decided to read something with an overall tie to crime and murder since that is the type of non-fiction I prefer. Each chapter was as standalone article diving into a specific topic which made the book easy to pick up and put down as I decided I wanted to read something else. The full title is The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession so not all of the articles exactly had the thread of violence through them. Grann is an artful writer, often switching back and forth to his interviews and the his subject’s background in a way that never feels confusing. He is able to travel all over the world to interview his subjects and it allows him to add his own observations and character to his writing. I thought some of the articles were more captivating than others – I found “City of Water,” focused on the water tunnels below New York City’s streets and the men who forge them, particularly interesting. There are some short updates at the end of each chapter/article, noting if anything relevant had happened between the initial publishing and the publishing of the book (in 2010). I looked up some of the main players as I went along, curious as to how much had changed in the past ten years. I would recommend this book, best enjoyed in bits as the mood hits.