Yesterday I finally got around to reading Patti Smith's Just Kids, winner of the National Book Award this year. I found Smith's prose style to be instantly engaging--I couldn't put the book down until I finished reading it. It's the story of her friendship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe, beginning with their chance meeting in Brooklyn in 1967 and going through the various things they experienced together during their pursuit to become artists. Their shared story takes place in a New York City that no longer exists--one where artists could live (though maybe go hungry) on very little money, one where everyone at the Chelsea Hotel was somebody, one where Andy Warhol's Factory was the scene to be in, one where you could randomly bump into the likes Allen Ginsburg, Gregory Corso, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, William Burroughs, and Sam Shepard (to name a few people). I recommend it to my artist friends, music fan friends, and my New York friends.
Also, check out this video Patti Smith in conversation with Paul Holdengraber at the New York Public Library.
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