Josephine baker's last dance

Wow. Just wow. Where to begin?

First off all, this is a FANTASTIC and extensive look into probably the first true Black entertainer and SUPER diva. If you don't know a damn thing about Josephine Baker---you will know more than you probably thought you would by the end of this book. Trust me. It's a lengthy read (500-ish pages! 45 chapters! Tons upon tons of information!), and though it took me a good year to weed through it, it was truly worth it as this book takes you beyond that infamous banana skirt and gets right to the heart of the matter.

Written with a tender touch by her "son" Jean-Claude Baker, 'The Hungry Heart' really gives a lot of dimensions to a woman who made France her oyster and electrified the stage through the world from the 1920's into her twilight years in the 1970's defying the odds. We had and have divas at current, but Josephine wrote the blueprint and set the tone, the pace, the drive.

A checkerboard life she had. She sang. She danced. She acted. She wore risque outfits. She seduced men. She seduced women. She was a spy for the French Resistance during WW2. She was a Civil Rights activist. She owned a castle. She became homeless and penniless. She rose like a Phoenix and kept going no matter her illnesses. She was opinionated. She was eccentric. She used and threw away people left and right. She adopted broods of children from almost every corner of the world (take that Angelina, Madonna, and 21st century Hollywood!). She told many many lies about her life. She lived in a fantasy world, even though in reality she crafted one for achieved TONS of stuff, and it's all accounted here. To give it all away would really damage the thrill of reading the book.

Speaking of Madonna (as much as I adore her too) Josephine has her beat as the Queen of Reinvention. Josephine was a pure chameleon as decades went by and she changed with the times and was opinionated and steadfast throughout. Even though she lived during times where society would tell her "no, you can't" because of the color of her skin and her gender---she rose to the occasion and did it anyway.

I'm quite in admiration of her for that. Not just because she was some flashy diva who influenced a lot of singing divas that I enjoy, but because as a young, loud, and opinionated Black girl myself, her ambition and legacy is inspiring.

It is true that Josephine had an ugly side, as she seemed to be not the most easiest person to love and be around. Her adopted children had difficulties understanding and living with her and she kept a distance from a lot of people even breaking many hearts with her words and cold actions. Still 'Hungry Heart' paints both sides as best as can so you can see where she's coming from. When you read through the pages you begin to understand that she was battling with fame, racism, her inner-demons, and her past, and that fueled her character and makes you actually sympathetic to a complex woman who probably didn't want any sympathy.

Pretty much after reading this, the 1991 TV movie about her life that starred Lynn Whitfield as Josephine, just scratched a small nick of the surface. In fact, it's an insult to this woman and I wait for the day where they will 'get it right' and do a feature film because once you read 'Hungry Heart' it's evident this woman was one in a million and a larger than life legend that will continue to live on and on....