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Josephine Baker Last Dance Sherry Jones Books

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Josephine Baker Last Dance Sherry Jones Books

What a story, what a life! So wonderful, Sherry’s energy! Josephine would love this wild ride of a story. Meticulously researched as always, Josephine came to life for me in this book.


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Josephine Baker Last Dance Sherry Jones Books Reviews

Josephine Baker was one of 20th century’s most legendary performers. She was a woman who overcame the obstacles of racism and became famous and successful. She was a dancer, singer, actress, WWII spy, and Civil Rights Activist. Her story has inspired millions. Josephine Baker's Last Dance chronicles the accomplishments as well as the hardships that Josephine experienced until her very last performance. The novel shows that Josephine’s greatest love was to sing, dance, and entertain.

Josephine Baker has always been an enigma to me. Her story has always been fascinating, but she always seemed distant and unknowable. In Josephine Baker's Last Dance, Josephine is no longer just a two-dimensional woman on the screen, but a real flesh and blood woman. This novel portrays Josephine’s hopes, flaws, and vulnerabilities. During Josephine’s childhood, there seemed to be very little hope of Josephine ever becoming a star. She grew up in a poor and abusive household in St. Louis, Missouri. However, through Josephine’s passion and determination, she was able to find wealth and fame. Throughout her life, Josephine struggled with racism. However, she never let people’s prejudices affect her. She then became a Civil Rights activist and tirelessly fought for their rights.

Overall, this novel is about a woman who overcame racism, war, and domestic abuse to become a legendary starlet. The message of the novel is to never give up on your dreams and always work hard. The characters are very flawed and realistic. The setting was very authentic. I love how the author shows the glitz and glamour Paris before WWII and its destruction after the war. The writing was very lyrical, steeped with eloquent descriptions of dance and music. There were some graphic scenes and some that feature abuse that made me a bit uncomfortable. However, I thought that they were necessary because they made Josephine fight harder to pursue her dreams. Josephine Baker's Last Dance is a novel about a woman who would not be stopped on her path to stardom. This novel is perfect for fans of Mademoiselle Chanel, Z, and Platinum Doll.
(Note I read an ARC copy of this book in courtesy of Netgalley.)
"Tumpy" as she was known was born an illegitimate child in St. Louis, Missouri. We come upon Josephine Baker at the age of 7. A child longing for love, but never getting it from her mother or her step-father, she is often sent out of the house into servitude. The energy that runs through her thin body along with the music that captivated her in those early years, helped her escape the poverty of her youth. What remains from those years is a shadow, the memories of the men who betrayed her sexually, the sexual abuse

But Josephine was meant for greater things and she found her life in the arms of the French, in Paris where they had no problem adoring her. She takes Paris by storm, even though it is her dream to sing, dancing is what she becomes famous for. It is the Roaring Twenties, and Josephine is "roaring" as well. With her lust for life, her lust for men, this is what she has been waiting for. Leaving her husband, Billy Baker, behind she is finally acknowledged as a human being while dancing up a storm. As for the French, her color made no difference to them, she was welcomed.

Yet, Josephine wore many hats....dancer, activist, involved in the French Resistance in WWII, involved in the Civil Rights Movement...the list goes on. In spite of her past, the poverty, the racism, her own loveless family, the sexual abuse, "Tumpy" not only endured the pain, but she rose above it.

Sherry Jones has given us an incredible novel of an incredible woman. As biographical novels go, the research for this book had to be intense. As biographical novels go, you feel you are there as you read the pages, your emotions rise to the surface. There is so much more to reveal about this book, but then it would take much more to tell you...you have to read it yourself. Ms. Jones brought "Tumpy" back to life, brought back a person who in spite of all she went through, an incredible person whose history should be celebrated in the annals of American celebrity, American life. Highly recommended.

My thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will end my review with a quote

"I have walked into the palaces of kings and queens and into the houses of presidents. And much more. But I could not walk into a hotel in America and get a cup of coffee, and that made me mad. And when I get mad, you know that I open my big mouth. And then look out, 'cause when Josephine opens her mouth, they hear it all over the world ..*

How sad is that?

*Wikipedia
What an amazing story! Who knew that Josephine Baker, singer and dancer from the 20's to the 60's, was so much more resistance hero, spy, designer. From her terrible upbringing in poverty with an abusive mother and indifferent stepfather, to the people in her life who should have protected her but did opposite, in spite of all this, she rose to great heights as a performer and un-sung hero.

Sherry Jone's book will open your eyes to the real story behind the legend and myth that was promulgated. Barely educated, unable to read much, constrained by the lack of civil rights and the huge barrier of racism, Josephine Baker moves to France and becomes an international star. Through incredibly hard work and in spite of not a little bad judgement along the way (particularly in men) Josephine Baker makes and loses a fortune and becomes an American icon (even though she comes to think of herself as French). A truly wonderful book, you will laugh, cry, cringe right along with Ms. Baker.
What a story, what a life! So wonderful, Sherry’s energy! Josephine would love this wild ride of a story. Meticulously researched as always, Josephine came to life for me in this book.