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Audiobook3 hoursThe Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris
Written by Marc Petitjean
Narrated by Antony Ferguson
4/5
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About this audiobook
In 1938, just as she was leaving Mexico for her first solo exhibition in New York, Frida Kahlo was devastated to learn from her husband, Diego Rivera, that he intended to divorce her. This latest blow followed a long series of betrayals, most painful of all his affair with her beloved younger sister, Cristina, in 1934. In early 1939, anxious and adrift, Kahlo traveled from the United States to France—her only trip to Europe, and the beginning of a unique period of her life when she was enjoying success on her own.
Now, for the first time, this previously overlooked part of her story is brought to light in exquisite detail. Marc Petitjean takes the reader to Paris, where Kahlo spends her days alongside luminaries such as Pablo Picasso, André Breton, Dora Maar, and Marcel Duchamp.
Using Kahlo’s whirlwind romance with the author’s father, Michel Petitjean, as a jumping-off point, The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris provides a striking portrait of the artist and an inside look at the history of one of her most powerful, enigmatic paintings.
Editor's Note
Captivating chronicle…
Following the devastating news that her husband Diego Riviera wanted a divorce (after several transgressions, including his affair with her sister), Frida Kahlo set off for France. While there, she hobnobbed with fellow masters like Pablo Picasso, flourished creatively, and had a whirlwind romance with Michael Petitjean. Michael’s son Mark writes this captivating chronicle of a seldom-explored area of Kahlo’s life.
Marc Petitjean
Marc Petitjean is a writer, filmmaker, and photographer. He has directed several documentaries, including From Hiroshima to Fukushima, on Dr. Shuntaro Hida, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima; Living Treasure, about a Japanese kimono painter; and Zones grises, on his own search for information about the life of his father, Michel Petitjean, after his death.
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Reviews for The Heart
101 ratings12 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to have mixed reviews about the narrator. Some reviewers found the narrator's voice to be mechanical, robotic, and colorless, while others did not have an issue with it. The book itself is described as interesting and providing great details on the artist Frida Kahlo and the decadent life of the French literati class. However, some reviewers were disappointed with the narrator's mispronunciation of certain words, particularly Mexican place names. Overall, the book is recommended for those interested in Frida Kahlo's life, but some caution is advised regarding the narration.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great insights to a little known chapter in the life of Frida Kahlo. Worth listening.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I just had a few minutes left of this book and it turned unavailable. This subscription is sketchy at best. The book itself was an interesting view to specific time of Frida Kahlo's life, but it's not a literary masterpiece, neither a historical one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very interesting account of a unique period in Frida Kahlo’s life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A great narrative my first book on Frieda Kahlil am hungry to know more after listening to this remarkable work great details on the artist stay in Paris and about surrealism to some extent fatalistic rendition by the narrator
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The narrator's mispronuncment of Tijuana as "Tia-juana" is unforgivable and ruined what up to that point had been an interesting account.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I had heard of Frida but had never read anything about her. This is an interesting book about Frida's time in Paris and her experiences with the art scene and artists of Paris. Quite an interesting story. Frida appears in Paris among the Surrealists both artistic and literary. The story is written by Marc Petitjean, the son of Michel.
I received this as a review copy.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The narrator has a mechanical, robotic, colourless voice. Worse than a news reader. His mispronunciation of " printemps" Spring in French was appalling. He read it as it is written. I stopped after that.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The narration sounds like an android. A shame, as it ruined the opening of the book for me and I stopped listening.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I cannot better the account of this book as published by Scribd. Suffice to say it takes the reader into a world where war was brewing as a backdrop to the decadent life of the French literati class. Frida Kahlo of course is the object of fascination for all of us who wonder about womanhood and what it means. This book must have been a painstaking labor of love for the author seeking to understand his own father. Finally, for some reason I did not find the voice reading the book to me to be like a computer, as suggested in a couple of other comments. The diction was very clear meaning I could listen to the book in the middle of the night, in the dark and without having to put on my hearing aide. I’ve given this book 5 stars
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5It does sound like it’s being read by a computer. Story is interesting but I couldn’t bear the voice... gave up
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I feel like this book is narrated by my satnav.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The book was an interesting addition to our knowledge of Frida Kahlo’s incredible life. I would have rated it higher if the narrator hadn’t assaulted my ears with dreadful mangling of Mexican place names. I realize they can be difficult to pronounce but someone should have edited the narration.
1 person found this helpful