Isn't it ironic that the man who delivered a lecture at Johns Hopkins and said, "What is the outlook for the next generations? Is it not time to put less pride in the increasing number of our populations, and to look more into the matter of quality? It is quite right that we should try to restrain the immigration of undesirables. But shall we continue forever to encourage the promiscuous breeding of the unfit, degenerates, criminals, and the insane, while keeping on ignoring the biological facts of heredity? If so, more unemployables, more hospitals, lunatic asylums, poorhouses and prisons."should have a great grandson who was a paranoid schizophrenic who committed murder and spent years in an asylum and eventually committed suicide?No one in the Baekeland family seemed to be capable of a stable home life and long-term loving relationships. Barbara seemed manic and needy to me, coming to pieces totally when Brooks left her. She was just pitiful and Tony was completely affected as well. Tony was a shattered human being and I guess there were many causes including a very mixed-up and degraded sexuality, years of drug abuse, an unstable home life that was jet-setting everywhere and living nowhere, violence and pretentious good manners, constant parties and name-dropping. He probably had a genetic propensity for his mental illness as well. The whole story was very sad, especially his release from Broadmoor and subsequent desertion in New York. No one would give him the time of day. Where were all those people who had worked for his release? The consequence of living with all those pictures of his mother, the whole thing had such a tragic inevitability. Too, too sad.
This book deserved more than 3 stars at times, but mostly I was forcing myself to continue. Another reviewer mentioned that the last third of the book was worth it so I hung in there and found this to be true. In general, though, I just couldn't catch the flow of the writing as it was set up. It's in a format that consists of snippets, letters and oral histories from so many different sources that it was hard for me to read in a coherent fashion, let alone remember who all these people were. I wish the cast of characters were listed in the front. I had no idea there was a list at the end. It would have helped greatly had I checked. Nonetheless, I think I'm a 'linear' reader.Despite that, the actual events that transpire in the 'high society' world that the Baeklands inhabit is shocking. Tony Baekland is the disturbed son of flamboyant Barbara and emotionally detached Brooks Baekland, who are all well known due to their famous lineage. Brooks's great grandfather was the inventor of Bakelite plastics and amassed quite a fortune. After small-town girl Barbara Daly marries Brooks Baekland,she finds her passion in gathering together as many literary figures, famous people, royalty, and anyone else part of the 'it' crowd. From William Styron to Dali, Barbara lives to give parties, go to parties, name drop and do it all over again the next day. Her charm was well known as was her beauty and eccentricity. Brooks seems to be her complete opposite in many respects. When Tony is born, the stage is set for tragedy. I do want to see this movie and hope that it well surpasses the book's jolty ride.
Do You like book Savage Grace (1985)?
Reading SAVAGE GRACE is like rubbernecking a 16 limousine pile up on the road en route to the Hamptons--you really want to get a good look inside to see if anyone rich and/or famous is inside the wreckage, you feel ashamed for wanting to see elite blood and guts spilled and yet you can't drive on! Robins' usuage of multiple interviews and research materials (published articles, stories, novels, lectures as well as letters and diaries) gives the reader a continually tantalizing view of a world they otherwise would never glimpse and perhaps is the only way the story could be told since so little of it could be related by conventional reportage and there is little in concrete evidence. Though it seems to reveal and conceal its subject matter almost simulatenously, its "told first hand" stance gives the it the ring of truth (whether it is or not) and gives the reader much more insight to the players that a straightforward journalistic report would. Also, it grounds the reader in the story's circumstances and largely explains the participants' actions. Yes, it does get a bit repetitive in the middle and about 2/3 of the way through but the last one hundred and fifty pages are practically relentless. Can't wait to see the movie!
—Mark
On the broadest level, this book is a tale of the decline and fall of the Baekeland family from Leo Hendrick Baekeland, the inventor of Bakelite (the first practical plastic) to his great-grandson Antony.At higher resolution the story focuses mostly on Tony and his parents, Brooks and Barbara, and covers intergenerational conflict, schizophrenia, drug use, familial dysfunction, incest, murder, and the inadequacies of the mental health systems of England and the US.Though to my eyes Barbara and B
—Lucy
I had originally picked the book up because I was so touched/shocked/disturbed by the movie and, more importantly, that this actually happened to the Baekeland family that I wanted to learn more. I thought the book would help introduce a more psychological perspective of the events- looking into the family's mental health history, focusing particularly on Tony- and I guess in a sense it did, just not the way I expected. The book focuses on people who knew the Baekelands (even for incredibly short periods of time) and (I found) uses their interviews to help the readers/movie-goers understand what kind of a life these people were living (such as social pressures, economic issues). I then took it as more of a social critique, as the surviving family members and friends used the interviews as outlets to promote themselves - the book at points is literally a series of name-dropping- something which the authors may have intended. I thought it was incredibly well researched, and provided as much insight into the family as was possible. Overall, a very interesting, but unbelievably sad, read.
—Ania
