Just Kids - Patti Smith

I have been sitting far too long on this review. It's not that I haven't wanted to. I've just been really swamped with other stuff. In any case, let me tell you how absolutely delightful Patti Smith is. 

Just Kids details the years Patti Smith spent with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe when they were LITERALLY starving artists in New York City. From rundown apartments in Brooklyn to the fabulous and tragic Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, Patti and Robert, supported and inspired each other to keep reaching and keep creating. 

I have to admit, other than a colleague I worked with over a decade ago who was a bit of an aging hippy, I'd never even really heard of Patti Smith before. "Because the Night" was a Natalie Merchant song from VH1 (I'm so embarrassed). In any case, I saw a reference to this book and decided to listen to the audio. After I started listening, Patti and Robert references were popping up everywhere, like in Little Fires Everywhere which I read earlier this month. 

So I took a deep Wiki dive on these two remarkable people and knew before I got to the end that Robert was going to die of AIDS related complications and that I would be really heartbroken for Patti who always held him in her heart even after they grew apart. What can you say about young love and young lovers who aside from being incredibly cool nerds were creative about life and the universe. Robert Mapplethorpe went on to stretch and challenge the definition of art. His provocative photos tested the boundaries of what could be available to the public. 

Just look at these incredibly cool humans.

And I loved all the ways Patti describes him and their life together. They may have been Just Kids, but they loved and created for a lifetime. It was wonderful to get a glimpse of such a powerful friendship.

4/5 Stars.