There was no way I could not read "Wonderful Tonight" after working my way through "Miss O'Dell" and "Clapton." It seems like Patti Boyd was the center of quite a few obsessions in her day and I wanted to see if I could pinpoint just what the allure was.In good news, I think I'm finally over my own little Beatles phase. You're welcome.
Summary: Any time I read an autobiography I have a hard time summarizing it. To be short and sweet (and accurate) it is the story of a person's life filtered through their own recollections and often rose-tinted glasses. Moments are exaggerated or down played in a way that makes the subject look best...or at least not as bad as they were.
"Wonderful Tonight" tells the story of Patti's life, from her early childhood in Kenya to her tumultuous marriages to George Harrison and Eric Clapton and beyond.
My Thoughts: I thought "Wonderful Tonight" was really interesting. Patti Boyd had a life that seemed at moments quite charmed, at others horribly sad, and occasionally both at the same time.
Patti spent her early childhood with her three siblings, parents and rich grandparents in Kenya. Then her father walked out on the family and her mother immediately remarried and moved the family back to England. Patti's stepfather was weird (like...really weird) and the strained feeling at home pushed her out the door and into modeling at a young age. It was as a model that she first started drugs via "skinny pills" and eventually met her first husband, Beatles guitarist George Harrison. Patti traveled the world with George, was introduced to the elite of rock and roll and learned about Indian mysticism. What started out as a happy marriage ended sadly as Patti left one bad relationship for another, this time with Guitar legend Eric Clapton.
There were parts of Patti's story that I liked. I found her life to be really interesting. She is fearless and isn't afraid to try new things, concepts that absolutely mystify me. She traveled to exotic locales in her youth (and still does) and let those experiences change her outlook on life. She mingled with rock stars and actors and didn't bat an eyelash.
However as glamorous as Patti's life was, it was also a lot more lonely and sad that I would have thought. I felt especially sad reading about Patti's marriages. While both relationships with her husbands seemed to start out with love, it was clear that neither George nor Eric saw her as anything other than a possession. She lived her life for her men and didn't take care of herself.
But what was most sad, was that Patti's story seemed to end when her rock and roll lifestyle ended. The book just glossed over her life after Eric as if it wasn't as important. I'm not sure if that's for the reader or if it is how Patti really sees life. I hope the former.
Rating: An easy, quick read and a nice way to roll up my Beatles phase.
Also Read By: N/A
Reviewed By: Tami
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