Karla

A very interesting and fun read. Highly informative and entertaining at the same time. There is so much information packed into this book it could easily have been a heavy, dry read, but it was not at all! It has a nice fluidity, story-telling elements, and bits of funny commentary that make it a fun, easy read. Each chapter focuses on a particular area on/of the body or face (as in lips, eyes, hair etc.). Each chapter goes into as much detail as it can within the limited amount of pages.

The book has a good amount of pictures consisting mainly of ads (which I personally enjoyed a lot) and (mostly) patent drawings. I found the patent drawings interesting but pretty hideous, they're just very ugly cartoons. They left me wishing there had been some more pretty pictures to counterbalance the ugly (it's a beauty book after all!). I won't complain too much though, since the usual complaint is that beauty books have too many pretty pictures and not much information.

Pictures notwithstanding, the book has a wealth of text and visual information about the history and evolution of beauty standards based on beauty inventions patented from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. I learned, and giggled, a lot!

As a side note, I found myself googling a lot of people, places, and things being referenced in the book as I read. There are many interesting things that are not illustrated in the book and so I encourage you do to the same!

I was very interested in this book to get a closer look at the life of the Fitzgeralds and Zelda in particular. I'm two thirds of the way in and I can't see myself finishing the book without some serious effort. The parts about Zelda and Scott, and the way Zelda expresses herself, are very interesting to me. But I can't stand the main character, Zelda's nurse Anna Howard. There's something very empty and lacking about Anna that makes me have no patience for her story and the developments of her life outside of her interactions with the Fitzgeralds.

I realize that Anna's life is meant to contrast those of the Fitzgeralds and give a sense of perspective but her lack of personality is too prevalent, in my opinion, to enjoy the book as a whole.