Jackie Under My Skin: Interpreting an Icon

I loved it. It has a way of getting to the underlying reasons we Americans are so fascinated with the late Mrs. Onassis. Perhaps, a bit much for some and Auntie Mame-ish, but fun. A totally different take then the usual bio and could be read aloud at some spoken word event, it has that kind of melodic tempo. She was a work of art, so perhaps it takes great art to get to the heart of her allure. I loved the chapter on her "pillbox hat". Check it out. Definitely worth a read.

Funny categories on our beloved Jackie. A book that one cannot possibly put down and definitly cannot forget. A Real treasure!!!!!! FOR QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS ON JACKIE ONASSIS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT [email protected]. HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Talk about deconstruction! This book both unravels and revels in the mystery of the divine Jackie O. Koestenbaum is obviously deeply reverential toward his subject matter, and although his fanciful writing sometimes veers to the extreme, leaving the reader a bit side-swiped in the process, the journey is exhilirating. Although often flippant in tone, this book is ultimately spiritual in nature, an astute dissection of perhaps our greatest modern American legend.

I simply couldn't put this book down. Kostenbaum's charming analysis of Jackie O's celebrity is dazzling, eccentric and riveting. This book is by no means a biography; rather, the author introduces us to the Jackie of his imagination. Kostenbaum's highly personal essays tranform Jackie-watching from a mere sport into a delightful intellectual and spiritual excercise. It is truly a pleasure to read a book by an author who treats his subject with such playfulness and affection. However, certain Jackie fans might consider such treatment sacreligious and are not likely to enjoy this book.

Koestenbaum's book is combustible, flamboyant, a marvel. He is a poet-essayist who has taken as his subject here something about which he truly feels passion, and the object of this affection just happens to be a well-known cultural icon, someone from America of the 1960s but not of it, a hieroglyphic who after her reign as First Lady ended reinvented herself completely several times over before Madonna ever thought of it, all without ever discussing herself or even acknowledging the power of her own celebrity. Other than Salinger, she may be one of the last U.S. icons, since an icon, by nature, does not speak about itself. Koestenbaum's love for Jackie O is unbounded; one can only imagine that she, editor and wordsmith that she finally became, would have appreciated Koestenbaum's wild exploration of her images. This book is funny and provocative, whether or not you know anything about Jackie! But as the other reviews here would suggest, Jackie lovers should stand forewarned -- they probably won't like this book.