Surreal: The Extraordinary Life of Gala Dalí
[Klein] relishes illustrating the power dynamics at play in burgeoning art scenes ... While Gala Dalí comes off as fascinating and enigmatic, Gerber Klein makes it clear that her subject was willfully unknowable.
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After their hand-to-mouth years the narrative sags somewhat, but personal frictions liven things up ... Ms. Klein assesses the Dalís’ over-the-top bids for attention with a clear eye ... Ms. Klein ably sifts the performative from the genuine. Though she delivers no bombshells, her thorough sleuthing piles up evidence for Gala’s legacy. Unsung no longer, the Svengali behind Surrealism’s antics gets her due.
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Klein documents Gala’s role in Dalí’s career in great detail, and yet her biography disappoints because it fails to give the reader an in-depth psychological portrait of her subject ... What’s missing from this book, apart from illustrations of Dalí’s art, is penetration of Gala’s character beneath the surface glamor of her life among the Western world’s privileged upper class.
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