Meine Mutter Marlene 

The book is a fine piece of literature. A brilliant piece of writing: enthralling. How tenderly she dissects the complexities of a mother she was doomed to love tenderly, but understand completely even in the process of having her tender childhood years decimated by this wanton narcissist. Maria, one of Marlene's walking dead.

@@britannia5370 Thank goodness somebody said it! Strange also that she portrays her mother quite differently depending on the audience, so that when she speaks to veterans, she is full of praise for her mother. But one thing I believe is not in dispute ,is that when there was a kidnapping threat against Maria in the 30s, Marlene and her husband were willing to give up everything in Hollywood to return to Germany where the daughter would be safer. Her comment on being told that her mother's last word on this earth was 'Maria', that it depended on how exactly she said the word, was incredibly cruel. Still, she made a good living out of her mother.