|
Review by Ann M. Shayne
We're going out on a limb here.We like Martha Stewart.
She's the Madonna of home economics: self-made, unabashed, and completely over the top in her field of endeavor. Where Madonna wears pointy bras and poses for books called "Sex," Martha wears perfect overalls and poses for books called "Entertaining."
We have often thought that Martha Stewart and Madonna would be good friends if they just had the time. Hardnosed businesswomen, both of them, they catch an enormous amount of flak for their singleminded focus: success, and lots of it.
Martha's flak level has hit a withering peak with the recent publication of Jerry Oppenheimer's "Martha Stewart -- Just Desserts: The Unauthorized Biography."
For a guy who claims in his preface to have had no preconceived opinion of Martha Stewart, Jerry Oppenheimer has had terrible luck in finding anyone who actually likes the woman. He starts out mean and gets meaner. This book is what would happen if your most gossipy ex-friend got hold of a word processor and a tape recorder.
Like most nasty tell-all biographies, there are sure to be truths amid all the noise of disgruntled former employees, shunned friends, and jealous family members. Has Martha glorified her Nutley, New Jersey, childhood? Probably. Did she drive her husband and daughter nuts with her domineering ways? Most certainly. Is she a control freak? No doubt.
Needless to say, Martha did not participate in this biography, so quotes from her are limited to her "Remembrance" columns in "Martha Stewart Living" and her books. As Oppenheimer picks away at the accuracy of these reminiscences, what he doesn't realize is that these publications are Martha's art. Her dewy-eyed recollections are part of the elaborate, perfect world she has created; they're stories, fairy tales, and they read that way. When she recalls the pale blue birds she kept in her tiny first apartment in New York, does it matter that she neglects to mention that they all met unhappy ends? Does Madonna literally mean she felt "shiny and new" when she sings "Like a Virgin"?
Martha Stewart the phenomenon is a very different thing from Martha Stewart the person. Anyone who conflates the two is being mighty literal. Joan Crawford may have been a lousy mom, but she could certainly act.
We like the way Martha has made celadon the avocado of the '90s. We like learning how to create our own tiny pinecone garlands. We like whipping up a high-end luau for 50. We want a glue gun.
OK, we like reading about these things. And for the million or so subscribers to her magazine, that is enough.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
Support your