Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty by Diane Keaton

Review by The Quidnunc

Let me just say I simply adore Diane Keaton, she is one of those iconic people that reach out straight out of the screen and swirl you up in their whirlwind of charm and beauty. Like most of you I fell in love with her in Annie Hall and have been so deeply intrigued by her ever since.

A single mother of two she still rocks her trademark look: a bowler hat, tinted glasses, scarf, gloves and boots! But she is so much more than a fashion icon, she is witty, and smart, and captivating.

In her memoir "Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty" she talks about ageing, beauty and power of the power of turtle necks. I never realized it while I was reading but now that I reflect on what I experienced while reading, I realize that Diane Keaton's voice was the voice of the narrator on every single line in this wonderful work. And let me tell you something: her sense of humour, her cheeky comments and her femininity are right there, and they are right on spot. I simply love her writing and her honesty. Through the pages Keaton tells the story of how she

learned to find beauty and appreciate it in every form. Her wonderful and quirky ideas can be summed up by one of the most famous quotes on beauty: "Beauty is truth, beauty truth"("Ode to a Grecian Urn", Keats). "Let's just say it wasn't pretty" is funny, wise, thoughtful, uplifting, but mostly unvarnished. It is the story of a woman that has no and had never had illusions of her own self, a woman who possess her charms and knows how to use them.

Diane Keaton's book of pensées is simply stunning.