Disturbing short memoir; very evocative of bohemian Manhattan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Don’t expect to like
Jean-Michel Basquiat by the end of this book.

Thanks to NetGally for an advance copy

Jean-Michel Basquiat became an idol of modern art. His transition from the subways to the chic gallery spaces of Manhattan brought him into the company of many of New York’s established and aspiring stars. He became friends with fellow artists Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, performed with Debbie Harry and Fab 5 Freddie and dated Madonna.

But through all of this he had a relationship with Suzanne. Mmuse, lover, co-conspirator, fellow artist.

But the demands that his new fame brought, coupled with the racism and injustice all around him, sickened Basquiat. He started using heroin far too often and in 1987, at the age of twenty-seven, the most successful black visual artist in history, died from a heroin overdose.

This book, written by a friend of both Basquiat and Suzanne, is an exploration of the artist and the time they lived through as seen through the eyes of his muse, Suzanne. Though they parted before he died, it is a love story still.

I was a teenager if the 80’s. I loved Basquiat’s work then and still love it now. It has an energy and an intelligence not found in much pop art. That energy is born of fury and injustice and the intelligence brings with it humour.

It was an honour to read such an intimate, understanding and compassionate portrait of the artist. But it also made me feel ashamed of the racism that still destroys so many people’s potential. We must do better. Art demands it.

If you know nothing or very little about Jean-Michel Basquiat then this book is unlikely to have much of an impact, but if you are acquainted with his life and work then it is both a compelling and insightful exploration of that life and work and above all his relationship with Suzanne Mallouk, a love affair which was both passionate and doomed. This is in no way a conventional biography but instead a personal exploration told by the author Jennifer Clement’s factual third-person account juxtaposed with Mallouk’s own first-person reminiscences of her life with Basquiat. Clement is a close friend of Mallouk’s which adds a layer of authenticity to the story. Poetic, lyrical and atmospheric, narrated in short and episodic chapters, the book gives a real sense of time and place, and conveys with insight and empathy Basquiat’s troubled nature and Mallouk’s response to it and her ultimate escape. Basquiat’s end is inevitable given his drug addiction. I certainly found the book absorbing, and it gave me a deeper understanding of Basquiat and his short career.