Her Again

Meryl Streep and I were two of the five people in Vassar Colleges class of 71, so I came to this book with huge curiosity and my own set of memories. I knew she went to Dartmouth in the fall of senior year while I finished my last units, but I had to read Michael Schulmans HER AGAIN to find out what happened next.

Shulman recounts the time she spent pursuing her craft. Her director at Vassar introduced her to directors in NYC. She pursued an MFA at Yale, joined a touring company and soon landed back in New York. Almost everywhere people fell in love with her ability to become the character, just as they had when she played Miss Julie at Vassar College. Offers of roles poured in during her first years on Broadway, where she was known for her ability to play an amazing range of characters. Even then she had a unique ability to fall into a role, an ability she enjoys without fully understanding it. Thats okay. Talented people often dont understand their God-given gifts.

Shulman titled each chapter after a character who came to represent a season in her life. He chronicles her relationships onstage and off, giving us a clear, unique portrait of a professional whos widely respected from Broadway to Hollywood. Meryl, Im proud to say that I knew you when you were in Drama 101 at Vassar. If only wed worked on a scene together, I might have shared your inspiration and technique with the many students I taught.
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Talent

I have to say, this book was FAR more engaging than I had ever hoped for. I can easily say I loved every page and found myself thinking about it often during the day when I’d put it down. I’m a long-time fan of Ms. Streep, but the book is not just a great account of her life and development, it does a terrific job of bringing to life an entire era of AMerican social, political and dramatic revolution. The details are both funny and yet often intimate; you gain insight into the actress yes, but as well all of the “cast” of people who have been around her. So fans of recent history will be as rewarded as fans of Meryl Streep.

What stands out the most to me is just how much Ms. Streep worked to bring her amazing gifts to life, never taking anything for granted, never settling.

The review that claims the book is shallow seems crazy to me, and if in reality a lot of the material is technically “out there” already, well so what? So is almost every historic personage too. It’s how it’s woven together and what is chosen that is what counts. ANd to think even the most determined fan could ever track it all down on their own, let alone put it together in such a coherent narrative is borderline insulting the book’s author.

2 1/2 stars.

Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep was well researched and included much information that was of interest to me.
Meryl Streep is of my generation (born in 1949, just 2 1/2 years before me) and from New Jersey, as I am. I learned that
Streep, in high school went the direction of cheer leader and high school queen. That tidbit came as a shock to me, but that she got into theater at Vassar College and later at Yale, did not.

I would pick up most anything written about Meryl Streep because in my mind she is one of the greatest actors of our times. I would naturally love to learn about how she became what she is and this book explored her early forays into acting and how she intersected with many others who would also become well known names in Hollywood like Mary Beth Hurt, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Moriarty, and others.

The author, Michael Shulman is a respected contributor and arts editor of The New Yorker and his work has been in The New York Times, so it goes without saying that he is a good writer. He went beyond what any good biographer would do in regards to the research for writing the book. However, any book which is about a person who chooses not to meet with or in any way, communicate with the author is going to miss something very important. Having had no access to Meryl Streep, even the best author can not provide a look into the inner world of his subject and ultimately it is Streep’s inner world, how she thinks and feels about her life and work and those who have touched it, that really matters. So I rated this book with 2 1/2 stars. I enjoyed it, but wanted so much more.

I have always admired the work Meryl Streep did in bringing characters to life. I can’t remember a time she wasn’t a movie star so really enjoyed the backstory of how her career began and evolved. She is such a talented actresses I can’t imagine her career ever coming to an endure. All people of all ages have an interesting story to share and bring to light. A delightful read that I couldn’t put down. Thank you Michael for bringing this to life.

A good read. Has an easy flow to the writing style. Good depth of information without seeming to be trying to “dig up the dirt” on this person to make it an exciting revelation; well researched and seems to be an honest accounting. What I liked best was focusing on Meryl Streep’s development as an actress. Made me want to go back and watch a lot of movies and wish that I’d have been able to see Ms. Streep in so many live theater performances. This book also shared lots of information about the rise of many other actors and actresses who’d worked their way up through the ranks at the same time.

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