Book Review: Fame by Andy Warhol

Publication date: February 22nd 2018
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 56

Summary:

‘Good b.o means good “box office.” You can smell it from a mile away’

The legendary sixties New York pop artist Andy Warhol’s hilarious and insightful vignettes and aphorisms on the topics of love, fame and beauty.

Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York’s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

Source: Goodreads

Thoughts:

It’s been a while since I’ve read any of the Penguin Modern Series, so I decided to pick one up again. I chose ‘Fame’ by Andy Warhol, a book split into three sections, giving his insight on Love, Beauty, and Fame, especially the irony and hypocrisy of these themes. The book is entitled ‘Fame’, but I think that the most powerful piece in this book was on Love, and I’d say that was my favourite and most relatable of the three.

“The best love is not-to-think-about-it love.”

I can’t say I knew a lot about Andy Warhol beyond the basics before reading this book, so it was quite an eye-opening read for me. This little book of his thoughts and opinions really allow his eccentric character to shine through and I did spend a good amount of time Googling his life once I was finished.

I don’t necessarily agree with everything that he’s saying and I think a lot of his opinions are now outdated, but that didn’t distract from my enjoyment of this book, which I sped through one evening last week. I think this is a good starting point for those interested in the life of Andy Warhol, and a pretty good summary for those like me, who are only looking for a snippet.

Overall rating: Another quick read from the Penguin Modern Series, this little book contains three sections of musings by artist Andy Warhol. I enjoyed it and found it quite interesting to read about this man and his life. Definitely recommended if that’s something you’re interested in. I’d give this one 4 stars.