I can't remember the last time I read a book in one sitting but last night I read this one. Subtitled "A memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties", this was written by Suze Rotolo, who lived with Bob Dylan early on, through his rise to initial fame. What is striking about this book is her intelligence and level-headedness. No hero worship, no darts, no taking advantage of her special relationship with Dylan. Quite the opposite, she has kept her experiences secret until recently. Her book is informative, of course, but also moving and introspective.
Rotolo refused to play the role of "musician's chick," first, and later "famous musician's girlfriend," in an era before women's liberation provided the cultural vocabulary for what she was feeling. Her struggle to love Dylan while keeping her own sense of self drives the narrative of those years. Portraits of all the NYC figures of the scene are here, and I was especially interested in her comments about the relationship between Dylan and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, having interviewed the latter on the same subject.
Next up, Dave Van Ronk's memoir, The Mayor of MacDougal Street.
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