A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York

Part one of Huston's planned two-part autobiography delivers nearly everything one could hope for in an old-school Hollywood memoir. Not that there is much Hollywood, since the early part of Huston's life was spent at the family estate in Ireland, with pedigreed dogs and horses rather than swimming pools and convertibles, but the other ingredients supply plenty of glamor, with famous visitors and stories of tragedy, romance, and beauty. While Huston reveals much that could be considered difficult (suicide attempts, an abusive relationship), she does so with a certain steeliness and lack of self-pity, lingering only where it seems to please her, clearly taking great joy in remembering her beloved parents and the pleasures of her early years with them. In certain places, this restraint serves to heighten the emotion of the book, while in others it may increase the distance between the reader and the author, as with her sudden, almost taken for granted success in the world of modeling. Huston reads, and her rich voice, elegant accent, and occasionally quirky pronunciation make the audio version particularly delightful.