"Piaf" by Simone Berteaut

At the moment I am enjoying my deserved vacation without a care in the world and there is absolutely nothing I have to do - mornings with a coffee, afternoons naps, solitary walks, birds chirping, evenings full of writing and music, I couldn't think about better way to relax. Since re-visit to Simone Signoret's autobiography was such good idea and I read it again from a completely different perspective, I decided to check out another old friend and perhaps unconsciously its french artist again. So I spend quiet evenings with biography of Edith Piaf titled simply "Piaf" and it was written by Simone Berteaut.

Berteaut claims she was Piaf's half-sister (same father). When the book was originally published many were offended and accused Berteaut of dragging Piaf's memory trough the mud, warts and all. Since blood relationship can't be proved (documents show another story) we simply have to accept Berteaut's version. Certainly there is nobody around who knew young and starving street singer in her early pre-success days as well as "Momone". Apparently they hung around together a lot and lived hand-to-mouth existence, Berteaut was collecting money when Piaf was singing, than they would drink it all the very same evening and start again next day. Sleeping in rented hotel rooms, sometimes in park benches, bringing sailors and soldiers to the only bed they had, girls would wear dirty clothes and sometimes even walk barefoot. What comes clear between the lines is Berteaut's affection for Piaf (though she manages to make herself somehow innocent in all this and makes Piaf responsible or should I say irresponsible)  and the fact that she lived somewhat parasitic life next to Piaf who was making money and having friends - without Piaf, Berteaut has nothing much to tell about herself and seems genuinely bored with possibility of regular work and quiet, stable life.

Right now I came to the point when Piaf meets two people responsible for her professional break - lyricist Raymond Asso and composer Marguerite Monnot. Asso clearly sees Berteaut as a bad influence and works on squeezing her out of the picture, so he can work on making Piaf more presentable for introduction to sophisticated audiences. Berteaut can't really understand this and romanticize about sister's night life full of liquor, pimps, prostitutes and "fun" - if anybody asks her, they would continue living like this forever in underground surrounded with seedy characters and living a glorious, bohemian life. What is interesting here is some long forgotten names of pre-WW2 french music, like Marie Dubas who was Piaf's biggest idol. Raymond Asso also appears as a fascinating person who recognized raw diamond.

Its very easy read and quite fascinating, but of course I understand the subtle ways Berteaut glorifies these hungry years and closeness between them. She is clearly a street child without any respect for authority, things like police, law and even money is too "bourgeois" for her and she continuously paint herself as only casual accomplice in "fun" who had no influence on Piaf whatsoever - Piaf herself emerges like a loose cannon, ready to explode at any moment and if this mad passion and energy is truly what made her great artist, it also makes her somehow difficult person to be with - she demands complete attention and frankly it seems its easier to appreciate her on the music records than in probably in real life. We would definitely find each other a bore and run away in opposite directions. This in no way diminishes my pleasure in her music, but frankly I would probably find her unbearable.