REVIEW - The Girl on the Balcony (audiobook)

The Girl on the Balcony by Olivia Hussey (audiobook)

OVERVIEW

I had heard of Olivia Hussey due to her work in Romeo and Juliet but had never seen it. When she, unfortunately, passed away recently, I checked to see if she had an autobiography or memoir. She did so I decided to learn more about her and her life by checking it out from the library.

For some reason, this book just didn't do it for me. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. After her breakthrough role, Olivia lived a charmed life but grew up too quickly without adult supervision. She lived a wild life of partying but didn't seem really happy. Her life finally settled down somewhat when she met and married Dino Martin. 

TRIGGER ALERT: Alcohol abuse, drug usage, sexual assault, and some foul language 

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars

Writing: 3.0 stars

Olivia writes very choppily in bursts which is very odd to me as her son, Alexander Martin, a writer helped her with this book. She also left chapters hanging with a question and had no real transitions. It was very different from any other autobiography than what I had read. Was that the point? But it didn't work for me. 

Narration: 3.5 stars

It was fine, but rather bland narration by Carol Monda, Normally, I choose to read memoirs or autobiographies narrated by the author. It gives more emotion and character to the audiobook. So it was disappointing not to be narrated by Olivia who is a professional actress. 

Character Arc: 4.0 stars

The audiobook is primarily chronological with some flashbacks to fully explain important parts of the story. This is my preferred choice for memoirs and autobiographies. 

But it was annoying that she would "foretell" the future at times and reveal a secret or tragedy that was discussed a few paragraphs later. 

Memorable:  3.0 stars

Olivia had a typical celebrity actress life with many advantages, opportunities, and privileges. At times, it felt as if she really didn't appreciate what she had and who she had in her life. She squandered many opportunities for real love by allowing her and her partner's professional careers to come first. 

She also did not have any strong adult figures to protect her. Olivia was unfairly used by Franco Zefferilli in Romeo and Juliet as a sexual being as a child. She needed an advocate to ensure that she was treated appropriately. This lack of role models also created a naive young woman who found herself in dangerous situations with dangerous people which was not her fault. It is just terribly sad. 

Entertaining:   3.0 stars

This book was not so much entertaining as informative about her life. 

It also dragged when she spent about 1/4 of the book discussing her spiritual guru, her spiritual journey, and India. This didn't interest me at all. 

Book cover: 5.0 stars

Gorgeous.     

Book title: 5.0 stars 

Perfect.  

Recommend

STATISTICS

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (audiobook)

The Girl on the Balcony by Olivia Hussey

Blackstone Audiobooks

9 hours, 51 minutes

Release date of 7/31/2018

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Olivia Hussey

My Goodreads review

Blackstone Audiobooks

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜