When We Were Brilliant
"AN HOMAGE TO FEMALE FRIENDSHIP AND AMBITION." —LA TIMES
They were an unlikely pair—a blond bombshell and a photographer determined to be taken seriously—but Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold would make a deal that would change their lives in this dazzling new novel from the national bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and The Woman with the Cure.
In 1952, Norma Jeane Baker follows documentary photographer Eve Arnold into a powder room on the night they first meet. She has a proposition for her. Norma Jeane created Marilyn Monroe to be photographed, and she wants Eve to do it. Eve is better than anyone she’s seen at revealing a person’s inner truth. Together they can help each other. Together, she says, they can make something brilliant.
Skeptical of this cipher of a young woman, Eve demurs. She’s looking for more serious subjects than this ambitious starlet. But she keeps getting drawn back into Marilyn’s orbit, and the women come to recognize something in each other—something fundamental. Nothing will get in the way of what they want, and when Marilyn’s star takes off to teetering heights, neither will ever be the same.
A lavish and transporting novel, When We Were Brilliant captures the halcyon days of an icon and the grit of women determining their own futures as it explores the exceptional and complicated friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold.
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Community Reviews
When We Were Brilliant is a breath of fresh air. It is, at its heart, the story of two women, Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane) and Eve Arnold, who recognized a kindred spirit in the other and became colleagues and friends. The story is told linearly, which I loved, and it worked well in this novel. Eve was the only female photographer to photograph Marilyn. I loved reading about their first meeting and all the subsequent encounters. The progression of their support and friendship was surprising to me. I knew very little about Marilyn Monroe's life before I began reading this novel. Some elements of the story appear to be non-fiction facts about her life, although it is written as fiction. After Marilyn and Eve meet for the first time, they form a lasting partnership that will endure for the rest of their lives. The author did an excellent job painting vivid images of both women, as well as their personal struggles. I was drawn into the story from the very beginning. The author conducted thorough research for this book, and it shows. It feels like reading a biography about both women while also reading a fiction novel. I feel like I got a glimpse behind the curtain regarding Marilyn’s life, and I enjoyed learning Eve’s story and how it intertwined with Marilyn’s. It’s a great book and worth the time to read if you love historical fiction or biography. There is a sense of wonder and artfulness about the book that will stay with you long after you read the last page (and what an ending)!
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