My Life With Barbra: A Love Story
Fans who have done their homework will know that Barbra Streisand's first mentor (and first love) was one Barry Dennen, who now adds his voice to the growing chorus of Barbra interpreters. This remembrance of things past offers numerous anecdotes describing Dennen introducing Barbra to the great singers and songwriters of earlier years; a brief recounting of the couple's fumbling sexual relationship (Dennen was coming to grips with his homosexuality at the time); and a bird's-eye peek at the beginning of greatness. The most interesting parts of the book, however, involve Dennen's most recent interactions with Streisand, mainly a 1997 phone call in which they hash out their young love one more time. Streisand's fears that Dennen's story would make her look foolish are at least partially justified. His re-creations of their conversations (her end done in a bad Brooklynese) never seem very real. But this is no hatchet job. Dennen clearly loved Barbra and saw in her the talent that quickly became apparent to the world. Ultimately, this is a sweet, awkward, and fragmentary book. Just like young love.Ilene Cooper