[HARDCOVER: US] The tumultuous life of the queen of the blues

Brun-Lambert depicts Simone, the tormented soul. Her family’s way of dealing with racism was to turn away from prejudice and live your life as best you could, as if acknowledging the existence of racism was in itself a kind of defeat. Going from child prodigy to suddenly being exposed to the anomalies of racism was too much for Simone and seemed to bring about her frequent and terrible bouts of paranoia, depression and fear. It would have been interesting if Brun-Lambert had explored this in more depth. Fewer gigs and more analysis would have made for a better biography. Nina pronounced she would die at 70; anything after that would be too much pain. And she did. All of her selves together: the complicated women that housed the one Nina Simone.

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