Mirror, Mirror

Review

‘Byrne’s fictional life of a screen siren is thought-provoking as well as hugely entertaining …. Byrne’s Dietrich is called Madou. And she is every bit as glamorous, witty and highly sexed as her reputation suggests…. A fictional life of a screen siren is thought-provoking as well as hugely entertaining …. Byrne’s Dietrich is called Madou. And she is every bit as glamorous, witty and highly sexed as her reputation suggests…. Mirror, Mirror is both eye-poppingly fun and thought-provoking.’ The Times

‘Paula Byrne has also drawn on real events for this, a kind of fictionalised memoir of Maria Riva, the daughter of Marlene Dietrich. In Byrne’s book the pair become ‘Kater’ and ‘Madou’ respectively, and while the latter is the most beautiful woman in the world, her child is self-loathing and fat. Daringly, Byrne also grants the mirror that is Madou’s confidante and companion a voice, and not just any voice, but that of Dietrich’s friend, Noel Coward. It shouldn’t work, but it does: Hollywood, we’re reminded, is after all a through-the-looking glass world, and Byrne writes authoritatively about its illusions and obscene, glittering excess…. Compelling.’ Daily Mail