I read about Rosamond Bernier in the ginormous September issue of VOGUE and couldn't help thinking she was one of those people who had the kind of life that seems more likely in fiction than the real world. I was intrigued and was thinking about adding her new book, Some of My Lives, to my Christmas wish list and then it showed up on my doorstep. (I honestly have no idea why FSG sent it my way but they did and I considered it a message from the gods.)

Set up as a series of essays about her life (in roughly chronological order), Some of My Lives is about Bernier's travels and career, how she wrote for VOGUE in post WWII Paris, founded a landmark art journal in 1955, became a prominent arts lecturer in her later years and basically spent a lot of time hanging out with Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Leonard Bernstein, Karl Lagerfeld, Alice Toklas and honestly so many amazing people that pretty much your head starts to spin after a while. (See an excerpt from the book at the Paris Review blog.)

Talk about one heckuva life.

What's especially impressive about the book though is that it is not written in a flashy celebrityesque way, nor does it come across as serial namedropping. Bernier wrote about fashion, art and culture and met a lot of interesting people when she was doing that. She was friends with Frida Kahlo because she was in Mexico and interested in art and, just, ended up hanging out with Frida and Diego. (I have no idea why my life does not work this way.) And while she certainly sought out many artists for her journal and other publications (or when sent on assignment), I think she maintained relationships with them over the years because she was a fascinating woman in her own right and a good friend to boot. Rosamond Bernier was never dull and thus she ended up with a boatload of equally original friends.

Some of My Lives is pretty irresistible light reading. Bernier does not get bogged down in her personal life - she mentions her family and her spouses but only in the most general terms. At one point she alludes to a difficult divorce but does not dish on details and really, you don't want them. This is a woman who has lived a life that does not require tawdry reality tv moments to keep you turning the pages. When you have Mary McCarthy sent on assignment to Venice you don't need to know why Bernier's marriage busted up; you want to hear about McCarthy considering the canals and that, fortunately, is exactly what Bernier gives you.

I know the word is overused a lot but truly, this lady is awesome.

[Post pic of Rosamond Bernier and sculptor Henry Moore.]