“Once Upon A Time : The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy”

“Once Upon A Time:The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy ” shoulddaa, woulddaa, coulddaa, been an easy pick for the ‘Beach Bag Book Club’.  Regrettably, the prose quickly becomes as sickeningly sweet as rainbow-colored taffy.

To be clear, the author, Elizabeth Beller documents black and white challenges in the life of the celeb-u-tante however, each difficult experience in Carolyn’s life is resolved with a kaleidoscope of praise for her uncommon characteristics. The biography includes pictures of Camelot-redux, but those images don’t justify the time it takes to read these vapid pages void of social redemption.

All Photo Credits: “Once Upon A Time : The Captivating Life of Carolyn Besstte-Kennedy

“Once Upon A Time” begins by explaining complications in Carolyn’s parent’s marriage. Financial problems and divorce lead to a reversal of fortunes for the Bessette family. The next hurdle for Carolyn was to become part of a blended family. With her mom and sister the three moved into a Greenwich, Connecticut home with a loving step-dad and his easy-going daughters. The fairytale-esque change in lifestyle shoulddaa offered Carolyn some comfort instead, she felt like the poor-new-girl in the old-monied town.

After graduating from Greenwich High the ever charismatic Carolyn enrolled in Boston University. “Once Upon A TIme” she ran around campus in sweat pants while her peers wore mink on the avenue of Commonwealth.  Described as ‘kind-to-the-core’ the ‘friend-to-all’ earned good grades and a reputation as a student-teacher anyone woulddaa loved.

In addition to keeping up with class-work, Carolyn worked in a near-by mall. While there, like any fairytale princess, her clothing and her life changed. Serendipitously, she was swept into the spotlight of Calvin Klein’s glitterati.

Hyperbole knows no limits in this book. Rather than say her closet was ‘where-ever she dropped her latest outfit,’ the author referenced Carolyn’s collection of flung-on-a-chair-couture as “Mount Cashmere.”

The flawless-femme was said to have maintained her poise after meeting John F. Kennedy Jr. who was updating his wardrobe in Calvin Klein’s New York store.  Discreet when they met, discreet at each fetê, the star-crossed souls began dating. In this book Carolyn navigates JFK Jr’s cheating ways with the wisdom of a sage. While he’s engaged and enraged with actress Daryl Hannah, Carolyn filled her time rolling though her life and her bed with underwear model Michael Bergin until Jr. wooed her back.

Each fact-of-life coulddaa  been explored by the author as a facet in the complex development of a young woman. Instead, the Junior “Mrs. Kennedy” is portrayed as an androgynously shaped, sugar-coated, glossy-blond with great clothes and thin-skin.

After 294 pages the implausibly sweet stories end with the author saying “ We are left to wonder what form the life of beautiful, captivating Carolyn would have taken, had it not been cut so short. But I’m willing to bet it would have been executed with sprezzatura and a wink. “

For those who aren’t fluent in Italian  ‘sprezzatura’ translates as; the appearance of nonchalance possessed by someone who seems effortlessly graceful.

Had this book begun with that sentence “She” thinks it woulddaa been enough of a preview to skip this review.