Thank you all for participating and being civil and kind. Michelle thank you for all the hard work you did on the timelines for us and gave up some of your spring break to do that. I know towards the end of the thread some people tried to hijack it, but it looks like it all worked out.

Feel free to keep adding comments on this thread, especially those who haven't finished the book yet. We aren't going anywhere.

.

Anybody up for Hahn's book?

Count me in. I've read it so I'm ready to go!

PennyPurple said:

Thank you all for participating and being civil and kind. Michelle thank you for all the hard work you did on the timelines for us and gave up some of your spring break to do that. I know towards the end of the thread some people tried to hijack it, but it looks like it all worked out.

Feel free to keep adding comments on this thread, especially those who haven't finished the book yet. We aren't going anywhere.

.

Anybody up for Hahn's book?

NickiStarr said:

Count me in. I've read it so I'm ready to go!

PennyPurple said:

Thank you all for participating and being civil and kind. Michelle thank you for all the hard work you did on the timelines for us and gave up some of your spring break to do that. I know towards the end of the thread some people tried to hijack it, but it looks like it all worked out.

Feel free to keep adding comments on this thread, especially those who haven't finished the book yet. We aren't going anywhere.

.

Anybody up for Hahn's book?

Was it good?

PennyPurple said:

PennyPurple said:

amethyst68 said:

DECEMBER 18, 1998 - - After 2 years and 18 singles, the Artist formerly known as Prince announced today that he will be taking a brief break from the music business to concentrate on his impending divorce/re-marriage to his wife/ex-wife, Mayte Garcia Nelson. The Artist stated that after releasing the 18th single from Emancipation (the #1 single "Da Da Da") and having Emancipation gone platinum 12 times, "I have nothing else 2 prove. CONtrary to popular BElief, my CAReer is at new heights, accented by purple moons and red skies." Legendary bass player and spiritual guru Larry Graham was sitting next to The Artist, clad in all white and smiling. When asked about the upcoming GCS2000, Graham replied, "The Artist and I have no need for CONtracts, therefore, there is no reason to CONfirm a release date. But it will be sometime in The Dawn." When asked about the multiple planned releases for his 1982 hit single "1999", The Artist just looked at his shoes and smiled. "Under a blood red sky, sometimes it snows in April." "BEing number ONe at the bank is a WONdeful experience. True FREEdom rests in the hands of the creator of all things. The FREEdom to BE one with one's self, to EXplore the possibilities of creation. While the world is focusing on the bombing of a nation, we are more CONcerned with the FULLfilment of spiritual and absolute truth," The Artist stated while sucking on a cherry flavored lollipop. The Artist also announced plans for a world wide tour following his re-marriage to Mayte. "We will see the world together through each others eyes. Her experience will be my experience. We have cast off the need for ASSumed titles and want to just BE." When Emancipation was released in 1996, the Artist claimed that he had 18 radio friendly singles that could come off of the album. While not all of the singles did as well as others, the Artist shrugged off questions about the dissapointing sales of "Crystal Ball" and "New Power Soul." "I am a different person than I was then. My aura spoke to me and my karma is finally ASSured. But I never lie to my friends. Life can be so nice when you are free from yourself." In closing the conference, the Artist once again took swipes at the music industry and Warner Brothers (his former record label). "When you enslave yourself, you feel like a mystic in a whorehouse. But now that I have seen the true light, have felt the hand of freedom, and tasted the fruit of equality, there is nowhere to go but up, unless I am going down on Mayte."

I have a feeling that whole spiel might be a piss-take on the part of the writer...

PennyPurple said:

So we are done with the book and here are some questions.

.

1. Did you all enjoy reading the book?

2. Did you learn anything new about Prince?

3. Do you think that this book hurt his legacy any?

1. I enjoyed the experience immensely as a group outing, this is the first time I've tried an online "book club" and I really appreciate the clarity and maturity of atmosphere in tackling what are undoubtedly some tough subjects for long time Prince fans. The book in and of itself represents somewhat of a closing chapter/ full circle turnaround in my own life, as I reflect on where I was in during that period of time in my own world and some of the trajectories of my own life journies. The 90s, man. The era was a second coming of age for me.

.

2. Outside of the particulars surrounding their time as newlyweds and later, parents, I don't feel that I learned an overhwelming amount of new information about Prince...but I did realize that some of the experiences Garcia shared regarding the demise of her marriage and eventual separation before divorce have long been corraborated members of her former circle (unbeknownst to Mayte herself). On this road she's finally taken to revisit the literal ghosts of the past, it is my hope that she has found healing and closure in giving an actual name to the source(s) of her grief, and recovery from the act of literally releasing what has clearly had a hold over her for so long- and of course, my hopes are also that she (and Prince) have finally made their individual journeys to peace.

.

3. Last but not least, re: the legacy. It remains untarnished in my eyes. The genius that is Prince remains the same. Was Prince a flawed individual? Yes. But if life has taught me anything, it's that most creatives are flawed individuals, with narcisssitic tendencies that can morph into harmful behaviors if left unchecked, even - but when you learn to separate the person that is flesh and bone from their otherworldly talents, it makes this concept a bit easier to swallow. However in no way does this detract from the utterly vast and immensely deep wealth of Prince's creative output into the world and how his gifts impacted music, music history, and millions of lives. His imperfect flesh is now only ash & dust, but the spirit? That which was gifted by and exaulted by the Creator? Oh it lives on... gloriously.

Thank you, Penny Purple & Michelle for all the effort you put into making one of the best threads I've read on the org in years, and thank you to all of you star contributors who came into to this participate with mature, open minds, and a level of emotional intelligence that made reading your every post worthwhile. I have truly enjoyed (most of) you all.

1. Yes, I enjoyed reading the book. It was reasonably well written and moved along at a nice clip

-

2. Yes, I didn't know the details about the start of Mayte and Prince's relationship, so that was new to me. And the whole sequence about Amiir, while heartbreaking, also shed light. What I got out of that was Prince's helplessness, I guess. Like, I got the sense that he just didn't really know what to do, that the previous way he controlled people and situations wasn't working here. So he sort of shut down in a way. That was all really, really sad.

-

But overall, Price remained a somewhat mysterious figure even at the book's end. I think that's because Mayte (smartly) chose to keep the focus on her own feelings and experiences, and not try to psychoanalyze or assign motives or thoughts to Prince. She described his actions, but didn't go overboard claiming she could get inside his head. (The whole Spain situation comes to mind.) The picture she painted was that he was a bit of a mystery to her too. Now, I do think she may have held back. She may have more ideas about his thought process and motivations than she put into the book, and she may have restrained the anger that I think she would legitimately feel about him after certain events. But you would think, from the book, that her husband was often a stranger to her too.

-

3. No, this book certainly doesn't hurt his legacy. I'm hard pressed to imagine any book that comes out about him -- unless it reveals him to be a murderer or child molester or something -- will hurt his legacy. His body of work is just too substantial for a book to affect his legacy, plus it's not like the general public didn't sort of think he was a bit unusual for quite some time.

-

If it hurt anyone's legacy, it's Larry Graham! He definitely came off as a slightly shady figure here, even though she claimed that he and his wife and daughter were good people. I wasn't concvinced she actually believed that.

-

And also, altough I wasn't the most active poster on the thread, I was reading it! Thanks to Penny and Michelle and everyone else for their contributions!!

PennyPurple said:

So we are done with the book and here are some questions.

.

1. Did you all enjoy reading the book?

2. Did you learn anything new about Prince?

3. Do you think that this book hurt his legacy any?

[Edited 4/19/17 14:49pm]

You better start a thread. Lol. I don't know that I would describe it as good. But definitely a conversation piece.

PennyPurple said:

NickiStarr said:

Count me in. I've read it so I'm ready to go!

Was it good?

NickiStarr said:

You better start a thread. Lol. I don't know that I would describe it as good. But definitely a conversation piece.

PennyPurple said:

Was it good?

Oh gosh. LOL maybe we better give everyone time to get their books. We were so excited to start this book club, the shipments couldn't come fast enough.

bsprout said:

NotACleverName said:

bsprout said:

I'm up for it. As for if it's good or not, don't know. I think it's a revised and updated edition of his earlier book, 'Possessed', which gets plenty of love/hate on the org. (I'm referring to the 'new'one,'The Rise and Fall of Prince: 1958-1988'. The previous one is 'Possessed: the rise and fall of Prince'). [Edited 4/19/17 11:42am]

Great idea, PP! I'm in.....already have the book and it should be fun to discuss. Will you have to get approval for this?

Yeah it probably wouldn't hurt to get approval for it, if Mayte's book caused so much trouble on the org, once we start talking about it, It will probably be big trouble. It's kinda controversal isn't it? Towards the end here on this thread it started getting a little hairy. Since Mr. Hahn is a member here, maybe he can participate with us? Let me see what I can do. If not very many want to do another book club, we might have to skip it though.

disch said:

PennyPurple said:

I agree with so many of you! This is a sad story. Responding to each one, with showing their thoughts with my reply, would make the pages so long. I also listened to the songs on the "Rav Album". Prince did want Mayte very bad. I also agree with the ones who thought the album was about their romance. I have never seen him pictured with any other female where you can just see the love between the two of them radiate between them. Never before and Never after! He never danced with another female on stage like he did with Mayte. I cannot put all of my feelings here. I do not get along with this program very well. I'm sorry. If you check out the "Princevault" web site ~ you will see how many times Prince performed the song "Greatest Romance" on TV programs. Prince stopped singing this song in Nov 2002. Mayte was young ~ no experience ~ I do not believe she had close girlfriends she could discuss this with. The one talking about the "Time Machine" . . . . where someone could go back and give Mayte some advice . . . that would have been good. Mayte has never gotten over Prince . . . and I do not believe Prince ever got over Mayte. In the "Septimo Video" ~ Mayte looked like she was holding back the tears. Sad, sad, sad . . . . and then the 21st is coming too soon! The "Blues Medley" where he said I got a bad, bad, feeling, my little Puerto Rican beauty don't live here no more. You could see Prince was very upset! This was also discussed by a few of you. I did enjoy the different views . . . they were helpful. I would like to say more, but I just run all of my words together. Too many tears also. I thought going chapter by chapter was very helpful! Thanks to all of you that put so much effort into this "Book Club"!

[Edited 4/19/17 15:59pm]

Misty48 said:

I agree with so many of you! This is a sad story. Responding to each one, with showing their thoughts with my reply, would make the pages so long. I also listened to the songs on the "Rav Album". Prince did want Mayte very bad. I also agree with the ones who thought the album was about their romance. I have never seen him pictured with any other female where you can just see the love between the two of them radiate between them. Never before and Never after! He never danced with another female on stage like he did with Mayte. I cannot put all of my feelings here. I do not get along with this program very well. I'm sorry. If you check out the "Princevault" web site ~ you will see how many times Prince performed the song "Greatest Romance" on TV programs. Prince stopped singing this song in Nov 2002. Mayte was young ~ no experience ~ I do not believe she had close girlfriends she could discuss this with. The one talking about the "Time Machine" . . . . where someone could go back and give Mayte some advice . . . that would have been good. Mayte has never gotten over Prince . . . and I do not believe Prince ever got over Mayte. In the "Septimo Video" ~ Mayte looked like she was holding back the tears. Sad, sad, sad . . . . and then the 21st is coming too soon! The "Blues Medley" where he said I got a bad, bad, feeling, my little Puerto Rican beauty don't live here no more. You could see Prince was very upset! This was also discussed by a few of you. I did enjoy the different views . . . they were helpful. I would like to say more, but I just run all of my words together. Too many tears also. I thought going chapter by chapter was very helpful! Thanks to all of you that put so much effort into this "Book Club"!

[Edited 4/19/17 15:59pm]

Thanks to all for making this such a safe and informative space, esp PennyPurple...has anyone figured out the 'squiggle' end page from the book? Prince's hand, I'm sure, but has anyone made out the writing behind the squiggles?

On another note, wanted to mention re P's love for Mayte: he never did have children with anyone else after professing many times, 'if they weren't hers it wasn't happening' (sorry for the paraphrase)...wonder if that was a wedge in the rebound marriage to M2?

Bodhitheblackdog said:

Misty48 said:

I agree with so many of you! This is a sad story. Responding to each one, with showing their thoughts with my reply, would make the pages so long. I also listened to the songs on the "Rav Album". Prince did want Mayte very bad. I also agree with the ones who thought the album was about their romance. I have never seen him pictured with any other female where you can just see the love between the two of them radiate between them. Never before and Never after! He never danced with another female on stage like he did with Mayte. I cannot put all of my feelings here. I do not get along with this program very well. I'm sorry. If you check out the "Princevault" web site ~ you will see how many times Prince performed the song "Greatest Romance" on TV programs. Prince stopped singing this song in Nov 2002. Mayte was young ~ no experience ~ I do not believe she had close girlfriends she could discuss this with. The one talking about the "Time Machine" . . . . where someone could go back and give Mayte some advice . . . that would have been good. Mayte has never gotten over Prince . . . and I do not believe Prince ever got over Mayte. In the "Septimo Video" ~ Mayte looked like she was holding back the tears. Sad, sad, sad . . . . and then the 21st is coming too soon! The "Blues Medley" where he said I got a bad, bad, feeling, my little Puerto Rican beauty don't live here no more. You could see Prince was very upset! This was also discussed by a few of you. I did enjoy the different views . . . they were helpful. I would like to say more, but I just run all of my words together. Too many tears also. I thought going chapter by chapter was very helpful! Thanks to all of you that put so much effort into this "Book Club"!

[Edited 4/19/17 15:59pm]

Thanks to all for making this such a safe and informative space, esp PennyPurple...has anyone figured out the 'squiggle' end page from the book? Prince's hand, I'm sure, but has anyone made out the writing behind the squiggles?

On another note, wanted to mention re P's love for Mayte: he never did have children with anyone else after professing many times, 'if they weren't hers it wasn't happening' (sorry for the paraphrase)...wonder if that was a wedge in the rebound marriage to M2?

He did make that statement. However, I wonder if there was a genetic problem with his sperm because, in the book, Mayte says that after the miscarriage, the doctor told her that the cause of a partial molar pregnancy could be a genetic defect from the mother or the father. She did not think that Prince would agree to get tested, but Mayte did and they did a test on the fetus. One other possible cause is if 2 sperm fertilize the egg - this was ruled out because the fetus had XX chromosomes, which means that only 1 sperm fertilized the egg (this would have been a girl btw). Mayte said that the tests showed that there was nothing wrong with her genetically.

Nutritian is another possible cause. On Hollywood Exes, Mayte said that she used to be a vegan, but now eats animal products (I'm assuming milk, eggs, chesse, etc.) because she was told that the molar pregnancy may have been caused by a lack of certain nutrients. She never explicitedly stated that there were any reporductive health issues with Prince, but maybe there were and that's the reason he never had any kids.

PennyPurple said:

206Michelle said:

PennyPurple said:

Thank you all for participating and being civil and kind. Michelle thank you for all the hard work you did on the timelines for us and gave up some of your spring break to do that. I know towards the end of the thread some people tried to hijack it, but it looks like it all worked out.

Feel free to keep adding comments on this thread, especially those who haven't finished the book yet. We aren't going anywhere.

.

Anybody up for Hahn's book?

You a welcome, Penny. What about a book club for Ben Greenman's book Dig If You Will The Picture? That book came out last week.

I'll have to check it out. Have you read it yet?

NotACleverName said:

This might be in the book but I don't recall and this is most likely a question to be addressed during the overall general discussion but, alas, as I have stated previously, I am an impatient soul. Can someone answer WHO, Mate or Prince, actually filed for divorce, please. It is vague to me. She explains how she wrote a letter to Prince in March of 2000 stating she knew he didn't love her, etc., but only asks him how they can resolve their current situation in a mature manner with minimal damage to each other. She states she couldn't bring herself to write "divorce". The next chapter begins with her narrative of her "Jersey" lawyer but does not specifically state who the petitioner is. She simply tells how she, in May, went to her lawyers to sign the final papers. And yes, 60 days does seem quick. I had to wait six months in CO after filing. However, they had not been "officially" living together since 1998 as her main residence was Spain and his MN. That must have factored into the expeditious time frame.

NotACleverName, I was wondering the same thing about who filed for the divorce.

judy1023 said:

LBrent said:

In the book, Mayte tells the reason that she was told he ordered his "assisstant" burn the belongings from the house.

"He wanted everything destroyed that would remind him" of Mayte and the baby.

That was his reason.

Sometimes it's as simple as that...just cuz, no other explanation needed or given.

Cuz I want it that way, period.

He wanted no reminders of her and the baby...and the byproduct would be that he could destroy the pain he felt...or so he thought.

[Edited 4/18/17 6:43am]

I am wondering if there was a lot of drama between Mayte and Prince after she was told this burning incident. My instinct she must confront with prince, and also confirmed by M2 when M2 reached out to her. But she just left this fact here and put everybody head spin - not telling all actually drives people crazier!!

She never addressed whether she confronted Prince about burning her things and the baby's things. She also never stated if she asked Prince about the whereabouts of the ashes.

bsprout said:

1Sasha said:

I don't think M1 fighting M2 would have done any good. P seemed to always look for extracurricular activity ...

Mayte did say in the book that she told Manuela something like, "if it wasn't you, it would have been someone else [for Prince]." I think this was Mayte's response to Manuela's apology.

Yes, she did say that line in the book, on p. 135.

.

Now I know it's her life and she's very classy in how she handles things. But saying "If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else"...No No No, that is being too soft! You can forgive, but you don't excuse people's behavior. I almost feel like with the statement "If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else," she's excusing the behavior. Also, it kind of suggests or implies that Prince was prone to infidelity, but she never mentions any other instances of him being unfaithful during their marriage. In fact, I think that the relationship with Mani was the only infidelity she mentioned him having once he and Mayte were officially a couple. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

.

She mentions that "he had a lot of women" on p. 135, but she never really goes into detail about him having anny affairs except for Mani.

Misslink88 said:

NickiStarr said:

I agree that there are small contradictions but the thing I found the most frustrating was the stories she told us about were from YouTube videos we had seen. Almost like she watched them and then built her memory based on the stories instead of recalling a story and telling it from her memory's perspective. It may seem odd, but there is a difference between a recollection and watching yourself on video and narrating the scene for outsiders.

I agree that she was a yes person. I think the whole way they got married was an example. I mean this in a sense that she did not encourage any type of premarital counseling or have a say on the timeline. It was like she allowed herself to be the physical representation of HIS fantasy wife instead of a loving couple organizing a marriage together. In fact, I believe this to be the case for their entire marriage, not just their wedding. HE chose when they became intimate, HE chose when they married, HE chose when they made a baby. Goodness! Then again, she was SOOOO young AND very sheltered in the sense that she had never been in any type of relationship.

Yes, NickiStarr, that was the sense I got as well. Not only that, but in watching the Oprah interview and the Simbad one, what she described in her book and what actually happened on those Youtubes were different. Particulary the Simbad one - where she said the audience did this, they did the complete opposite.

As for the sheltered part, I disagree there and even she states in the book that when she was first left alone in the hotel room with P in Germany, her mother knew she could "handle herself" based on what she had seen of her daughter in different situations when dancing. Realistically, belly dancing is viewed as an erotic art and a 16 year old better know how to handle herself around grown men when she is dancing like that. She wrote about moving her body in such a way that they weren't able to touch her for any length of time, if at all. Girl was hip to what was really going on.

I will have to watch the Sinbad interview again. What does the audience do that is different from what she describes?

LBrent said:

bsprout said:

1Sasha said: Mayte did say in the book that she told Manuela something like, "if it wasn't you, it would have been someone else [for Prince]." I think this was Mayte's response to Manuela's apology.

Yup, that's what she said, but as I read it I remember feeling that while she fought WITH P against joining JWs, she ended up not foghting FOR P against Manuela.

I think he was waiting for her to fight for him and when she didn't he figured he was justified in leaving her cuz she must not love him anymore.

On her end, I think she didn't fight cuz she thought it was a phase, like in her parents' marraige, and he'd come back to her on his own so she didn't fight and rock the boat.

I think that was her biggest mistake. Leaving Minnesota and not fighting Manuela or whomever she needed to fight to keep him. I think her fighting would've made a huge difference.

The day she saw that damned handshake, she should've stepped to them both and told them that she didn't feel comfortable with what she saw and immediately fired Manuela IN FRONT OF P.

"It's nice to meet you, but I'm afraid your services won't be required anymore. Thank you for you help, but I'll be returning to Minnesota and taking over those duties now. Arrangements will be made for your final check. Please follow me to the accounting department. P, I'll see you at home. *kiss*"

I don't recall any woman P was linked to ever fighting, especially not publicly, to keep him.

Can anyone think of one?

I think if you listen to the lyrics to Man O' War that's what he's asking for, her to fight FOR him and "make him feel wanted again".

He was telling her that he was looking for proof from her that she could/did still love him despite the pain he felt he had caused her with failing to give her healthy babies and his growing attraction to Manuela. He felt himself being drawn to her and he wants Mayte to rescue him from that weakness.

I cry when I hear how plaintive he's being.

ETA:

As I relisten to the entire Rav Un2 album, it dawned on me that the entire thing seems to be a plea for Mayte to fight for him.

Am I imagining this?

[Edited 4/18/17 15:31pm]

LBrent, you have some very interesting thoughts. (I have not listened to the Rave Un2 album because I don't have it and it's had to find, although I have listened to a couple of songs and have read through the lyrics). Shaking my head, I don't understand how she seemed to forget the rule about the "girl on her way in stays in Minneapolis." She doesn't explain why she seemed to forget that rule when they bought the house in Spain. Maybe she thought it was a different situation because they were married. But their marriage was a little rocky at that time due to the miscarriage and his involvement with the JWs. My thought is, "Why would you leave that sexy man half a world away when you KNOW that there are women who are just licking their chops for the chance to get with him?!" And not only that, but this wasn't a hypothetical situation, this was an actual situation because Mani was in the picture. (She should know that better than anyone because she toured with him for several years, so she knew what the fans were like. Plus, she started off as a fan herself.)

.

She admits on p. 248 that she left him alone too much and wonders if she could have tried harder to understand the pain he was experiencing. I agree also that she probably thought they would get back together because of her parents's history. But her parents were everyday people, whereas was , a celebrity. I know she was young then, but I also wonder why she didn't fight harder to keep their marriage together and why she forgot that rule about Prince's top woman being in Minneapolis. I know it's all water under the bridge, because they got divorced in 2000. It's her story and maybe she wanted to keep some things private, so I get that. But I definitely don't understand why she was so passive and didn't try to do more to keep him.

Dibblekins said:

amethyst68 said:

DECEMBER 18, 1998 - - After 2 years and 18 singles, the Artist formerly known as Prince announced today that he will be taking a brief break from the music business to concentrate on his impending divorce/re-marriage to his wife/ex-wife, Mayte Garcia Nelson. The Artist stated that after releasing the 18th single from Emancipation (the #1 single "Da Da Da") and having Emancipation gone platinum 12 times, "I have nothing else 2 prove. CONtrary to popular BElief, my CAReer is at new heights, accented by purple moons and red skies." Legendary bass player and spiritual guru Larry Graham was sitting next to The Artist, clad in all white and smiling. When asked about the upcoming GCS2000, Graham replied, "The Artist and I have no need for CONtracts, therefore, there is no reason to CONfirm a release date. But it will be sometime in The Dawn." When asked about the multiple planned releases for his 1982 hit single "1999", The Artist just looked at his shoes and smiled. "Under a blood red sky, sometimes it snows in April." "BEing number ONe at the bank is a WONdeful experience. True FREEdom rests in the hands of the creator of all things. The FREEdom to BE one with one's self, to EXplore the possibilities of creation. While the world is focusing on the bombing of a nation, we are more CONcerned with the FULLfilment of spiritual and absolute truth," The Artist stated while sucking on a cherry flavored lollipop. The Artist also announced plans for a world wide tour following his re-marriage to Mayte. "We will see the world together through each others eyes. Her experience will be my experience. We have cast off the need for ASSumed titles and want to just BE." When Emancipation was released in 1996, the Artist claimed that he had 18 radio friendly singles that could come off of the album. While not all of the singles did as well as others, the Artist shrugged off questions about the dissapointing sales of "Crystal Ball" and "New Power Soul." "I am a different person than I was then. My aura spoke to me and my karma is finally ASSured. But I never lie to my friends. Life can be so nice when you are free from yourself." In closing the conference, the Artist once again took swipes at the music industry and Warner Brothers (his former record label). "When you enslave yourself, you feel like a mystic in a whorehouse. But now that I have seen the true light, have felt the hand of freedom, and tasted the fruit of equality, there is nowhere to go but up, unless I am going down on Mayte."

I have a feeling that whole spiel might be a piss-take on the part of the writer...

"there is nowhere to go but up, unless I am going down on Mayte."

All I can say is, had SWAG and FLAIR that was absolutely otherworldly.

PennyPurple said:

206Michelle said:

PennyPurple said: You a welcome, Penny. What about a book club for Ben Greenman's book Dig If You Will The Picture? That book came out last week.

I'll have to check it out. Have you read it yet?

No, but I will probably go to a Barnes and Noble this weekend to purchase it. (I like to go to the brick and mortar stores.)

206Michelle said:

bsprout said:

1Sasha said: Mayte did say in the book that she told Manuela something like, "if it wasn't you, it would have been someone else [for Prince]." I think this was Mayte's response to Manuela's apology.

Yes, she did say that line in the book, on p. 135.

.

Now I know it's her life and she's very classy in how she handles things. But saying "If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else"...No No No, that is being too soft! You can forgive, but you don't excuse people's behavior. I almost feel like with the statement "If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else," she's excusing the behavior. Also, it kind of suggests or implies that Prince was prone to infidelity, but she never mentions any other instances of him being unfaithful during their marriage. In fact, I think that the relationship with Mani was the only infidelity she mentioned him having once he and Mayte were officially a couple. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

.

She mentions that "he had a lot of women" on p. 135, but she never really goes into detail about him having anny affairs except for Mani.

I agree, is that statement perhaps Mayte trying to express that there was so much emotional distance in their marriage by then that P would have left her for someone regardless? Or is it meant to indicate his non-manogamous nature? Either way, I agree that Manuela does not deserve to be excused by Mayte.

While watching some of Mayte's interviews on youtube I came across this clip of her and Mani chatting together that I had never seen before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suSGH-0-Io8

While obviously this is a producer driven interaction for reality TV, I was appalled watching it immediately after finishing the book. Manuela parading those baby photos out for Mayte and telling her she needs to "catch up" and find a man to have children with...unbelievable considering their circumstances. Mayte DID find that man and DID have a child and you know the whole story and still interjected yourself...very insensitive imo. I'm not surprised she can hardly look her in the eye. Their dynamic is hard to understand, obviously we'll never know the whole story and I don't mean to bad mouth.

btw thank you everyone for this wonderful & civil discussion, I read along with all of you and found it very helpful. I thought the book was a beatiful account and I agree nothing can taint P's legacy

Here's what Prince had to say on it:

"It's a driving song," Prince says. "The world is so jagged, I like smooth waves. It's the way I live now. When Larry (Graham) first came around here (in the '90s) we had a lot of crazy people in here. Now, no one argues, no one swears, no one smokes, no one talks harsh. We all enjoy each other. You don't know what that's like till you start living like that, because for a long time I didn't. It was affecting me up here (points to his head), which in turn affected me here (points to throat). I changed the way I operate. A lot of my contemporaries didn't. That's the reason I'm still here, and a lot of them aren't."

Ok, we are able to do another book club thread with Alex Hahn & Laura Tiebert's book: The Rise of Prince 1958-1988.

If you want to participate let's start ordering our books now.

[Edited 4/20/17 7:07am]