An interesting and timely undertaking ... The reader...cannot help but take a dim view of the man, as opposed to the artist, and his cavalier attitude towards these women who inspired his greatest work. He didn’t seem to have loved anyone nearly as much as he loved himself. Genius does not excuse everything.
Remarkable stories ... Each woman has a chapter of her own, which illuminates a story that begins before Picasso and ends after him. It’s a structure that runs the risk of being repetitive, and patterns certainly emerge ... If this brilliantly insightful and well-written book is lacking anything, it’s bite.
The author’s discussion of Picasso’s work is insightful and original, but it is the lives beyond the canvas that principally concern her ... Deftly, discreetly and convincingly, this book dismantles the myth of Picasso the monster.
It defines all its subjects only in relation to Picasso; try as Roe might to insist that each of her women is equally worthy of attention, there’s no getting away from the fact that this is not the case ... If this territory is new to you, the book won’t be without interest. But as a feminist project, however well-intentioned, it misfires badly.
