Review of Just Kids by Patti Smith

*Just Kids* by Patti Smith (2010). Published by Ecco.

Patti Smith has been someone I always looked up to as an artist. Although I don’t really listen to a ton of music anymore, I used to always blast her music when I was thinking of someone that was a comfort listen. Some people had comfort reads, I had comfort listens. I stopped listening to music during COVID though, which was an interesting development.

Anyways, I’ve had my copy of her memoir for years. One year my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas when I was still in college, and I decided to add a paperback copy of the book to the list. It’s now been one of my most sacred book possessions in the main stack. One day I’ll upgrade to adult shelves.

I was running through my blog content and checking it with the books I owned when I was shocked to realize I had never reviewed Just Kids. I’ve read this book multiple times throughout my life, and I’ve had my copy of the book for at least four years.

So that was a bit of an excuse to reread the book after a year or two. It was a great time revisiting this book as someone who’s older and wise, and has spent more time in New York City even.

Let’s get into the review. I don’t want to ramble too much!

A memoir about Patti Smith’s career beginning, as well as her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe.

If you don’t know about Smith or Mappethorpe, I don’t think you need to in order to understand this memoir. But for context, Patti Smith is a well-known rock musician and writer, while Robert Mapplethorpe was a prominent photographer in New York City during the 1970s.

We begin this book with learning a little bit about Patti Smith’s childhood and her upbringing. She also tells us the story of Mapplethorpe’s childhood, and how both of them came to New York City. Their story takes place mainly across the end of the sixties and the seventies as they were discovering themselves as creatives.

Back then, New York wasn’t the place we know of today, which is full of gentrification. It was a lot wilder and more dangerous, and that was where Mapplethorpe and Smith, as young lovers, made their home. They wanted to become artists and people who mattered, but in the beginning, they had nothing but a few possessions.

That didn’t stop them though. Patti writes the book in such a lyrical style, almost as if the memoir itself was one of her songs. That’s one of the standouts to me; their story together is also fascinating for someone who studied art history at the time. There were a lot of other major players working in NYC the same time as them, and the duo did run into several of these people.

These two were also so supportive of each other, which was heartwarming to read about. But there’s a reason this memoir was written; Mapplethorpe and Smith did eventually part ways, as he realized he was gay. They did support each other until the end of his life; Mapplethorpe succumbed to AIDS in the late 1980s.

This book came into existence because of a promise Smith made Mapplethorpe, which is tragic in itself. But after reading this, it becomes more apparent that this keeps his memory alive in the way she knew him. Mapplethorpe’s art was very controversial for the period he worked within, especially his BDSM photographs, and that controversy plagued his legacy at times.

And, just as the title, suggests, they were just kids. This is a memoir about the coming of age of two great artists, one who is already gone too soon. Smith does an excellent job capturing that essence of youth I’d say.

Overall Thoughts

As you can probably tell from the introduction alone, I love this memoir. I think if you’re interested in New York City during the 1960s and 1970s, Smith or Mapplethorpe, or even a coming of age story where two people find themselves despite the odds, you’re going to like this.

It’s also not too long of a read. Every time I go through it I finish it up in less than two hours. I read quickly, but I think if you wanted to spend a weekend or two on this book, you’re not going to be caught up in it.

All of this said, go give it a chance. Pick it up at your library or local bookstore if you need something to read!

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