Apprenticed to Venus: My Years with Ana�s Nin [Paperback] Rainer, Tristine

Product Description "Mysterious, glamorous, intellectual . . . with vivid language and lush scenes, this memoir makes for an exciting read." —Bust Magazine. Named a "Best Summer Read" by Elle Magazine!A Revealing Look at the Mentorship—and Manipulation—of Anaïs NinIn 1962, eighteen-year-old Tristine Rainer was sent on an errand to Anaïs Nin’s West Village apartment. The chance meeting would change the course of her life and begin her years as Anaïs’s accomplice, keeping her mentor’s confidences—including that of her bigamy—even after Anaïs Nin’s death and the passing of her husbands, until now.Set in the underground literary worlds of Manhattan and Los Angeles during the sixties and seventies, Tristine charts her coming of age under the guidance of the infamous Anaïs Nin: author of the erotic bestseller Delta of Venus, lover to Henry Miller, Parisian diarist, and feminist icon of the sexual revolution. As an inexperienced college-bound girl from the San Fernando Valley, Tristine was dazzled by the sophisticated bohemian author and sought her instruction in becoming a woman. Tristine became a fixture of Anaïs’s inner circle, implicated in the mysterious author’s daring intrigues—while simultaneously finding her own path through love, lust, and loss.From personal memories to dramatized scenarios based on Anaïs’s revelations to the author, Apprenticed to Venus blurs the lines between novel and memoir to bring to life a seductive and entertaining character—the pioneer whose mantra was, "A woman has as much right to pleasure as a man!" Review Praise for Tristine Rainer's Apprenticed to Venus:Named a "Best Summer Read" by Elle Magazine! “Rainer . . . candidly and vividly recounts her role in Nin’s astoundingly duplicitous life in an irresistible mix of fact, memory, and storytelling she calls a ‘novoir.’ Along with fresh insights into gender roles, Rainer offers stunning revelations about the publication of Nin’s cagily edited diaries and the misplaced reverence the writer accrued as a feminist icon. Describing Nin as ‘brave and dishonest’ and ‘a visionary of life itself as imaginary theater,’ Rainer brings this ‘artist/goddess’ who wrote ‘to taste life twice’ into sharper focus.” —Booklist   “Nin comes across as a slightly sinister, taboo-breaking Auntie Mame, but undoubtedly one with a lot to teach.” —San Francisco Chronicle, “Best Beach Read” “[A] spicy and saucy hybrid of memoir and novel . . . Feminists and fans of Nin's work will enjoy this unique insider's portrait of a complex, pivotal figure in women's liberation.” —Kirkus “Rainer blends memoir and imagination in this engaging examination of her relationship with author Anaïs Nin . . . a fascinating personal journey.” —Publishers Weekly "Mysterious, glamorous, intellectual . . . with vivid language and lush scenes, this memoir makes for an exciting read." —Bust Magazine “There are fateful decisions which mark one for life. Young Tristine Rainer’s first encounter with charismatic, enigmatic Anaïs Nin unfolds into a decades-long apprenticeship suspenseful as a thriller. The advantages and perils of a mentor/apprentice relationship with such a seductive, brilliant and dangerous mentor is absolutely spellbinding. Revelations, especially toward the end of the book, changed my understanding of the Nin story” —Janet Fitch, New York Times bestselling author of White Oleander “This stunning, achingly honest memoir confirms that the erotic is neither obscene nor ordinary, and that the heart’s desire is both dangerous and innocent.” —Mark Sundeen, author of The Unsettlers “This is one of those delicious memoirs one can’t stop reading . . . Tristine Rainer takes us into the hot pulsing heart of Nin’s world . . . an alluring as well as compulsively readable story.” —Jay Parini, author of Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal “The action-packed adventures of the larger-than-life Anaïs Nin and her young friend Tristine are vivid and glorious, but what broke my heart wide ope