''All I Need Is Love: A Memoir'' is the autobiography of the German actor
Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...
first published 1975 in German under the title "Ich bin so wild nach deinem Erdbeermund" (English: I am so wild about your strawberry mouth). The first translation into English was released in 1988. It was withdrawn from publication then, after the author's death, retranslated, retitled, and republished in 1996 as ''Kinski Uncut: The Autobiography of Klaus Kinski''.
Reception
When the 1988 edition was published,
Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...
's daughter,
Nastassja Kinski
Nastassja Aglaia Kinski (; , ; born 24 January 1961) is a German actress and former model who has appeared in more than 60 films in Europe and the United States. Her worldwide breakthrough was with ''Stay as You Are'' (1978). She then came to gl ...
, sued her father for libel but the lawsuit was quickly withdrawn. The 1988 edition was withdrawn from publication because of a copyright dispute between Random House and a West German publisher, and because
Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
threatened to sue for libel. The book was republished in 1996 after Dietrich had died, and the second edition is more cautious naming names.
The book itself was celebrated as hedonistic, excessive and pornographic, however reviews largely ignored the fact that Kinski already enjoyed raving about incest with his mother, sister and daughter.
In the book ''Herzog on Herzog'',
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...
describes the book as "highly fictitious", and that
Kinski did not grow up in abject poverty. Herzog also relates how he and Kinski together sought new insults to describe Herzog for the book.
Kinskis elder daughter
Pola Kinski
Pola Kinski (born Pola Nakszynski; 23 March 1952) is a German actress. She is the firstborn daughter of the German actor Klaus Kinski.
Early life
Under the name Pola Nakszynski, Pola Kinski was born in Berlin as the only daughter of German act ...
(*1952) played with the original title when she published her own autobiography "Kindermund", which described the incestuous relationship her father established with her when she was a young child. The book received praise for its insight into the victim's perspective.
Chapters
The book is written entirely in the present tense, and rarely gives temporal references. It is divided into five chapters:
Chapter One describes his early life up to his discovery of sex and his outrageous desire for it. Chapter Two deals with his short career in the military, his first theatre experiences and successes, his entrance into an insane asylum. The third chapter deals with his comeback. Chapter Five deals with his marriage.
Editions
The manuscript was written in German. It was translated by the author and was published as a book in English in 1988. It was retranslated by Joachim Neugröschel and reissued in 1996 with a new title. Each edition has material omitted from the other.
[Ross 1997. "Also, there are strange discontinuities between the two versions: each has material omitted from the other ...."]
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Notes
References
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* {{Cite journal
, last1 = Ross
, first1 = Alex
, authorlink1 = Alex Ross (music critic)
, date = January 24, 1997
, title = Auto-da-fé: Klaus Kinski's self-immolating screed
, journal =
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
, accessdate = 2011-08-04
, url = http://www.slate.com/id/2946/
1988 non-fiction books
Random House books
Show business memoirs