Savage Grace: The Shocking Story of Fatal Relations in a Rich and Famous American Family

Interesting approach to a True Story account

This book has been around for some twenty years, and I understand it was made into a movie with Julianne Moore in 2007. Still, I had never heard of it, when I found it on a shelf in a summer cottage rental. The book tells the tale of Antony Baekeland, great grandson of the inventor of Bakelite, the forerunner to plastics. Four generations of Baekelands had been living off the fortunes of the invention and the decadent, vain, and often listless behavior of the very rich was well-ingrained in the family. None appear to work at a regular job, but rather dabble in writing and painting while flitting around the world and having dinner parties. It was into this world that Antony Baekeland was born and raised, and he knew nothing else. I liked the approach to telling Antony's story. The book opens with the report that he murdered his mother and closes with his suffocation death, possibly a suicide, possibly a murder. In between the reader receives accounts of his life as seen through the eyes of the Baekeland's many social acquaintences, and by letters exchanged between various parties. While the suggestions of incest were certainly lurid, it is Antony's letters to acquaintenances from prison where he seems not to have much concern for his behavior--such as when he expresses an interest in traveling to exotic locations once he is out of prison--that are the most chilling. I'd be interested in seeing the movie, if I can get my hands on it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Fact or Fiction

I encourage people to read this book!

But with that said I also encourage them to reead deeper into the key people who interacted Tony and his Mother! For instance Sam! Who had stayed in Spain with them for a short in the late 60's

But over all I give this a five star rateing!

Much more Satisfying than the Movie

I had seen the film with Julianne Moore (of same title) sometime prior to reading the book. The book was much more revealing than the film, which I found to be confusing, and artificial. Some readers fault the fact that the writers presented the story entirely through the commentary of their primary sources. The story of the complex characters and their tragically enmeshed lives is revealed more when heard from all the different people who knew the central family of this tragedy. It requires careful reading to follow the timeline, as the story flashes back and forth between different periods frequently. The book was absolutely engrossing, and even though I knew the story, I couldn't put it down.

I recommend this book.

This is not a book for someone looking for the glitz and glamour of the rich and famous. Told primarily through the opinions and observations of those surrounding the Baekelands, the book reveals that not all dysfunctional families are among those without the financial means for medical intervention. Even in those families who can afford such medical care and are also surround by people who are either directly working in medical and scientific professions or writers with uncanny gifts for great insights into the behavior of humans can completely miss the obvious. Unfortunately, by the time this tale became a headliner only one member of the family of three is still living, Brooks Baekeland, a poster boy for the emotionally unavailable. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wonders either what it would be like to live with those in need of psychiatric intervention or are wondering if someone in their family could benefit from psychiatry.

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