Can't We Be Friends

To think he’s going to fill up his greedy accounts when all I ever got was $50. Who am I kidding? He probably stuffs it under his dirty mattress. Hugh Hefner, who’s ever heard of him and his dumb magazine, Playboy?…book quote by Marilyn Monroe in “Can’t We Be Friends” by Denny S Bryce and Eliza Knight

This is a historical fiction book about the rare close friendship between the Queen of jazz, singer Ella Fitzgerald and bombshell beauty, Queen of the screen Marilyn Monroe. You would never guess how much this plus sized, black singer and the white, platinum blonde, iconic actress who became the world’s pop-culture-icon had in common. It was about wanting help to make Monroe a better singer as Marilyn was a perfectionist and wanted to be taken seriously in her profession as an actress. To her there was no one better than her singing idol Ella Fitzgerald. Except Ella turned her down in a very eloquent sweet way explaining she was never trained professionally that the music was just inside her. Marilyn understood perfectly it was Ella’s god given gift. Marilyn’s letters still continued as what Marilyn really needed was a friend and Ella seemed to need that too besides her assistant Georgina Henry and her adopted son Ray Jr..Plus both being in this insane entertainment industry they understood things that people outside the business would not. They really ended up trusting each other and confided in each other with secrets they did not share with anyone else. On top of that they both had similar palettes especially for pastrami sandwiches!

In the beginning it was Georgina who answered the letters except soon it was Ella. Ella felt flattered that America’s current favorite sweetheart on film loved her music. Soon Ella looked forward to Marilyn’s letters as Ella was going through a difficult divorce so listening to Marilyn speak to her about funny things happening in her life brought humor into Ella’s life. Soon both women realized they needed to meet in person realizing they both had bad abusive childhoods, grew up during the Great Depression and also dealt with some of the same prejudices in their lives with so much prejudice in entertainment that women still fight for today in 2024.

Yet Marilyn was a passionate supporter of the civil rights movement and did fight for Ella when she was being banned by a certain nightclub to perform. Monroe used her celebrity status to appear so Ella could perform. She made sure her friend could play where people snubbed her for her size or skin color. Unfortunately the civil rights movement and segregation was at the center in the 1950’s sadly. In the beginning Marilyn had to deal with a different kind of prejudice where directors and producers grabbed her inappropriately and asked for personal favors if she wanted a specific part. This was called the casting couch and also threatened her never to work again if she does not submit. They were the Harvey Weinstein’s of the 1950’s sadly.

Both of these multi talented women had many demons yet they did not let the racial prejudices of the world affect their friendship. Godbless them both in eternal peace! It is a book I couldn't put down even though I knew it would be filled with a lot of hardships, plus I knew a lot of Marilyn’s history. I was surprised that Ella also had some demons of her own in a completely different way. I found myself listening to Ella’s music online and watching clips from all of Marilyn’s former films and listening to some of her interviews. I will end this book review with a Marilyn Monroe quote from her last interview days before her death. “Fame is fickle and I know it. It has its compensations but it also has its drawbacks, and I have experienced both.”

This historical fiction novel about the friendship between the iconic Marilyn Monroe and Queen of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald is absolutely so cleverly done. I loved this book so much my heart definitely went out to both Ella and Marilyn and all they had to deal with. Both Bryce and Knight were a perfect collaboration in this magnificent historical fiction masterpiece. As Bryce and Knight wrote a phenomenal book from start to finish! It is one of those rare books that is also very hard to come by and stays with you long after you have read it. It is absolutely awe inspiring! A novel I absolutely loved and can not recommend enough! Bravo to both Denny S. Bryce and Eliza Knight on penning such a dazzling, bright, luminescent book where each page absolutely shined with true brilliance!

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader's copy from the William Morrow Paperbacks. I voluntarily agreed to do an honest, fair, review and blog through netgalley. All words, ideas and thoughts are my own.

This is a wonderful story. It’s about Ella and Marilyn and how they became good friends. It lets you inside their careers, loves and hardships. So entertaining you can’t hardly put the book down. Loved it! A must read.