Kiki Man Ray: Art, Love and Rivalry in 1920s Paris (Paperback)

'A lively study of [Kiki de Montparnasse] who exemplified [a] cocktail of high 'spirits and a heedless self-destruction.' - The Times 

'Mark Braude focuses on Kiki de Montparnasse and Man Ray ... immersing the reader in a world where everyone was pushing their creativity in unimaginable directions.' - The Spectator 

'Exuberantly entertaining ... A riveting glimpse into the absinthe-fuelled Parisian jazz age' - The Lady Magazine 

'Finally, a detailed and entertaining account of Alice Prin, aka Kiki de Montparnasse, and her artistic and romantic relationship with Man Ray. Best known as a popular (and usually nude) artists' model, Kiki was a singer and performer, a painter, a writer, and the central female instigator for the avant-garde demimonde of Paris in the 1920s. Mark Braude's writing and subject make this book irresistible, as was Kiki herself.' - Jim Jarmusch 

'The frank, lively voice that comes through in Kiki's vignettes makes a cornerstone for the case, which Braude renews, that she was far more than Man Ray's party-girl companion - that it was, in fact, her vitality, her connectedness in artistic networks, and her intuitive understanding of his creative process that hoisted Man Ray on to the highway to fame.' - The Telegraph 

'Mark Braude's exuberantly entertaining biography sets out to rebalance the much-told story of Left Bank Paris, in which Kiki - model, memoirist and muse - is usually cast as a bit player.' - The New York Times

'[A] heady romp through the galleries and nightclubs of interwar France' - Vogue 

'Mark Braude's spirited and thoroughly researched account brings [Kiki] to life, highlighting her belligerent nature and generous spirit, as well as her activities as an artist and writer ... Braude's colourful evocation captures the heady atmosphere of a Paris still traumatized by the First World War' - TLS