All I Need Is Love

All I Need Is Love
First edition
cover artwork by Klaus Kinski
AuthorKlaus Kinski
TranslatorKlaus Kinski[1]
Cover artistKlaus Kinski
SubjectAutobiography
PublisherRandom House
Publication date
November 28, 1988
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages265 pp (first edition)
ISBN0-394-54916-3
OCLC18379547

All I Need Is Love: A Memoir is the autobiography of the German actor Klaus Kinski first published 1975 in German under the title Ich bin so wild nach deinem Erdbeermund (English: "I am so wild about your strawberry mouth").[2] The first translation into English was released in 1988, then soon withdrawn from publication. After the author's death, it was retranslated, retitled, and republished in 1996 as Kinski Uncut: The Autobiography of Klaus Kinski.

Reception

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When the 1988 edition was published, Klaus Kinski's daughter, Nastassja Kinski, sued her father for libel but the lawsuit was quickly withdrawn.[3] The 1988 edition was withdrawn from publication because of a copyright dispute between Random House and a West German publisher,[4] and because Marlene Dietrich threatened to sue for libel.[5][6] The book was republished in 1996 after Dietrich had died, and the second edition is more cautious in naming names.[7]

The book itself was celebrated as hedonistic, excessive[8] and pornographic; however, reviews largely ignored the fact that Kinski had already raved about incest with his mother, sister and daughter.[9]

In the book Herzog on Herzog, Werner Herzog describes the book as "highly fictitious", and says that Klaus Kinski did not grow up in abject poverty.[10] Herzog also relates how he and Kinski together sought new insults to describe Herzog for the book.[11]

Kinskis elder daughter Pola Kinski (*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.[12]

Chapters

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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 Four tells a strange story about a large worm. Critics regard it as a departure from the form. Chapter Five deals with his marriage.

Editions

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Kinski Uncut
AuthorKlaus Kinski
TranslatorJoachim Neugröschel[13]
SubjectAutobiography
PublisherViking Press
Publication date
August 1, 1996
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages336 pp (second edition)
ISBN0-670-86744-6
OCLC34322866

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.[14]

Notes

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  1. ^ Ross 1997. "In this obscure pantheon, a place must be reserved for Klaus Kinski ... who tried to publish the English version of his autobiography in 1988 under the massively ironic title All I Need is Love."
  2. ^ "Ich bin so wild nach deinem Erdbeermund – autobiography by Klaus Kinskimund". Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  3. ^ Wise, James E. Jr.; Baron, Scott (2002). International Stars at War. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 107. ISBN 1-55750-965-4. His 1989 autobiography Ich Brauche Liebe (Everything I Need Is Love) infuriated many, including his daughter, actress Nastassia Kinski, who filed a libel suit against him. It was soon withdrawn.
  4. ^ Ross 1997. "The book was caught in a copyright dispute between Random House and a West German publisher ...."
  5. ^ "Marlene Dietrich Biography". Monsters & Critics. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2011-08-02. Also, Klaus Kinski wrote a book ... where he claimed that Marlene was a lesbian. It was removed from circulation after threats of a libel lawsuit were made. It was re-released after Marlene's death ...
  6. ^ "Klaus Kinski". Monsters movies. 2007. Retrieved 2011-08-02. A libel suit from Marlene Dietrich due to Kinski depicting her as a lesbian resulted in the book being withdrawn from circulation until her death
  7. ^ Ross 1997. "[T]he new 'uncut' edition is actually much more cautious naming names."
  8. ^ "Ich bin so wild nach deinem Erdbeermund – autobiography by Klaus Kinskimund". Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  9. ^ "Das Engelchen und sein Teufel (in German)". Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  10. ^ Herzog 2002, pp. 288–289. "It is a highly fictitious book ... He describes his childhood as one of such poverty that he had to fight with the rats over the last piece of bread. In reality he grew up in a relatively well-to-do middle-class pharmacist's household."
  11. ^ Herzog 2002, pp. 288–289. "I kind of had a hand in helping him to invent particularly vile expletives. ... I came with a dictionary and we tried to find even fouler expressions."
  12. ^ "Pola Kinski Kindermund". Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  13. ^ Ross 1997. "So why is Kinski such a glum book? Part of the problem may be the translation. Joachim Neugröschel is a respected and experienced translator, but he tries too hard to turn Kinski's thuggish prose into slinky American slang."
  14. ^ Ross 1997. "Also, there are strange discontinuities between the two versions: each has material omitted from the other ...."

References

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