Jump in the Waves: A Memoir

Piatigorsky's autobiography is largely a lament about how miserable life can be even for the very rich. Born a Rothschild, she had a devastating childhood, for she was ignored by her parents and tormented by an unfeeling nanny. She developed into a withdrawn young woman whose only emotional outlet in an otherwise empty life was a passionate crush on the famous pianist Alfred Cortot. After a failed marriage to a distant cousin, she found happiness with her second husband, the renowned cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, and fulfillment in her children and her skills at tennis and chess. One can appreciate how the author's unhappy childhood, which she describes in heartbreaking detail, led to emotional problems in later life, but one wonders if there is an audience for this self-pitying memoir. Photos not seen by PW. (August)