130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery 🚀 Auckland Bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

The Promised Party

Kahlo, Basquiat and Me
Brief Description
Clement has lived a life like no other, and made of it a shimmering mosaic, a masterpiece, which is this book — Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less Growing up in 1970s Mexico City, Jennifer Clement lived next door to Frida Kahlo's house. It... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
Pre-order
Releases 5th January 2027 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "The Promised Party" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

Found a better price? Request a price match

An ultra-vivid, carnivalesque memoir of Jennifer Clement's early life from 60s Mexico to 80s New York City - the prequel to Widow Basquiat

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Clement has lived a life like no other, and made of it a shimmering mosaic, a masterpiece, which is this book — Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less

Growing up in 1970s Mexico City, Jennifer Clement lived next door to Frida Kahlo's house. It was a bohemian childhood, living alongside artists, communists, revolutionaries, and poets, which allowed an awakening of creative freedom and curiosity about the world.

Leaving behind Latin America for the burgeoning counter-culture scene in '80s New York, Clement inhabited the world of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Colette Lumiere, and William Burroughs. Spanning two great cities, The Promised Party explores what it means to be young, free, and alive.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781838859305

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 January 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 211g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Jennifer Clement is the President Emerita of PEN International and the only woman to be elected since the organisation was founded in 1921. She is the author of multiple books, including Widow Basquiat and Gun Love. Her books have been translated into more than forty languages around the world. Clement is also the
recipient of many awards including the Sara Curry Humanitarian Award, the Grand Prix des Lectrices Lycéennes de Elle in France, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA Fellowship, and her books have twice been a New York Times Editor's Choice.

jenniferclement.org

Also by Jennifer Clement

View all
  • The Promised Party
    Growing up in '60s Mexico City, Jennifer Clement lived next door to Frida Kahlo's house. It was an unorthodox and bohemian childhood, living alongside artists, communists, revolutionaries, and poets, and one that allowed an awakening of creative freedom and curiosity about the world. Leaving behind the revolutions in Latin America for the burgeoning counter-culture scene in '80s New York, Clement...
    Hardback
    $3999
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Widow Basquiat
    Madonna. Andy Warhol. Keith Haring. Fab 5 Freddie. Debbie Harry. Julian Schnabel. Jean-Michel Basquiat's transition from the subways to the chic gallery spaces of Manhattan brought the artist into the company of many of New York's established and aspiring stars. Unable to deal with the demands that his new fame brought, in 1987, at the age of twenty-seven, Basquiat, the...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Prayers for the Stolen
    It was Paula's mother who had the brilliant idea of digging the holes. My mother said that the State of Guerrero was turning into a rabbit warren with young girls hiding all over the place... 'Now we make you ugly,' my mother said. 'The best thing you can be in Mexico is an ugly girl.' On the mountainside in rural...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Biography & Memoir

View all
  • New Release
    One Helluva Ride
    "This book is about where I came from, what I fought against, and what I chose formyself. Fame can blur the truth; this is my attempt to bring it back into focus." A legendary actor and Hollywood Icon whose five-decade career spans film, television,and producing, Michael Douglas has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, fiveGolden Globes, a Primetime Emmy,...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    A Life in Lyrics
    Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...
    Hardback
    $5000
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Book cover for 'Swan Song: Diana, my sister' by Charles Spencer, featuring a black-and-white portrait of Diana with white and gold text on a gray background.
    New Release
    Swan Song
    Beautiful. Beloved. Hunted. The extraordinary life and death of Diana, as told by her brother, Charles – available to pre-order now. ‘When asked, ‘What was it like, growing up with Diana?’, my first thought is always, But I don’t know what it was like not to grow up with her…’ In September 1997, Charles Spencer stood in Westminster Abbey before...
    Hardback
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Fictional Selves
    From the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Sex and the City comes a candid and deeply personal memoir. In this highly anticipated memoir, the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Sex and the City and more shares his utterly original account of his offbeat journey in Hollywood, his battles with fear and...
    Hardback
    $4799
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Steps
    The long-awaited memoir from a true Hollywood icon. We know Sylvester Stallone as one of the most revered actors, writers, and directors of all time, yet his life story is every bit as dramatic, intense, and inspiring as his greatest creations on screen. Bringing together a no-holds-barred account of a fascinating life with messages of hope, positivity, and resilience, in...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    16% off
    New Release
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    18% off
    Dogs, Boys and Other Things I've Cried About
    From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee--known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue--comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman's search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it. A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Famesick
    Chronicling the tumultuous decade between the premiere of Girls to her 2021 shotgun wedding (minus the baby, because she has no uterus), Lena Dunham takes us through her journey with her trademark mix of humor, unsparing honesty, and keen eye for detail. We peek behind the scenes - of her work, her family, her relationships, and her battle to reclaim her body...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    21% off
    This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $5800
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed Copy
    Stakes
    Read our interview with author Noelle McCarthy! A darkly funny, sparkling follow-up to the author’s bestselling memoir Grand. You have to invite him in. You have to want the vampire’s badness in the house with you. Growing up in Catholic Ireland, Noelle McCarthy is captivated by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The vampire is a risk-free fantasy, a suave alternative to the fraught realities...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Built for This
    Raised among strong women, butcher's benches, and hard ideas about what men are meant to be, Brad Poulter grows up knowing he's different long before he has the words for it. But in late '90s small-town New Zealand, 'different' isn't discussed, it's managed. Joining the Royal New Zealand Navy offers escape, certainty, and belonging. The rules are clear, the uniform...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Even the Good Girls Will Cry
    Thanks to a thrown beer bottle and a fan letter to a P.O. box, Melissa Auf der Maur's first band scored an opening slot for the Smashing Pumpkins in her bohemian home town, Montreal. Sensing Melissa's talent, Billy Corgan recommended her to Courtney Love. Whisked from her local scene, Melissa joined Hole just after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.