Wednesday with Greta Garbo

Book Review: “Garbo” by Robert Gottlieb

Reading Robert Gottlieb’s biography of Greta Garbo, which I pre-ordered through Apple Books, began with serious interest. Garbo is among my favorite actresses. She’s a star, a symbol of sexuality, glamor and ability. Hers are among Hollywood’s most indelible performances. But Greta Garbo is more absorbing than Mr. Gottlieb’s Garbo.

As an ex-editor-in-chief of Simon and Schuster and former head of Knopf, The New Yorker editor is the quintessential establishmentarian. He writes for The New York Times Book Review and The New York Review of Books. He’s author of books about Dickens and Balanchine. Wrongly, I supposed that his choice of Garbo for biography shows a predisposition to intellectual curiosity about this mysterious heroine.

Instead, he skims and summarizes Garbo’s films and life. Much of Garbo recounts tales, facts and aspects. These are often engaging. That he finds the Swedish actress to be vacant is less drawn from his evidence than it is presumed by his filling in gaps.

The au…