Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Palimpsest: A Memoir by Gore Vidal ISBN: 0-14-026089-7 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.59 (34 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Rider on the Storm
Comment: Gore Vidal has written one of the most honest, revealing and entertaining memoirs I've ever encountered. It's a book that can be dipped into casually or, preferably read from the beginning to the all too soon end when he reaches the age of 39. It's full of insights into the various people he has met during those years such as Tennessee Williams , John and Jackie Kennedy, Truman Capote and other figures in the literary and entertainment world of the forties and fifties. He talks of his family, his mother whose attitudes he had to jettison; and his grandfather, the blind Senator Gore from Oklahoma of the 1910's. (He and Al are cousins) He talks of his relationships with all of these people in an almost stream of consciousness style that jumps back and forth from the distant past to the more recent past to the current writing of the book (1994). All of this comes with comments, observations and anecdotes that illumine his attitudes then and now in a way that makes the reader, who knows little or nothing of these people, a part of the audience of his experience. While that description, might sound unappealing to the regular reader of more straightlaced memoirs; rest assured that it is a formula for a most entertaining read. Of course the name-dropping can't be helped as he is part of that circle (and that's one reason we read books like this). One of the interesting aspects of his book is that he tells us what happens when he gets back in touch with people he used to know (like Allen Ginsburg), or people that knew the same people who were important to him, like the 91 year old mother of his first love. Great stuff. The leitmotif of the book is the first love of his life who was killed at Iwo Jima in 1945. What might seem to some people a maudlin display of nostalgia, is in actuality a very human story of something that was lost and never recovered, if indeed it was ever possesed at all. It is a sort of a Citizen Kane mystery that has continued to haunt and influence Vidal's life, providing a counterpoint to everything that was done and experienced ever after. Through it all the wit and personal wisdom of Vidal shows itself . Not merely a famous author, but another Rider on the Storm of life. Recomended even if you don't know who Gore Vidal is.
Rating: 4
Summary: Not as good as I had expected, but still great
Comment: Gore Vidal's life is interesting enough in itself to assure a good read: grandson of blind senator Thomas Gore; stepbrother, or almost, of Jackie Kennedy; acquainted with Tennessee Williams, the Kennedys, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, etc; famous novelist, playwright, screenwriter. However, one does get the impression that he's slipping into name-dropping at times. He clearly stretches his relationship with the Kennedys - which Vidal himself seems to regard as the most important aspect of that period in his life - almost to the breaking point. This is partially redeemed, however, by his critical (jealous?) view of JFK. His troubled relationship with his mother is given a proportioante weight. The most annoying thing in this book, though - maybe noticed only by Vidal fans like myself - is how he shamelessly reproduces whole paragraphs, verbatim, from other writings of his, like his comments on Richard Nixon and his apartment in Rome. He also re-tells for the nth time his role in re-writing the script of "Ben-Hur", still not revealing if he wrote anything for that film besides the famous Ben-Hur/Messala relationship. Those who are not as familiar with Vidal's work, though, and who read those stories for the first time, will certainly enjoy them. But I did find disappointing that the book is more like a "Who's who" of famous people whom Vidal met than a critical self-portrait.
Rating: 4
Summary: Actually 4.5 Stars!!!!
Comment: A fine memoir from one of America's best writer. I have read and re-read this book and each time found something new that I haven't noticed before. Reading this is like being privy to some really good gossip. Like you are in the presence of Mr. Vidal himself, and he is telling you the most interesting stories of his life. When I first read this, I thought that there is no way a person could have known so many famous people that we call legends today. My favorite chapter is the one on Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg. This is a must read for all Vidal fans.
 |
Title: The Last Empire : Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal ISBN: 037572639X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 11 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: United States by Gore Vidal ISBN: 0767908066 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 15 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: Julian : A Novel by GORE VIDAL ISBN: 037572706X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire by Gore Vidal ISBN: 1878825003 Publisher: Odonian Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $8.00 |
 |
Title: Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace by Gore Vidal ISBN: 156025405X Publisher: Nation Books Pub. Date: 10 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
