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Title: A Talent for Genius: The Life and Times of Oscar Levant by Sam Kashner, Nancy Schoenberger ISBN: 1-879505-39-8 Publisher: Silman-James Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (8 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Hie thee hence.
Comment: If nine tenths of this has been culled from its subject's three memoirs, what makes up the remaining tenth? Essentially the authors's subjective interpretation of the nine tenths. If they had actually known Oscar Levant, their opinions might have some relevance. They didn't know him. If they were authorities on music, or movies, or talk shows, or Broadway musicals -- SOMETHING --, their opinions might have some relevance. They aren't. (In fact, according to the blurb above, they are "poets" who teach writing. At least, then, the thing ought to be reasonably well written. It isn't.)
Rating: 1
Summary: Zero stars.
Comment: About nine-tenths of this comes directly from Oscar Levant's three memoirs. That doesn't make it plagiarism, I suppose, since the "derivation", to put it charitably, is more or less (less, actually) acknowledged. It does make it copying someone else's biographies. (An AUTObiography is, after all, a biography.) It also makes reading this a chore for anyone interested enough in the subject to want to get the story from the horse's mouth. (And if you aren't that interested even, WHY are you bothering with THIS?) I deduct three stars.
I deduct a fourth star for this book's abuse of the English language with solecisms such as "germophobe" and "homophobe". (If "homophobe" were a word it would mean "clinical fear of sameness". The author wants it to mean misohomosexualism, hatred of homosexuals, -- someone I know maintains that "homophobe" is no worse than "chocoholic", which is rather like saying that Attila the Hun was no worse than Adolf Hitler.)
I deduct a fifth star for its politically correct pseudo-psychological speculation. It proffers the theory that Oscar Levant remarked upon the libretto of covertly homosexual minor composer Marc Blitzstein's heavy-handed socialist opera "The Cradle Will Rock"'s "pseudo virility" (Levant's phrase) in order to mask Levant's supposed homosexual attraction to George Gershwin. Au contraire, mon frere: 1) Marc Blitzstein did not even WRITE this opera's libretto; he only wrote its music, and Levant PRAISED its music. 2) Levant's assessment of this opera happens to adhere closely to the critical consensus. 3) There is no evidence whatsoever that Levant had any homosexual tendencies, and it is absurd and perverse to suggest that Levant's obvious, though severely qualified, admiration for Gershwin the man, in contradistinction to his even more obvious, and much less qualified, admiration for Gershwin the musician, constitutes evidence.
On the other hand, "A Talent for Genius" is an intriguing title. Too bad the authors never explain what they mean by it.
In any case, don't even consider this until you're read "A Smattering of Ignorance", "Memoirs of an Amnesiac", and "The Unimportance of Being Oscar", and then just skim it to try to find its scant new material -- or pass it by completely. Good luck.
Rating: 5
Summary: The mind can be a terrible place to be confined
Comment: Oscar Levant was by far one of the most prominent pianists of the early 20th century. His fame was by no account singularly attributed to his musical success- his neuroses were were part of his biting, acerbic charm. His tale is from a golden age, littered with greats like Gershwin, Chaplin, Astaire, Garland, The Marx's, and the like.
This book is a detailed account of Oscar's life, and goes into greater detail of his apprehensions and taboo subjects than previously published in "A Smatttering of Ignorance", or "Memoirs of an Amnesiac".
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Title: Memoirs of an Amnesiac by Oscar Levant, Oscar, Levant ISBN: 0573606986 Publisher: Samuel French Trade Pub. Date: 01 August, 1989 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: A Smattering of Ignorance by Oscar Levant ISBN: 0848821521 Publisher: Amereon Ltd Pub. Date: 01 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: The unimportance of being Oscar by Oscar Levant ISBN: B00005X230 |
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Title:Levant Plays Gershwin ASIN: B0000026H0 Publisher: Sony Pub. Date: 25 October, 1990 List Price(USD): $9.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $9.98 |
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Title: When I Was Cool : My Life at the Jack Kerouac School by Sam Kashner ISBN: 0060005661 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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