An impressively edited, sharply revealing life in letters.
An intimate view of the prolific British novelist and philosopher.
For hours each day, Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) (Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature, 1998, etc.) sat at her roll-top desk writing letters—by hand, often with a Montblanc fountain pen—to friends, lovers, editors, students, and even strangers who asked about her work. From 5,000 letters, Horner (Emerita, English Literature/Kingston Univ.) and Rowe (English/Kingston Univ.), co-editors of Iris Murdoch: Texts and Contexts (2012), have judiciously selected more than 760 that represent Murdoch’s passions and interests, her reflections on her career, and her views on politics, philosophy, religion, and culture. With their deep knowledge of Murdoch’s life and work, the editors have produced an authoritative, readable, and informative volume that contextualizes the writer’s vibrant, intense, and sometimes slyly witty correspondence. Murdoch’s love affairs form one important theme. “I find myself astonishingly interested in the opposite sex, and capable of being in love with about six men all at once,” she wrote to a friend at the age of 20. Four years later she confessed to another that she had, at last, lost her virginity. She was sleeping with two men at the time, neither of whom she loved. Murdoch’s consuming passion was her ambition to write “a long long and exceedingly obscure novel objectifying the queer conflicts I find within myself and observe in the characters of others.” Her love life—with men and women—was complicated, as she struggled to juggle her lovers’ demands with what the astute editors call her “deep and confusing sexual tensions.” Murdoch’s literary reputation was complicated, as well: “her idiosyncratic brand of mystical realism” and moral philosophy garnered early praise but later fell out of fashion when “doubts about her philosophy fed doubts about her novels.” She often felt overcome, she writes, by “a ghastly conviction of second-ratedness.”
An impressively edited, sharply revealing life in letters.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-691-17056-5
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Princeton Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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