Is it fanciful to assume that one only reads biographies about people you are interested in? And if that is the case, does it mean we turn to page 1 predisposed to suppose we are going to enjoy the book? Whether that is true or not, Stefan Kanfer's biography of Humphrey Bogart, "Tough without a … Continue reading “Tough without a Gun”
Category: Biography
“Some Sort of Genius”
Having finally got round to finishing reading it, I can say I really enjoyed Paul O'Keeffe's "Some Sort of Genius: A Life of Wyndham Lewis". It seems to me that O'Keeffe has managed the book's tone and balance really well; navigating between fact and narrative can be difficult when it comes to biography. We are … Continue reading “Some Sort of Genius”
“Ham on Rye”
I have just read Charles Bukowski's Ham on Rye in double-quick time. It's urgent, powerful, raw - and like Henry Chinaski himself, doesn't pull any punches. It's a book which also peels back layers on society, on belonging (and not belonging), on the treadmill of vacuous routine. Pointlessness is never very far away, and romance … Continue reading “Ham on Rye”
Some remarkable things…
As I was trying to get back to sleep this morning (before I gave up and came down to my study an hour earlier than I’d intended) it stuck me how many remarkable things I had done in my life. And that it can be good to stand back and take stock. I have taught … Continue reading Some remarkable things…
“The Hot Gates”
While some of the pieces may not have travelled that well through time, William Golding's collection of short non-fiction - "The Hot Gates" - remains a delight. The breadth on Golding's menu is extraordinary: Ancient Greece, the English Channel, Stratford-upon-Avon, a kind of critique of "War and Peace" - as well as his own "Lord … Continue reading “The Hot Gates”
“Coming Through Slaughter”
Michael Ondaatje's "Coming Through Slaughter" is a real jigsaw puzzle of a book, the narrative split into fragmented passages, different third and first person voices, a blend of fiction and fact. Often you are never really sure exactly where the boundaries lay between the two. Look-up Buddy Bolden on the internet and you will find … Continue reading “Coming Through Slaughter”
Why do ‘ordinary people’ write memoirs?
If you’re ‘a name’ - a politician, a sports person, an actor or media personality - you might do so in order to entertain, set the record straight, earn money. And you do so because you know people will be interested. But what about everyday folk with their ‘normal’ lives - though every life is … Continue reading Why do ‘ordinary people’ write memoirs?
“The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man”
It's been a while since I last read an autobiography, but as a keen film fan I was drawn to Paul Newman's posthumously published "The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man". The book is curated rather than written, with the vast majority of its material recorded in interviews between 1986 and 1991. Newman had always … Continue reading “The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man”
Ian Gouge - Writer 