Reviews

Christopher and His Kind: A Memoir, 1929-1939 by Christopher Isherwood

itscakey's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

wllmrlw's review against another edition

Too many characters being introduced throughout. I couldn’t keep track of who was who and had to keep re-reading paragraphs, not really understanding the context. A frustrating read. 

andreghattas13's review against another edition

2.0

first dnf of the year because the subject is super interesting but the writing is a snoozefest

dasweinz's review against another edition

5.0

I absolutely loved this book, for many reasons. It is interesting to read his memoirs and learn what was fact and fiction in the Berlin Novels, and how its plot lines are based on Isherwood's own life. Also, he is in general a captivating writer. It was fascinating to read about his relationship with his own memory of life events versus what is recorded in writing in his plays and in letters and journals of others. His frankness and openness in criticizing Christopher, his younger self, is refreshing. His relationship with his homosexuality is also interesting, and how it changes over the decade of this memoir. I borrowed a copy of this book -- I want to read it again and highlight all the passages I really loved.

stierwood's review

medium-paced

4.0

An important memoir! I was expecting it to be all tortured, but he knew quite clearly even in the 1920s that he was gay and he loved it. That was the coolest bit. I always love isherwood’s style of writing: concise, sharp, and romantic without being flowery which made the sad parts all the more raw. He was an asshole, though. I don’t think anyone is debating that, even himself. And some parts did NOT age well. Also, i love literary history. It’s all gossip but the people are the likes of EM Forster, WH Auden, and Virginia Woolf. I live for that shit

spiderwitch's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

guilherme_bicalho's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

mi_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

4.0

Christopher, buddy, was the last line necessary 

cais's review

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

Before reading this book I read Isherwood's The Berlin Stories many years ago, and more recently his diaries from 1939-1960, which picks up right after this book finishes, and Down There On A Visit, which has fictionalized versions of some of the events in this book. "Down There" was written in the 1950s, so though Isherwood was openly living as a gay man, as in he cohabited with boyfriends and toured the SoCal gay scene, he clearly wasn't ready to write about his real experiences for the public. In this book, written in the 1970s with the benefit of both hindsight and the gay liberation movement, he was finally ready and able to be honest about his life during his time in 1930s Europe, enjoying the willing young men of Berlin's gay scene and then traipsing around Europe trying to save his German boyfriend Heinz from the Nazis (either prison or mandatory military service).

Isherwood's candor, his humor and ability to set a scene and just tell a good story, made this book such an enjoyable read. Besides enjoying and not enjoying his relationship with Heinz, having lots of sex and evading the Nazis, Isherwood managed to get a lot of writing done, travel, make many friends (some of them quite famous) and live a whole lot of life in ten years. He wanted experiences that would take him far away from his privileged English background, coming from a wealthy, landed family & having a Cambridge education, so he was drawn to people who could offer those experiences, even if the results were messy.

I loved reading this book, just as I loved reading his diaries from 1939-1960. His humor can be quite cutting, but for all his criticisms of others, he is also critical of himself. Often arrogant, yes, but he was also often generous. As a biography and as a historical document, this is a great book.

fragilemasc's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

3.0