Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I couldn't get through the whole thing, and I had to return it to the library. Definitely a book to dip into rather than plough through, and definitely a book as much "memoir" as "memories."
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I adored this book. Clive James is a brilliant writer, and each biographical sketch is a tour through the mind and life of a genius.
Absolutely incredible. Every essay is entertaining and have great amounts of knowledge, erudition and conviction. The structure is: he starts with an introduction of the person in the title, then he chooses a quote that he likes and either he stays with the person and topic, or branches out into other things, but always with cohesion. This is a treasure trove, and your TBR will be abysmally extended after reading this.
A mostly fascinating collection of biographies, painting a portrait of intellectual life in the 20th century interupted by WW2 and the Holocaust. Mostly good because of one strange digression about Sophie Scholl, about how Natalie Portman should play her in a movie about her life, James get a little creepy-old-man here and goes on and on about how she brings "gravity" to anything she's in, conveniently forgetting that SHE CAN'T FUCKING ACT. blegh. this also showing James as a bit of a fogey, not really able to understand much from the last 40 years. But his knowledge of everything before is pretty strong.
A perfect book in this sense: it is challenging, biased and educational and erudite and esoteric.
This book is basically the equivalent of doing a PhD in history and philosophy, with a minor in comparative literature. Not that I would know about such graduate education, but I felt like I was in school while reading this—and mostly in a good way. At over 800 pages, Cultural Amnesia is no small endeavor, but since it is composed of 8-20 page entries on writers, philosophers, critics, and historical figures arranged alphabetically, you can dive in and out at your leisure.
And maybe that's it's only major flaw. James is an incisive, eloquent critic and not afraid to slay sacred cows (such as Sartre, to start) and celebrate the under-appreciated. But the book's encyclopedic, non-linear format places the task of making holistic connections almost entirely on the reader. Usually I prefer a lack of didacticism in such a context, but the book's scope is so large I would have appreciated more of James' help every so often.
And maybe that's it's only major flaw. James is an incisive, eloquent critic and not afraid to slay sacred cows (such as Sartre, to start) and celebrate the under-appreciated. But the book's encyclopedic, non-linear format places the task of making holistic connections almost entirely on the reader. Usually I prefer a lack of didacticism in such a context, but the book's scope is so large I would have appreciated more of James' help every so often.
Thoughts:
1. I can't wait to be done with this book.
2. I need to learn to read at least two more languages.
3. Huh, crazy I'm reading this at the same time as Proust because I know exactly what he's talking about while he's talking about A la rerecherche du temps perdu.
4. I can't wait to be done with this book, but this book is mildly entertaining often enough that I will be able to finish this book.
5. My reading list will never be finished and has gotten immensely more difficult and weighty because of Clive James.
1. I can't wait to be done with this book.
2. I need to learn to read at least two more languages.
3. Huh, crazy I'm reading this at the same time as Proust because I know exactly what he's talking about while he's talking about A la rerecherche du temps perdu.
4. I can't wait to be done with this book, but this book is mildly entertaining often enough that I will be able to finish this book.
5. My reading list will never be finished and has gotten immensely more difficult and weighty because of Clive James.
A huge number of essays regarding personages from the literary and philosophic circles (mostly twentieth century, a few non-humanities related) - some biographic, some intensely focused, and some that only use the person in question as a jumping off point for a larger discussion on a topic. A very large majority of the minds profiled are from the early-to-mid-twentieth century and affected by World War II in some way. James really drives home the point that so many people and ideas were lost in that war due to exile or death (or suppression); two of the best essays were on Egon Friedell and Admiral Yamamoto.
Like the shelf title says - this is a book that made my TBR list grow. Not a big problem, except some of the figures profiled no longer have work in print or, if they do, the work hasn't been translated into English.
Like the shelf title says - this is a book that made my TBR list grow. Not a big problem, except some of the figures profiled no longer have work in print or, if they do, the work hasn't been translated into English.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
An enjoyable though sadly abridged version of James' Cultural Amnesia read by the man himself. James' breadth and depth of reading is truly remarkable as is his ability to make you think and laugh at the same time.