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chairmanbernanke's review against another edition
3.0
Being the first volume of Graham Greene's autobiography, this book details his early life well.
paul_cornelius's review against another edition
5.0
Remarkably revealing. I haven't enjoyed an autobiography this much in quite some time. Graham Greene provides a frank history of his early years up to the time of his first successful novel, The Man Within, and the immediate aftermath of failure and then the legal problems arising out of Stamboul Train. The book itself is filled with passages expressing wit, irony, melancholy, excitement, and failure, all reflective of the somewhat troubled and manic-depressive life of Greene.
There is something of a unique style to this work. Greene avoids a strictly linear description of his life. Instead, he offers passages and sections that are entirely associative in his memory. Thus the reader not only discovers about the books that interested him as a child and young man but incidents he later saw as populating his fiction--although he claims to have been unaware of it at the time of his writing.
Too, there are especially interesting notes towards the end. Greene learned much from his initial lack of success. And he describes what amounts to a guideline for writing that rejected the imitative failures he produced for Doubleday and Hienemann following the surprise success of The Man Within.
There is much atmosphere and mood to his description of working at The Times as a sub editor. And it is equally appealing to see his descriptions of working with his editors at Heinemann and Doubleday. This was the heyday of the novel, a literary age that is all but unrecognizable to the contemporary world. The Western world itself, of course, was much more literary. Newspapers provided for the immediacy of news, while novels and magazines devoted to short stories outpaced even the motion pictures as a venue for entertainment and enlightenment. And Greene was there in its midst, almost failing. So near was he to doing so that he came close to accepting a teaching appointment at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The book ends on his meeting with his friend, the department chair at the university, who offered him the job. It is some twenty years later, and Greene remarks upon the man's once promising career as a poet, which he allowed to slip away because of initial failures, leading to his exile in Siam. Only by the surprise success of Stamboul Train did Greene himself escape the same fate.
There is something of a unique style to this work. Greene avoids a strictly linear description of his life. Instead, he offers passages and sections that are entirely associative in his memory. Thus the reader not only discovers about the books that interested him as a child and young man but incidents he later saw as populating his fiction--although he claims to have been unaware of it at the time of his writing.
Too, there are especially interesting notes towards the end. Greene learned much from his initial lack of success. And he describes what amounts to a guideline for writing that rejected the imitative failures he produced for Doubleday and Hienemann following the surprise success of The Man Within.
There is much atmosphere and mood to his description of working at The Times as a sub editor. And it is equally appealing to see his descriptions of working with his editors at Heinemann and Doubleday. This was the heyday of the novel, a literary age that is all but unrecognizable to the contemporary world. The Western world itself, of course, was much more literary. Newspapers provided for the immediacy of news, while novels and magazines devoted to short stories outpaced even the motion pictures as a venue for entertainment and enlightenment. And Greene was there in its midst, almost failing. So near was he to doing so that he came close to accepting a teaching appointment at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The book ends on his meeting with his friend, the department chair at the university, who offered him the job. It is some twenty years later, and Greene remarks upon the man's once promising career as a poet, which he allowed to slip away because of initial failures, leading to his exile in Siam. Only by the surprise success of Stamboul Train did Greene himself escape the same fate.
letmesleep's review against another edition
3.0
There were a few good bits in this, but it was generally disappointing. It seemed just a thrown together account of what I'm sure was really a very interesting life. I got the impression that this book was one of those painful pledges made to his publishing company.
As someone else noted, the bit about action writing was interesting:
"Action can only be expressed by a subject, a verb and an object, perhaps a rhythm -- little else. Even an adjective slows the pace or tranquilizes the nerve... But I was too concerned with "the point of view" to be aware of simpler problems, to know that the sort of novel I was trying to write, unlike a poem, was not made with words but with movement, action, character. Discrimination in one's words is certainly required, but not love of one's words - that is a form of self-love, a fatal love... I was only saved by failure."
Yeah, so anyhow... fortunately I've got a number of Greene's works of fiction still to read. Fiction was obviously his thing.
As someone else noted, the bit about action writing was interesting:
"Action can only be expressed by a subject, a verb and an object, perhaps a rhythm -- little else. Even an adjective slows the pace or tranquilizes the nerve... But I was too concerned with "the point of view" to be aware of simpler problems, to know that the sort of novel I was trying to write, unlike a poem, was not made with words but with movement, action, character. Discrimination in one's words is certainly required, but not love of one's words - that is a form of self-love, a fatal love... I was only saved by failure."
Yeah, so anyhow... fortunately I've got a number of Greene's works of fiction still to read. Fiction was obviously his thing.
eely225's review against another edition
3.0
It sings intermittently. There's a lot to like here, particularly as Greene describes the challenges that beset him as he tried to make writing fiction a proper career. But he seems so fixated on the frustrations of certain scenes and how they connect to his later literary output that he misses some of the most interesting stories he has to tell. By all accounts his family is a diverse and interesting one, but he gives only enough hints about them for them to be strange archetypes rather than people. His marriage is almost an afterthought, and the reader ends up learning more about the priest who first instructed him in Catholic thought. Of course Greene can divulge what he wants about his own life, but he seems cautious to really get to the heart of the matter.
Still, he's Graham Greene. When he shines, he shines. His thoughts on being down and out and trying to be somebody are as sparkling here as in any of his novels. His description of suicidal inclinations, boredom, and illogical faith are memorable and well formed. There's just a great deal in between. It's not by any means unpleasant, but it can be a bit uneven.
Also it only addresses his life up through his first four published novels, all of which he deems failures, so many of the most dynamic points of his life remain unaddressed. Good thing he wrote a second autobiography, I suppose.
Still, he's Graham Greene. When he shines, he shines. His thoughts on being down and out and trying to be somebody are as sparkling here as in any of his novels. His description of suicidal inclinations, boredom, and illogical faith are memorable and well formed. There's just a great deal in between. It's not by any means unpleasant, but it can be a bit uneven.
Also it only addresses his life up through his first four published novels, all of which he deems failures, so many of the most dynamic points of his life remain unaddressed. Good thing he wrote a second autobiography, I suppose.
krishnaanujan's review
2.0
I tried to like this book. I have liked Graham Greene's fiction in the past - Journey without Maps and Travels with my aunt were heartwarming and witty. But this memoir didn't go down easy and I found many parts just not very relatable or interesting.
There were definitely parts that shone through a beautiful inner world and an admirable self-awareness - where he talks of the long winding road of being a writer beyond the "break" of a first book. The admission in the beginning that he wants to render his memoir not in a sense of irony belittling his past self but owning it - was also a gem of a thought. And for these, I give it 2 stars.
But beyond this, I found myself uninterested in the details of his life. Many people and events in his world were so specific and needed much more explanation for me than I was willing to loook up. I was tempted to give it one more star because I read a beautiful hard bound copy with large lettering, with pages that smelled good. But the merit of this does not go to the author.
There were definitely parts that shone through a beautiful inner world and an admirable self-awareness - where he talks of the long winding road of being a writer beyond the "break" of a first book. The admission in the beginning that he wants to render his memoir not in a sense of irony belittling his past self but owning it - was also a gem of a thought. And for these, I give it 2 stars.
But beyond this, I found myself uninterested in the details of his life. Many people and events in his world were so specific and needed much more explanation for me than I was willing to loook up. I was tempted to give it one more star because I read a beautiful hard bound copy with large lettering, with pages that smelled good. But the merit of this does not go to the author.
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