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The Paris Review Interviews, I (Paris Review Interviews)
A Picador Paperback Original
How do great writers do it? From James M. Cain's hard-nosed observation that "writing a novel is like working on foreign policy. There are problems to be solved. It's not all inspirational," to Joan Didion's account of how she composes a book--"I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just r...more
Paperback, 528 pages
Published
October 17th 2006
by Picador
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What are writers like? What makes them different? On goodreads, for example, they will be the people that write their 'about me' sections in the third person. However, I had a feeling there must be more to that.
When I was younger I thought writers were an entirely different caste of people. You can't become a writer, you have to be born one. There are no creative writing courses in Poland, because writing is not something you can teach. It comes from divine inspiration and not from ...more
When I was younger I thought writers were an entirely different caste of people. You can't become a writer, you have to be born one. There are no creative writing courses in Poland, because writing is not something you can teach. It comes from divine inspiration and not from ...more
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If you've ever tried to write or even wondered about the creative writing
process these interviews will have you riveted. I expected some ego and
posturing and there is a bit but most of the authors are amazingly honest....even
Hemingway as he picks and chooses what he wants to discuss. Most delicious is
when these writers give their take on fellow writers. Here's an example from
Joan Didion, "There's a passage by Christopher Isherwood in a book of his called ...more
process these interviews will have you riveted. I expected some ego and
posturing and there is a bit but most of the authors are amazingly honest....even
Hemingway as he picks and chooses what he wants to discuss. Most delicious is
when these writers give their take on fellow writers. Here's an example from
Joan Didion, "There's a passage by Christopher Isherwood in a book of his called ...more
Loved this book. Part of it is the novelty of insightful interviews with T.S. Eliot, Truman Capote, and Earnest Hemingway. But even the interviews with writers I don't know well (Robert Stone, Jack Gilbert) were really interesting.
Moving on to the second volume soon..
A running list of terrific quotes from this book:
"I hate almost all rich people, but I think I'd be darling at it." -Dorothy Parker
"The most essential gift for a good ...more
Moving on to the second volume soon..
A running list of terrific quotes from this book:
"I hate almost all rich people, but I think I'd be darling at it." -Dorothy Parker
"The most essential gift for a good ...more
http://miamisunpost.com/archives/2008/11...
Bound - Miami SunPost
Nov. 20, 2008
A Gentleman Among Men
George Plimpton Was All That and Then Some
By John Hood
George Plimpton and I first met at his Manhattan home back in ’90 or ’91 when he hosted a wedding reception for then Paris Review Senior Editor Fayette Hickox. I was just coming into my ego then and still a bit reticent around celebrity, but Plimpton made me feel immediately ...more
Bound - Miami SunPost
Nov. 20, 2008
A Gentleman Among Men
George Plimpton Was All That and Then Some
By John Hood
George Plimpton and I first met at his Manhattan home back in ’90 or ’91 when he hosted a wedding reception for then Paris Review Senior Editor Fayette Hickox. I was just coming into my ego then and still a bit reticent around celebrity, but Plimpton made me feel immediately ...more
This is my go-to book whenever I get stuck with writing or reading a story. I bought it for the Dorothy Parker interview (which doesn't disappoint - man, was that woman quick), but the rest of the interviews are just as good. Each writer manages to bring his or her own unique writing view to the interview while managing to discuss the universal themes of hard work and innate talent. It's amazint to read Vonnegut and Hemmingway and see the two men agree on a point.
BEST. BOOK. EVER. This book is a required reading for anyone that enjoys literature, authors, or a fascinating glimpse into the artistic process. The remarkable George Plimpston and friends interview everyone from T.S. Eliot to Dorothy Parker to Earnest Hemingway and back again. The interview with Kurt Vonnegut, dealing in part with writing about his experience in Dresden, will blow your mind.
Who could ever have thought a book where authors, poets, an editor and a director who have no special item to promote could ever be something precious?
Well, considering these people are, in order, Dorothy Parker, Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, Saul Bellow, Jorge Luis Borges, Kurt Vonnegut, James M. Cain, Rebecca West, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Stone, Robert Gottlieb, Richard Price, Billy Wilder, Jack Gilbert and Joan Didion, the die is kinda cast.
The subjects...more
Well, considering these people are, in order, Dorothy Parker, Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, Saul Bellow, Jorge Luis Borges, Kurt Vonnegut, James M. Cain, Rebecca West, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Stone, Robert Gottlieb, Richard Price, Billy Wilder, Jack Gilbert and Joan Didion, the die is kinda cast.
The subjects...more
I am reading this chapter by chapter, little at a time, like eating a box of really good, very expensive chocolates. The Hemingway interview is worth the price of the book.
Nov. 2009: Now I've read GEORGE BEING GEORGE, the equally delicious book about George Plimpton,, which must be read side-by-side with the PARIS REVIEW interviews. Could not put it down.
Nov. 2009: Now I've read GEORGE BEING GEORGE, the equally delicious book about George Plimpton,, which must be read side-by-side with the PARIS REVIEW interviews. Could not put it down.
Essential for aspiring writers, near-essential for anyone else interested in a look behind the curtain. Candid, thoughtful back-and-forths with some of the greats of the last century. Watching Plimpton spar with Hemingway over the latter's reluctance to give too much away is worth the price of admission alone.
Jim
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
interview addicts, lit snobs
Shelves:
booksnobtastic
I am an interview junkie, so this book was pretty much made for me to enjoy. While I enjoyed the chats with Hemingway, Eliot, and Bishop, the highlight for me is the conversation with editor Robert Gottlieb, a very insightful piece that gave outsiders like me a look at how editing works at large publishing companies.
The friend who pressed this volume in my hands was correct -- it is every bit as intelligent, engaging, and exciting to read as he insisted. Vonnegut is funny, Borges sublime, Didion contemplative--- exactly as you would want them to be. (I always hesitate to read interviews, for fear that the interviewee will disappoint by failing to meet some ridiculously high level of sophistication and insight that I've dreamed up.) The real surprise in this volume was Hemingway, who was smart, acerbic, and ...more
This book is darned interesting. As readers we're fascinated by what writers have to say about their work. These interviews provide glimpses of how they think as well as their individual works and what elements shaped them. Every one of the interviews is absorbing, even the one I cared for the least. That was Saul Bellow's. I was disappointed that, as was explained in the introductory remarks to his interview, he felt the need to heavily edit it. That process apparently involved several dr...more
I'm a sucker for the book that includes real-time interviews writers and if it has "Paris" or anything French in the title, I'm on board. The Paris Review is a classic and in this Vol. 1, writers including Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, and TS Eliot grace the pages. I'm not a huge fan of Dorothy Parker per se, but her interview includes a manuscript page from "I live on your visits" with her handwritten notes and editing. I love this kind of window into the writing process....more
These interviews are like manna for anyone interested in how the sausage gets made, presented in a tasteful volume. Worth it entirely for the interview with editor Robert Gottlieb, which includes testimonials from many of the authors he's edited through the years. Fascinating stuff.
Here's Michael Crichton on his working relationship with Gottlieb:
"There is absolutely no question that I see Bob paternally...there is a lot of jealousy involved in your relationship with your e...more
Here's Michael Crichton on his working relationship with Gottlieb:
"There is absolutely no question that I see Bob paternally...there is a lot of jealousy involved in your relationship with your e...more
As this is not a novel it is perhaps not necessary to start at the beginning and read through to the end, but I did so nevertheless, utterly enthralled by the intimate view of the writing process. What most writers have in common: they are usually readers too, they seem often to know the beginning of a story and the end, and have to wrestle with the middle, and most of them seem to need a routine, structure and discipline.
However what is remarkable is the individuality of the process and a...more
However what is remarkable is the individuality of the process and a...more
Garrett
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in literature and/or writers
Recommended to Garrett by:
Cassie
This was a late Christmas present from Cassie--thanks Cassie!--and it was great to get a glimpse into the characteristics and mannerisms of some of my favorite authors. I'm one of those people who likes to learn about the lives of writers to see how they've influenced their work; if you're not one of those people, though--if you prefer to just let the work speak for itself--you might still enjoy these interviews. Many are not necessarily biographical or about the writer's process or their insp...more
This book gave a great deal of insight into different author's minds. As a reader, I never realized how superstitious some of these writers were. I found some of the interviews enlightening (especially Vonnegut and Borges), but since I did not understand some of the literary movements/times that these authors lived in, some of their comments seemed misplaced or much more forceful than necessary. As a non-writer, I liked the interviews of those authors who I have read to those I haven't, and whil...more
I can't help thinking that our fascination with artists' lives has to do with the artistry they exhibit IN LIVING those lives. We like interviews because we like to see the way they've chosen to compose their lives, perhaps in the hopes of giving our own lives more deliberate meaning. This whole collection seems to have caught many fantastic writers in their prime (or, at least at their most interesting).
I love reading interviews,and the Paris review is the cream of the crop when it comes to interviewing writers.
If you're a writer or big lit fan and interested in what the BIG WRITERS of the West in the 20th Century thought ( their writing techniques,what thoughts on their writing peers,favourite books,etc), I'd really recommend this collection.
P.S The Paris review website has alot of interviews archived, so you should check that out too!
If you're a writer or big lit fan and interested in what the BIG WRITERS of the West in the 20th Century thought ( their writing techniques,what thoughts on their writing peers,favourite books,etc), I'd really recommend this collection.
P.S The Paris review website has alot of interviews archived, so you should check that out too!
This is one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time. You don't have to like--or even know--the work of the featured authors, the stories of how they work are utterly fascinating in themselves. If you are a writer of any sort, this is a must read. Can't wait to read vols 2 and 3, too!
Agora com tradução de Carlos Vaz Marques e edição da editora Tinta da China. Uma colectânea de entrevistas publicadas na "The Paris Review" que a revista fez a partir de 1950 a personalidades tão diferentes como Kerouac, Jorge Luis Borges, Faulkner entre outros.
Excellent collection of interviews. James M. Cain, Dorothy Parker, Saul Bellow and Kurt Vonnegut being some fo my favorites but every one is interesting, even the writers I don't really know about. A great book you can come back to again and again.
worth reading, although i definitely found the interviews far more interesting when i had read the author's work.
one great thing about the paris review interviews: the questions are far more focused on the writing process and the purpose of the author's work than you find in interviews that have been done for pr purposes, i.e., 99.9% of the interviews you read these days. so you definitely don't get the feeling, after reading one of these interviews, that, hey, i've got to run out a...more
one great thing about the paris review interviews: the questions are far more focused on the writing process and the purpose of the author's work than you find in interviews that have been done for pr purposes, i.e., 99.9% of the interviews you read these days. so you definitely don't get the feeling, after reading one of these interviews, that, hey, i've got to run out a...more
Fascinating. I read parts of this book atleast once a month. Vonnegut has an interesting interview in it, for all you Vonnegut fans. My favorite interviews are probably the Capote and Lessing interviews.
made it to the saul bellows interview and realized i was more in the mood for a story, than the process of writing said story. also, really glad i didn't get the box set for christmas now.
The Robert Gottlieb interview is a classic; it's worth buying the book for this alone. Ignore Hemingway and Bellow - both full of hot air. Excellent.
interviews with great authors, including Kurt Vonnegut, Dorothy Parker, Truman Capote, William Faulkner...
How can you really rate a book of interviews? I'll give it 4 for the Hemingway and Vonnegut interviews alone. Other favorites were Capote, Borges and Dorothy Parker. A must read for anybody who is obsessed with authors and their work.
I just skimmed through several of the reviews in here. The Hemingway one with George Plimpton is a gem; the source of his famous quote on writers: "The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it." Also, check on out the poignant one of Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking-era non-fiction and others with Dorothy Parker and Richard Price.
A rich collection of "interviews" -- the quotes come from the fact that some of the pieces are pieced together from several sittings, some were conducted via letter, and all, it seems were reviewed and edited by the subjects themselves -- that proves the old adage that writers are freakin' nuts. It's a great book, really, and nice to have around on the days that you need a little reassurance and companionship. Highly recommended. The fifth star is for the fact that I some of the writer...more
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Founded in Paris by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton in 1953, The Paris Review began with a simple editorial mission: “Dear reader,” William Styron wrote in a letter in the inaugural issue, “The Paris Review hopes to emphasize creative work—fiction and poetry—not to the exclusion of criticism, but with the aim in mind of merely removing criticism from the dominating place it...more
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