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152nd out of 535 books
—
551 voters
Kafka Was the Rage: A Greenwich Village Memoir
What Hemingway's A Moveable Feast did for Paris in the 1920s, this charming yet undeceivable memoir does for Greenwich Village in the late 1940s. In 1946, Anatole Broyard was a dapper, earnest, fledgling avant-gardist, intoxicated by books, sex, and the neighborhood that offered both in such abundance. Stylish written, mercurially witty, imbued with insights that are both...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
June 24th 1997
by Vintage
(first published 1993)
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Maybe it's because I just finished reading Incognegro, a thin graphic novel that leverages the idea of "passing" into a lot of interesting narrative turns, that I found Kafka was the Rage frustrating. I often was drifting to the story that Broyard does not tell, the one where he is a black man passing as white in an environment that prides itself on being open minded and bohemian.
It does not help that he essentially dares us to think about this untold story when he writes passages like "To use...more
It does not help that he essentially dares us to think about this untold story when he writes passages like "To use...more
"It was the talkers who gave me the most trouble. Like the people who had sold me books, the talkers wanted to sell me their lives, their fictions about themselves, their philosophies. Following the example of the authors on the shelves, infected perhaps by them, they told me of their families, their love affairs, their illusions and disillusionments. I was indignant. I wanted to say, Wait a minute! I've already got stories here! Take a look at those shelves!" Anatole Broyard "Kafka was the Rage...more
In this memoir, literary critic Broyard tells the story of his life in Greenwich Village in post-WWII 1946. It's a free-thinking time, where eveyone appears obsessed with books, ideas, and art. This reminded me so much of the beat writers in San Francisco, but as Broyard points out, minus the drugs. In some ways it seems like a frustrating pointless life and time, with people moving in and out of each other's lives, discussing philosophy, but finding no answers. In other ways, it gave me this re...more
After World War II, Greenwich Village became the center of the bohemian revolution in America. Artistic twenty-somethings flocked to the New York neighborhood in droves. It drew them in the same way Paris had drawn their predecessors in the 1920s.
Broyard returned from serving in the war to find that the country had changed in his absence. He, like so many others, made his way to Greenwich, where he pursued his dream of opening a bookstore.
“Looking back at the late 1940s, it seems to me now tha...more
Broyard returned from serving in the war to find that the country had changed in his absence. He, like so many others, made his way to Greenwich, where he pursued his dream of opening a bookstore.
“Looking back at the late 1940s, it seems to me now tha...more
i am willing to concede that my dislike for this book is maybe just really subjective. it was recommended to me by a former writing teacher who absolutely RAVED about it & went into fits of ecstasy describing the way all of her writing friends soaked up the descriptive torrents of prose & felt that they were transported back to post-war greenwich village, etc etc. me...not so much. the book tops out at right around 120 pages & the only thing with a bigger font is "highlights magazine...more
A fabulously novelistic memoir.
Broyard's writing is, in a word, whimsical. He writes stuff like "To open a bookshop is one of the persistent romances, like living off the land or sailing around the world." He writes of literature in a way that is reverent, dumbstruck and honest.
Reverent, dumbstruck and honest could describe the book as a whole. It's full of too-cool characters, but Anatole never presents himself as especially intelligent or hip. He's the G.I. with the crew cut going out with the...more
Broyard's writing is, in a word, whimsical. He writes stuff like "To open a bookshop is one of the persistent romances, like living off the land or sailing around the world." He writes of literature in a way that is reverent, dumbstruck and honest.
Reverent, dumbstruck and honest could describe the book as a whole. It's full of too-cool characters, but Anatole never presents himself as especially intelligent or hip. He's the G.I. with the crew cut going out with the...more
Memoirs would not have such a bad reputation if they were all this spare, this precise. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's writing about life in Greenwich Village in the 1940s, what it was like to own a bookstore before the paperback revolution, when "people would rush in wild-eyed, almost foaming at the mouth, willing to pay anything for Kafka," having sex when "sex was like one of those complicated toys that comes disassembled, in one hundred pieces, and without instructions," when painters like...more
Jeg havde forventet noget andet af denne bog. Noget mere romanagtigt, måske, selvom det er en memoir. Den handler om forfatterens liv i Greenwich Village i New York i slutningen af 1940'erne. Han færdes blandt litterater og kunstnere og ønsker selv at blive en af de intellektuelle.
Bogen handler kort fortalt om sex og bøger. I små næsten selvstændige stykker fortælles der, om forskellige episoder, som har brændt sin ind i hans hukommelse og liv, om piger og venner, om den boghandel han åbnede. O...more
Bogen handler kort fortalt om sex og bøger. I små næsten selvstændige stykker fortælles der, om forskellige episoder, som har brændt sin ind i hans hukommelse og liv, om piger og venner, om den boghandel han åbnede. O...more
I love books about scenes. The Beat scene, the hippie scene, the post-war Greenwich Village scene. I think this comes from my obsession with creating a vibrant community. This memoir certainly chronicles such a community. I especially liked how Broyard was always happening to meet huge literary figures. They may have held the rights to the real scene, but Broyard and his compatriots did a pretty decent job on their own.
A co-worker recommended something else by him. Then I remembered that I have this one: i picked up at a sale, just to trade it in for an extra dollar, but no one wanted it, so i still had it when today i needed something light to read.
It is a pleasant read, with some neat anecdotes, some astute observations, some genuine lyricism. But also some trifles.
I might pick up Human Stain now.
It is a pleasant read, with some neat anecdotes, some astute observations, some genuine lyricism. But also some trifles.
I might pick up Human Stain now.
This is a memoir about the Greenwich Village after the second world war. Its about A man named Broyard and his experiences living in the Greenwich village. The story goes on into talking about his experiences, be that of his sexual encounters with other, like his landlord, or his expression on views on matters such as art and learning.
This book is very much a modern day tale as it is an insight on the changing world. Its really unlike most books i have ever read, because its so stright foward on...more
This book is very much a modern day tale as it is an insight on the changing world. Its really unlike most books i have ever read, because its so stright foward on...more
I wish I had read it long ago. Many of the passages are fabulous descriptions of the Village in 1946, and many are fabulous on the character of immediate post WW II America, and many are fabulous on thoughts about authors/literature/philosophy/the life of the intellect. However, there is too much about his weird girlfriend Sherri to make me totally enthralled with the book. Once she's gone, it's smooth sailing. I suspect that had Broyard not gotten so ill in 1988, he would have revised the memoi...more
From the prologue/epilogue notes, it seems Anatole Broyard passed away before he was able to finish putting this thing together, and I'll admit, it shows. BUT, even though he didn't get to keep writing and/or edit this slender collection of essays with an eye towards shaping it into a more consciously-formed narrative arc, they're still well-written and there are impressive little tidy turns throughout the prose that makes this book worth reading. If you are interested at all in the Beatnik/Gree...more
Interesting look at post-War life in Greenwich Village. Not especially life-chaning or anything, but a well-constucted portrait of a particularly unique time and place in American history that I hadn't read a lot about before.
This was a really enjoyable read, the kind you hope for, a first-person account of a fascinating historical place/era from a person you relate to who writes well. But I didn't know he died before he could finish it! I was sorely disappointed. It feels like only a third or so of the book it was supposed to be, with its most important parts left untold. In some statement-on-writing artistic way, that's tantalizing and makes it all the more exceptional as a piece of literary art. But really, it suc...more
After "War and Peace," I made mincemeat out of Anatole Broyard's little memoir.
Broyard's writing is crisp and witty at times. His subject matter is never 'just so;' he's always either into specifics of relationships (there's plenty about sex), or in the clouds looking over the timescape of post-war Greenwich Village.
And yet, each chapter is a piece unto itself, this isn't the day-to-day type memoir. We don't get to see how he lived, where they ate, etc. No, this is an idea-to-idea memoir with p...more
Broyard's writing is crisp and witty at times. His subject matter is never 'just so;' he's always either into specifics of relationships (there's plenty about sex), or in the clouds looking over the timescape of post-war Greenwich Village.
And yet, each chapter is a piece unto itself, this isn't the day-to-day type memoir. We don't get to see how he lived, where they ate, etc. No, this is an idea-to-idea memoir with p...more
A funny, hanuting and sensuous menoir that pays homage to a lost bohemia as it was experienced by a young writer eager to find not only his voice but also his place in avery special part of the world.
It's pages are charged with feeling; Broyard's irony paired with his unabashed nostalgia made me long to have been part of the Village as it was in his time, post WWII 1946. My favourite quote is" If it hadn't been for books, we would have been completely at the mercy of sex". This book is a definit...more
It's pages are charged with feeling; Broyard's irony paired with his unabashed nostalgia made me long to have been part of the Village as it was in his time, post WWII 1946. My favourite quote is" If it hadn't been for books, we would have been completely at the mercy of sex". This book is a definit...more
As a memoir, this book isn't too interesting. Too much focus on the author's sexual life (which normally I would like, but - ho hum) and then when he moves away from his sex life, he's even less interesting. As a sociological examination of Greenwich Village in the late 1940s, it's kind of interesting. The level of precious pretentiousness is fascinating, sad and pathetic. "Poor" hipsters (who all had a home somewhere to go to) and wannabe hepcats roamed the streets striking poses of sorts. Take...more
At first, I was enthralled. The writing was full of lovely but apt similes and lots of talk about New York in its bohemian heyday. I could read that kind of thing all day long, and I was prepared to do so. But soon I started to notice that he relies on similes a little too much (in fact, I should say way too much, to the point of parody) because he doesn’t really know how to write an actual scene – with movement and dialogue. He mostly likes to capture an image. This memoir is like a bunch of te...more
A birthday present from my sister! Thanks sister.
I wavered on whether or not I liked Broyard's outlook as a memoirist. There are some excellent thoughts and sentences like "When would I come to the end of her originality?" And I appreciate views like his from lovers of New York City, which is different to each person let alone to each decade. I pretty much couldn't picture anything at all about being here in 1946 and 1947, and now I can imagine at least a little. This description is exemplary: "...more
I wavered on whether or not I liked Broyard's outlook as a memoirist. There are some excellent thoughts and sentences like "When would I come to the end of her originality?" And I appreciate views like his from lovers of New York City, which is different to each person let alone to each decade. I pretty much couldn't picture anything at all about being here in 1946 and 1947, and now I can imagine at least a little. This description is exemplary: "...more
This is a book that carries you away to another time and place written by a near perfect writer. It was a joy to read and imagine the feeling of excitement experienced by the denizens of Greenwich Village in 1946. Broyard's memoir is full of life, yet the undercurrent of mortality seems to be there as well.
The memoir reads like a story, one that is full of unique moments -- literary bon mots -- whether chatting with Delmore Schwartz at the San Remo Bar, running into Auden on the street or dancin...more
The memoir reads like a story, one that is full of unique moments -- literary bon mots -- whether chatting with Delmore Schwartz at the San Remo Bar, running into Auden on the street or dancin...more
Everyone simply must -- okay, well should -- read the last chapter of this memoir, at the very least. It is thick with insight and knowledge about the potential alienation and disabling awkwardness of sex. Here's just one excerpt that really caught my eye:
"In Portnoy's Complaint, Portnoy says that underneath their skirts girls all have cunts. What he didn't say -- and this was his trouble, his real complaint -- was that underneath their skirts they also had souls. When they were undressed, I sa...more
"In Portnoy's Complaint, Portnoy says that underneath their skirts girls all have cunts. What he didn't say -- and this was his trouble, his real complaint -- was that underneath their skirts they also had souls. When they were undressed, I sa...more
“I can’t tell this particular story – I can only edit it.”
“Looking back at the late 1940s, it seems to me now that Americans were confronting their loneliness for the first time. Loneliness was like the morning after the war, like a great hangover. The war had broken the rhythm of American life, and when we tried to pick it up again, we couldn’t find it – it wasn’t there. It was as if a great bomb, an explosion of consciousness, had gone off in American life, shattering everything.”
Kafka Was...more
“Looking back at the late 1940s, it seems to me now that Americans were confronting their loneliness for the first time. Loneliness was like the morning after the war, like a great hangover. The war had broken the rhythm of American life, and when we tried to pick it up again, we couldn’t find it – it wasn’t there. It was as if a great bomb, an explosion of consciousness, had gone off in American life, shattering everything.”
Kafka Was...more
Broyard describes this as a valentine to post-war New York. Of course everyone thinks New York used to be so user-friendly, a place where writers and artists could live cheaply and survive on a part time job in a used book store.
Memoirs can be a bit idealized, but even so, reading this is more than enough to make someone want to live in post war (that is, post World War II) New York. It seems to be the world lately has been marching backwards in terms of being a civilized place to live.
Memoirs can be a bit idealized, but even so, reading this is more than enough to make someone want to live in post war (that is, post World War II) New York. It seems to be the world lately has been marching backwards in terms of being a civilized place to live.
Not the type of book I would normally read, but I was lent this book by a friend who really enjoyed it. I would still say that it's not my normal cup of tea; however, I found a lot of really interesting thoughts and points of introspection that I really appreciated, as well as an interesting picture of what the times were like. Most intriguing of all is the relationship with Sherri that Broyard tells, and his inability to tap into her world. Sadly, the postscript tells how this memoir was not fi...more
Loved how this book not only gave you a slice of life in post WWII NYC but it also lovely life reflections. I really liked learning about the authors and the Greenwich scene in the late 1940s - I had no idea any of that was going on. I'm quickly finding that historical non-fiction well done is becoming a favorite genre of mine. This book reminded me a little of Just Kids by Patti Smith in how you got to step back in time and be there with these real people.
Broyard's descriptions of the post-war intellectual life in New York City and the beginning of his adult consciousness are beautiful to read...his ability to parlay his internal experience onto the surrounding landscape is amazing.
One wonderful passage:
"It was as if we didn't know where we ended and books began. Books were our weather, our environment, our clothing. We didn't simply read books; we became them. We took them into ourselves and made them into our histories. While it would be easy...more
One wonderful passage:
"It was as if we didn't know where we ended and books began. Books were our weather, our environment, our clothing. We didn't simply read books; we became them. We took them into ourselves and made them into our histories. While it would be easy...more
One word: pretentious. While Broyard's autobiographical love letter to Greenwich Village circa 1946 is touchingly written, in the end it leaves with an effect that one gets when been taken by a scam artist. The book opens wonderfully and I have a lot of praise for most of it, but that last chapter really tore most the work Broyard laid in previous chapters to ruin. There's a fine line between relating a coming-of-age story and claiming that the entire country come-of-age as you were doing so. Br...more
This was a nice, quick read. Too bad it's unfinished, but there are some nice scenes that capture what it was like in the Village right after World War II. Not super heavy on insight or meaning, it's nonetheless a pleasure to read, more so for the humorous turns of phrase, though I ain't gonna lie--there's a lot of sex, if tactfully handled.
Broyard is a good writer and I enjoyed the stories and reflections that he chose to give us. He excellent at description when it comes to people giving you a rich picture of the person who he's describing.
Broyart is a bit of an aesthete and a bit too obsessed with beauty, though, to ever be one of my favorite writers or for me to seek out anything else of his. Not bad, though.
Broyart is a bit of an aesthete and a bit too obsessed with beauty, though, to ever be one of my favorite writers or for me to seek out anything else of his. Not bad, though.
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Anatole Paul Broyard was an American writer, literary critic and editor for The New York Times. In addition to his many reviews and columns, he published short stories, essays and two books during his lifetime. His autobiographical works, Intoxicated by My Illness (1992) and Kafka Was the Rage: A Greenwich Village Memoir (1993), were published after his death.
After his death, Broyard became the ce...more
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Jul 21, 2011 01:22pm
Good point
Jul 21, 2011 02:19pm