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My Brain on Fire: Paris and Other Obsessions
This is Leonard Pitt’s story of growing up the misfit in Detroit in the 1940s and 50s. In a later age he would have been put on Ritalin and paraded before psychiatrists because he couldn’t pay attention in school. In 1962, at the end of a misguided foray towards a career in advertising he took the ultimate cure, a trip to Paris. He thought it would only be a visit. He stayed seven years. There in the City of Light, Leonard’s mind exploded. And it hasn’t stopped since.
Studying mime with master Etienne Decroux and living in Paris were the university he never knew. This inspiration unleashed a voracious appetite to understand the “why” of things. He asked a simple question, “Why did the ballet go up?” While building a theatre career performing and teaching, he embarked on a quest to study the origins of the ballet, the history of early American popular music, the pre-Socratic philosophers, early modern science, the European witch hunt, the history of Paris, and more. To his unschooled mind it all fits together. Who would see a historical arc between Louis XIV and Elvis Presley? Leonard does. And he’ll tell you about it.
Studying mime with master Etienne Decroux and living in Paris were the university he never knew. This inspiration unleashed a voracious appetite to understand the “why” of things. He asked a simple question, “Why did the ballet go up?” While building a theatre career performing and teaching, he embarked on a quest to study the origins of the ballet, the history of early American popular music, the pre-Socratic philosophers, early modern science, the European witch hunt, the history of Paris, and more. To his unschooled mind it all fits together. Who would see a historical arc between Louis XIV and Elvis Presley? Leonard does. And he’ll tell you about it.
- GenresMemoir
356 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2016
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75 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 24, 2016
This book is all over the place, but I liked where it went enough to give it 5 stars with enthusiasm!
I first encountered this author when I saw him talk about his book, "Walks Through Lost Paris," in which he juxtaposed photos taken before Haussmann rebuilt the city under Napoleon III (1850-70) with photos he took of the same spots now. He arranged them into walks, it was brilliant. Great story, too, because US publishers were not interested, so he had to find a French publisher, and it became a bestseller in France before his original version in English finally made it into print.
So when I saw that the Mechanics Institute had invited him to talk about this book, I made a point of going. And I was not disappointed! He was fun in person, and the book, odd as it is, turns out to be wonderful. Wandering, but so worth wandering along with him!
The book is part memoir, and part exactly what the title says: His brain on fire, leaping between one obsession and the next. There's a lot about architecture, which I found very compelling, and there's a good bit about ballet, which I was a bit less interested in - to be fair, I was much more interested in what he had to say about ballet than anything else on the topic I've ever come across. His chapter on Napoleon III was a fascinating digression, I learned a lot. In fact, I learned a lot about lots of things reading this book. And in one of the last chapters, he describes accidentally starting a dark chocolate tasting club in Berkeley, so how could I not love him after reading that? There's more, but instead of describing it, I'll just urge you to read it yourself. Maybe ask your local library to buy a copy, so future patrons can stumble across it on the shelf and be delighted by the discovery!
I first encountered this author when I saw him talk about his book, "Walks Through Lost Paris," in which he juxtaposed photos taken before Haussmann rebuilt the city under Napoleon III (1850-70) with photos he took of the same spots now. He arranged them into walks, it was brilliant. Great story, too, because US publishers were not interested, so he had to find a French publisher, and it became a bestseller in France before his original version in English finally made it into print.
So when I saw that the Mechanics Institute had invited him to talk about this book, I made a point of going. And I was not disappointed! He was fun in person, and the book, odd as it is, turns out to be wonderful. Wandering, but so worth wandering along with him!
The book is part memoir, and part exactly what the title says: His brain on fire, leaping between one obsession and the next. There's a lot about architecture, which I found very compelling, and there's a good bit about ballet, which I was a bit less interested in - to be fair, I was much more interested in what he had to say about ballet than anything else on the topic I've ever come across. His chapter on Napoleon III was a fascinating digression, I learned a lot. In fact, I learned a lot about lots of things reading this book. And in one of the last chapters, he describes accidentally starting a dark chocolate tasting club in Berkeley, so how could I not love him after reading that? There's more, but instead of describing it, I'll just urge you to read it yourself. Maybe ask your local library to buy a copy, so future patrons can stumble across it on the shelf and be delighted by the discovery!
October 24, 2018
I enjoyed all parts of this book. My initial motive was to read about France, but I all the other parts weave together. .
I am curious though, if Leonard mastered or struggled with French. The other ex-pats books I have read lately all mention learning French and the quirks and peculiarities of the French.
I am curious though, if Leonard mastered or struggled with French. The other ex-pats books I have read lately all mention learning French and the quirks and peculiarities of the French.
June 19, 2016
I stumbled upon this book in a famous bookstore of San Francisco whose name escapes me.
I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this biography of sorts. Perhaps it was the fact that a majority of this book shares various anecdotes of one's life in Paris at a young age in the mid-20th century.
Whatever the case may be, Pitt has stories to tell. My favorite was of him unknowingly walking into the scene of a movie.
The only reason I give it 3 stars is because it didn't keep me wanting to turn the pages at every moment, and started to slow in the middle before it picked up again and I was determined to finish. Everything about this book is, otherwise, so lovely and genuine. To read the stories of a man's adventures is fascinating and has me yearning for a simpler time when the world moved at a slower pace. It also gave me a slightly better understanding of Paris as a city and the people within it.
I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this biography of sorts. Perhaps it was the fact that a majority of this book shares various anecdotes of one's life in Paris at a young age in the mid-20th century.
Whatever the case may be, Pitt has stories to tell. My favorite was of him unknowingly walking into the scene of a movie.
The only reason I give it 3 stars is because it didn't keep me wanting to turn the pages at every moment, and started to slow in the middle before it picked up again and I was determined to finish. Everything about this book is, otherwise, so lovely and genuine. To read the stories of a man's adventures is fascinating and has me yearning for a simpler time when the world moved at a slower pace. It also gave me a slightly better understanding of Paris as a city and the people within it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews