Life Sentences

by Epstein Joseph

Further literary writings by the foremost practitioner of the informal essay in our time. Reading an essay by Joseph Epstein is much like watching Joe DiMaggio hit a pitched ball: the pleasure is in watching a difficult art performed with matchless grace and ease. In Life Sentences , his fourth collection of literary essays, Epstein considers the lives and works of nineteen writers of note, appreciating many of them, roughing up some others, and overall weighing them in the very finely calibrated balance of his well-stocked mind. His subjects include Michel de Montaigne, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Conrad, Mary McCarthy, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Robert Lowell, John Dos Passos, Edmund Wilson, Elizabeth Bishop, Ambrose Bierce, and Philip Larkin. No overarching theory or grinding ideological ax mars these finely nuanced readings of writers who matter; as Epstein writes, "What unites this collection of literary essays is the interest of the man who wrote them." And what interests him is excellence in literature. Few pleasures in life are as dependable as reading a Joseph Epstein essay. In that sense Life Sentences is another blue-chip public offering.

Genres: Essays, Literary Criticism

348 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joseph Epstein writes essays about better and lesser known celebrities of the literary world. Who has heard of C.P. Cavafy or Lady Mary? With mordant wit, a flawless vocabulary and a keen interest in his subjects, he rampages through the writings and behaviours of his chosen individuals. The outcome is either an interest in knowing more about the individual in question or a firm conviction that one has done well to steer clear for all times.

Great for reflection.

[Oliver Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Droll and generous.

[Stephanie]

I thoroughly enjoyed, but I'm not sure how many non-English majors would. It's just essays of literary criticism.

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Epstein's fourth collection of literary essays and the first that I have read. Included are essays on Conrad, Musil, Montaigne, Dos Passos, Bierce, Larkin and others. Epstein's style is conversational and at the same time edifying. It is also very personal as he is unafraid to air his own opinions about the authors and works that he reviews. The result, however unexpectedly and puzzlingly lenient or harsh, at least shows that literature is worth arguing over. The resulting prose is pure pleasure to read and I find every time I pick up the book I am impressed with it for that reason. Worth reading, rereading, or just dipping into from time to time.