Appearance
Confessions of a Spent Youth
a pretty good tale about a man's sexual awakening. though its probably tame by today's standards,quince's views on women and sex could still shock some people.he goes from relationship to relationship as a way of finding his identity. very erotic, literate and entertaining.
Confessions of a Spent Youth
Bourjaily has not exactly thrived into the 21st century. He was well respected and reviewed in his time, but he never had that huge breakthrough novel and, perhaps when public opinion was best poised to embrace him, he published "Now Playing at Canterbury," not an especially good book. Most, if not all, of his novels are out of print today, but they are not especially hard to find and, certainly in this case, well worth it.This is one of my favorite novels. I have read it at least half a dozen times, and for quite awhile tended to pick it up every two or three years until my old paperback with the racy cover fell apart and I invested in a hardcover first edition.Confessions is a classic American coming of age novel set in the years leading up to and including WWII. We follow our hero Quince through adolescence, first love, work, college, New York, the war, to trying to find his way in American--damaged and disoriented--thereafter. The most remarkable things about the book are not the plotting--Bourjaily tells a decent story, but the novel is more picaresque than otherwise, and as much as I admire and enjoy him, there is often something vaguely dissatisfying at the close of his stories--perhaps because he refuses cheap or easy resolutions. No, the finest things in the book are Bourjaily's writing, the extent to which he is in touch with the America of his time that simply no longer exists, and his ability to write effective, evocative and memorable scenes. As to the first, Bourjaily is a master prose stylist. As proof, I would offer the introduction to this book: his discussion of the motivations of writing a "confession," and the manner in which we perceive ourselves, always taller, shorter, more or less handsome, wittier or duller than we ever really are. His prose is sometimes reminiscent of Fitzgerald. Although a little less studied, it is often beautiful. As to Bourjaily's America, he makes us feel Quince's experience as a kid finding hard work for the first time in the country, falling in love, meeting "Cowboy," a worn out, dying relic of another time, going off to college as the outsider and falling in with Central Park Wes (a fine character), finding almost accidental success writing ad copy in New York, and then going off to war. We really get the feel of growing up in America between the wars. As to the "scenic" in Bourjaily, there are many unforgettable episodes--the scene with cowboy and two girls in a motel, the "smoker," the girl he leaves behind to go to war only to find later that she was rather more friendly than he might have hoped with many men, including a friend who can tell him only that she was so beautiful and so easy, well, what else was there to do? Quince's parting from the girl is simple, inevitable and touching.This may not be THE great American novel (although I think a case could be made) but, if not, it is still a very very good one. It is sensitive, perceptive, evocative, a bit nostalgic, and beautifully written. It would be a shame for a writer as good as Bourjaily to be lost. This novel at least deserves to survive. If you have the chance, at least read Bourjaily's introduction. If it catches you, you may have found a book that you will return to.
Confessions of a Spent Youth
Confessions of a Spent Youth is bold. Unafraid of the warped, pre-p.c. agendas of the 1950's-60's, it is an honest tale of a young man peering through the mask of hormones, war, death, sex, and the constant inhaling of random drugs and liquors. Riding with Quincy is an adventure.Probably the most memorable aspect of the book is the boyish way it is written. He's curious in his egotism, shocking in his innocence. He doesn't try to grab your collar and make you feel some fake emotion that's more outrage than empathy.He's real.Yes - this book is... good.
The Third Reich in Power, 1933-1939
The book is not as dynamic and fascinating as the last book of the trilogy but nevertheless extremely interesting and quite comprehensive. Pretty much all imaginable sides of life in Germany under matured Third Reich are dissected in variety of ways and exposed under different angles of view. Author does his best to stay impartial in his narrative although it is clear that it is not that easy for him to do. Third Reich political system is shown as a tough regime that grows more and more radical, slipping to extreme brutalization towards its own citizens and, eventually, to war.There are many aspects of that epoch that are relatively well known. Persecution of certain minorities as well as such large scale actions as Night of the Long Knives or Night of Broken Glass would sound familiar (even if vaguely) to many. But Mr. Evans goes much further - he explores less known corners of life then - artistic and literary life, education (both higher and regular), religion and economy. It gets clear that hardly anything was left untouched - even such seemingly other-worldly spheres as mathematics experienced intrusion. Mr. Evans writes that there was an attempt to create some true "German mathematics", which stressed geometry rather than algebra. Somehow geometry, he writes (page 309), "was supposedly more closely related to the ideal human form as expressed in the Aryan racial type". It is not that easy to see how mathematical disciplines other that geometry can be less (or more) related to that ideal, moreover geometry itself (except for maybe elementary one) deals with matters that are so far away from human form in its level of abstraction that it may be possible that whoever was trying to reshape mathematics under Third Reich did not have mathematical education. Another aspect of that reshaping was so-called Aryanization - that phenomenon took place everywhere, but especially in education and economy. Quite eloquent testimony of consequences of that phenomenon at one of the best in the world research facilities can be seen in the dialog between David Hilbert, prominent German mathematician, and Bernhard Rust, Nazi Minister of Education sometime in 1934. Rust asked, "How is mathematics in Göttingen now that it has been freed of the Jewish influence?" Hilbert replied, "Mathematics in Göttingen? There is really none any more." (quoted from Wikipedia).Interestingly enough, some consumer brands well known today, as Mr. Evans shows, have stamp of Aryanization in their history, namely cosmetic products of Nivea and shoes Salamander. Story of Voklswagen is more complex. Reportedly Adolf Hitler was involved personally in design of a certain model as the book says. What really surprised me is that Volkswagen was in fact available to German consumers and many did own it in 1930s. Viktor Klemperer, whose diaries are frequently quoted across the book, had one and had driven often German famous autobahns in it.Overall though, the book is not a happy reading. All social innovations by the regime, introduced by Nazi ideology, made lives of many either hard or unbelievably hard with great deal plunged into destitution, forced to flee the country or perished in concentration camps, prisons, or series of pogroms. Each time I look at my neighbor's Golf, I can't help but think about Viktor Klemperer and his rides in his Volkswagen across German countryside shortly before racial policies culminated in Nuremberg Laws that shuttered his life so completely. Mr. Evans' book does a good job in description of that era and generating reflection but one question after the book is finished is left unanswered in its entirety - what should be done to prevent repetition of that episode of the human history? Chances are many readers will formulate that question for themselves and it is very probable that the answer is a very complex one.
The Third Reich in Power, 1933-1939
In the second part of the said three volume history of the Third Reich, Mr. Richard Evans enters the territory of William L. Shirer. He joins a rather august group of chronicilers of the subject of the Third Reich in the English language.I'll make this review short and sweet. Mr. Evans explains the complete mindset of Adolph Hitler.1. The progressive Jewish genocide pogroms.2. The complete change of Art culture according to the tastes of Adolph Hitler.3. The complete ruin of intellectual activities in all German pedagogical institutions.In short a Germany as seen through the eyes of a Madman. In this study we also see Adolph Hitler's seduction of the Prussian military elite. The bully conquering of the Sudentenland, Czecho-Slovakia and Austria. As Winston Churchill noted this was "The Gathering Storm".I highly recommend this book as a popular historical masterpiece. Read it and learn! I'm looking forward to Mr. Evans take of the Second World War in Europe.
The Third Reich in Power, 1933-1939
This is the second of three volumes of what is shaping up to be the definitive history of the Third Reich. In the first volume, "The Coming of the Third Reich," (also reviewed on Amazon) the author, a distinguished Cambridge University historian, artfully explained how the Nazis rose from a humble position (to say the least) to grab control of Germany. This volume focuses upon the period between the acquisition of power and the launching of the Second World War, which is the subject of the concluding volume yet to come. The central theme of this volume is how the Nazis consolidated their power and exerted control throughout Germany from roughly 1933 until 1939 and the invasion of Poland. Topics include the creation of the "police state"; exerting domination over public discussion and publications, including the press; and the struggle with the Catholic church and exercising control over religious institutions. A most interesting chapter deals with "prosperity and plunder," which reflects some recent research arguing that the financial dimensions of Nazism (including confiscation of Jewish property) effectively induced mass support by providing financial goodies to the population. Whether the Nazis delivered on their promises to the middle and lower classes is the topic of another section of the book. The goal of attaining a "racial utopia" by means of sterilization, driving Jewish people out of the country, and the early beginnings of concentration camps is also discussed. The final section deals with the movement toward war, including recovery of the Sudetenland, the murder of Czechslovakia, and the development of German military power despite the ineffectual limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles.As usual, the author is extremely thorough in his research and narrative. I know some critics believe he goes into too much depth, but one is free to skim the sections that do not interest the reader. At 800 pages, including extensive notes, this is a big book--but indeed so is the topic. One feature that appears in this volume is that Evans focuses upon some individuals in his narrative and shows the impact of Nazi power upon them and their reactions. These include one of the most important sources for understanding this period from the perspective of a single oppressed individual, the diaries of Victor Klemperer (also reviewed on Amazon). It is simply engrossing to see how the Nazis managed to exert control over virtually every institution and group in Germany through quite masterful manipulation. Simply the superior available source on this topic.