Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)

Of all the writers LOA attempts to preserve, Gertrude Stein is the least known & least read. If she had great influence on other writers, why then is she all but forgotten? During the period of writing she made, she was not only going up against the dominant force of H. James & those he influenced. Until World War 2, Stein was forced to continue her literary output to escape that shadow. Her residence in Paris for most of her adult life didn't help. Her literature, Stein hoped, would present a new concept of writing. Of course, she followed W. James, Henry's brother far more & was deeply influenced by his work. It is interesting to note that her own private life was reflected through her writings & her encounters with other writers of her era.… (mehr)

On the back cover of this edition, Frances Spalding from the Sunday Times says something about "deadpan humour." There is no humor of the deadpan or any other variety.

This is because Gertrude Stein's whole soul was devoted to admiring herself. And that kind of ego is rarely humorous.

There are many books about the writers and artists in Paris in the 1920s. I've read several. I've found them all good -- some are better than others - but they all tell (from different perspectives) similar descriptions and stories about a variety of interesting people, how they lived, thought, interacted, worked, drank. In all of them you get a some sense of what it was like to be a writer or an artist living in that unique environment. This is the only book among the many that does not achieve that.

What you get here is a laundry list of everyone Gertrude ever met and countless mentions of her writings. You get a few stories and vignettes, but very few. There is no sense of the society and no sense of the place. There is no life there.

You learn that Gertrude was a genius among the merely adequate and the not so adequate. Her hatred of Hemingway (a dear friend in the 20s, but an enemy (rival, more likely) by 1933 when this book was written) is notable. Maybe her problem was that she didn't drink.… (mehr)