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Lädt ... Hide-and-Seek with Angels: A Life of J. M. Barrievon Lisa Chaney
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Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. Im on page 62 so far and finding it inspiring. Think fivecats would enjoy this one. ;) Awesome, not only reviews his work of Peter Pan, but many of his (lesser know today) plays and journalism. Good comparative discussion of the period's views on sexuality and childhood. Covers his early life and later years. Interesting to read of his connections with other writers of the period. A very indepth and well-done book about Barrie's entire life. It also gives background information on all significant characters in his life and the history of his surroundings, which gives the reader a very good picture of the whole scenario. The only thing I find confusing is the timeline. Lisa Chaney doesn't do a very good job of keeping the reader informed of -when- everything happens, and oftentimes we jump back and forth for a few years. This was a very thorough biography of a very enigmatic figure, J.M. Barrie. Even though he is known mainly for the writing of Peter Pan, he was a very prolific and successful author of plays. The most successful of his time in fact. Here we see him from many angles. He was a very complex and intriguing individual who I think may have suffered from bipolar disorder from the description of him in this book. We see clearly his struggles within his family and within himself. I learned a lot about a very interesting character. This is perhaps the second most over-written book I've ever read. Apparently, neither the editor nor anyone else told (or convinced) Lisa Chaney that just because she has material it doesn't necessarily need to be included in the book. Nor does she believe "less is more." Thus, the reader is bombarded time and again with long portions of books or plays, long passages in letters (his or others), and lots and lots of unnecessary (and frequently boring) material on those Barrie knew and on Barrie. When she wasn't overloading the reader with material, her writing was dry and frequently uninteresting. Perhaps her text just appears that boring because I just finished a big biography by David McCullough, who makes even the driest material fascinating. Chaney seemed very impressed by all the literary figures that Barrie had contact with and was at pains to tell us about every one. Her literary name dropping was uncalled for and unimpressive. On the positive side I now know more about Barrie than anyone would care to know and have lots and lots of tidbits to drop into cocktail conversation should I meet anyone I think would be even moderately interested. Zeige 5 von 5 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
When James Matthew Barrie died, in 1937, his funeral was an occasion for national mourning. Crowds gathered; reporters and newsreel men came to record the day, and many well-known figures followed the coffin to its resting place in the little churchyard up on the hill. In London, a month later at St Paul's Cathedral a memorial service was held for the Scottish weaver's son who died Britain's playwright extraordinaire.A succession of novels and long-running plays had brought Barrie enormous wealth, critical acclaim, an hereditary Baronetcy and the Order of Merit. His public following extended to Hollywood where his work was performed by the stars of the silver screen. Unhappily such achievements did little to ameliorate the strains in Barrie's private life. Hampered by a stigmatising divorce, he was also struck by a series of tragic bereavements from which he never fully recovered. At the same time as savouring his public image, Barrie gave no more than a handful of interviews. During his lifetime this inscrutable, enigmatic man succeeded in his desire to remain only partially known.Barrie was already famous for sophisticated political satires and social comedies when, with the creation of Peter Pan, his immense artistic gift was displayed at its extraordinary best. In the play, where 'All children except one grow up', Barrie had touched on a universal nerve, the problem of growing up. With Peter Pan he created one of the greatest twentieth-century myths and a work of art quite unlike anything that had gone before. It became a part of the common culture of the Western world, and is as relevant today as on that first performance one hundred years ago. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)828.91209Literature English English miscellaneous writings English miscellaneous writings 1900- English miscellaneous writings 1900-1999 English miscellaneous writings 1900-1945 Individual authorsKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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Barrie's life ends in a welter of misery and Chaney does not spare the reader. I rather wish she had, but her decision to include details such as his heroin addiction may have been made on the basis that Barrie, himself, a man whose ability to conjure up imaginary worlds was renown, never shrank from the harsh realities of life. Chaney redeems herself, in my opinion, with a powerful epilogue that contrasts Barrie's use of the imagination to better understand the difficult questions of life and death, with the passive way in which we commonly engage our imaginations today through watching television and streaming movies. ( )