Although this book contain lots of comic bits, which taken separately were quite humorous it was ultimately a tragedy. The sadness of the book and its main' character is encapsulated by "I realized that I knew no number, that although I could give her the unlisted phone number of half the celebrities in New York, I didn't even know the number of a good doctor." Boswell spends his life collecting celebrities and "great" people, but ultimately ends up alone. Stanley Elkin is a genius at characterization and it had some penetrating insights (see the first quote below), and I defiantly want to read more of his work. One negative to the book was I was left wincing at its chauvinism and racial stereotyping.Quotes:On Anthropology:pg. 374 "How many of you have ever stopped to consider what an unspoiled culture actually is? It's one without proper facilities for sanitation, without electricity, without hospitals or a balanced diet or a vaccination program. Anything, in fact, which might extend, longevity by a single day may be said to contribute to cultural spoilage."On Life:"To be inside when it was raining, warm it was cold, to be able to sleep, to move your bowels regularly, to throw peanut butter sandwiches at your hunger----this was living. " ( )

Boswell by Stanley Elkin is a first novel rich in irony but short on coherence. Its narrator, James Boswell, aspires to greatness-by-association.He forces himself into the orbit of a variety of famous people. Each reader can judge how successful Boswell actually is. He brags constantly of relationships with notables but fails to hoodwink an executive secretary.
In an unusual spasm of honesty he admits he has "never ridden in a Cadillac. . . never sailed a boat or been on a yacht. . . paid fifty dollars for a meal. . . had an unlisted phone number. . . made a will."
During the book's span, 1922-62, Boswell has managed to insinuate himself into high society, but this reader doubts his evaluation of his success. ( )