Customer Reviews

The Color of Light

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The Color of Light could possibly be the best book I have ever read. Combining every aspect of good literature you could ever want; humour, murder, sex, mystery, romance, tragedy. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry.
This story is about Charles Fuller, he is a writer, and the story covers over a decade in his life, so in some ways it has an 'epic' feel to it. Goldman creates several interesting characters in the story ( "Two Brew" Kitchel takes the triple crown ), but make no mistake the book is about Charles Fuller and nothing else.
Basically the synopsis is simple, a writer writes a very successful book in his early twenties and hits a 'writer's block' that spans into his Thirties. Fuller finds his passage again with the aid of a woman( well a couple of women actually )and once again returns to his old self.
This is a hugely simplified synopsis as this book has many sub-stories and twists. After reading several of Goldman's works I have discovered that the final two or three pages seal the quality of the fiction and leave the reader with full satisfaction. The only problem with this book...it had to end.

Read it! Color of Light has become one of my favorite books, and by reading it, William Goldman was elevated from one of my favorite authors to one of the people I most respect and love in the world. I am changed every time I read it, discovering each time new precious details I missed the last time, adding new depth and meaning to every single word (which, for me, has always been the mark of excellent work). I am sorely disappointed to find that the book is out-of-print, and will now hold on to my lucky copy as tightly as I can. If you have ever been interested in writing fiction, this book (and also the Princess Bride) will touch and inspire you like no other author can. Find a copy, somehow, and read it now!

This book is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the writing profession. Mr. Goldman's ability to bring characters to life with such eloquence is unmatched. The only other author I can think of to touch me so deeply is Don Robertson, and possibly John Irving . You feel for the characters, you ache for them, you laugh with them, and cry with them. I especially enjoyed it because of the references to Oberlin College (a stones throw away from me). But this book fascinated me from the first time I read it, and I continue to read every couple of years and it still moves me. Mr. Goldman is undoubtedly one of the greatest screenwiters and storytellers of our time. Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies, but that's another review. On to the next...

Started with Marathon Man. Then came Magic. Then The Princess Bride (keep 'em coming, man). At this time, my addiction long since complete, I quickly obtained and absorbed all of the early stuff I could find (Boys and Girls Together, Soldier in the Rain, No Way to Treat a Lady, etc). Then...what...there was nothing left! I spent a morbid hiatus. Then I discovered The Color of Light. Perfect: in pace, in length, in individuality, and in what I needed. If you're a Goldman fan and haven't read it, this book could end up being your favorite.

After reading the ratings and reviews of this novel, I was anticipating another excellent book by Goldman, and there was little dissapointment.
Goldman in recent years has become an outspoken critic on what good screenwriting is, and his recent own has been lukewarm to awful. The voice that Goldman brings to the reader is always wonderful and unusual, and this book is in a different vein than The Princess Bride and even Marathon Man. I hate saying too much about the plot about a book, and then spoiling it for a few interested readers, so I will leave the plot alone.
But all aspiring writers and average readers will get more out of this book that an enjoyable read. It leaves a strong aftertaste, and will inspire you to at least recollect your life, if not motivate you to do more with it.

A book that belongs in the same class as "Catcher in the Rye" or "A Separate Peace." It is a long look into the phantoms that drive a true artist to look within themselves, see the dark forces that hide in everyone of us and the innocence we all lose when we recognize them.

After reading it over and over I will never get tired of reading all the conversations between Fuller and Two-Brew. Those are always full of thoughts that don't let you sleep at night, but very refreshing at the same time.You just love the picture Kitchel is hiding in his head, and hope you could see the whole view....
It is fully occupying , with a trace of science-fiction, but never leaves me bored even in a single line.
Women come and go, we like them while they are here , but who REALLY matter are Fuller and Two-Brew.

Elizabeta Obradovic Newbold College Bracknell,Berkshire RG42 4AN ENGLAND

William Goldman made me want to be a writer. Books like this are the reason why. It is the bittersweet serio-comic tale of a young man who becomes a one book wonder writer while trying to deal with all the assorted problems life throws at him. The characters are well developed, by the book's end you hate to see them leave.

About the best novel in town regarding the development (creation) of a writer -- and also, a pretty nifty read about friendship, dreams, fear of success, love, storytelling, crippling idealism, and the merit in never giving up. Goldman's effortless (seeming) prose has the power to make you weep, or roar with laughter (sometimes in such rapid, manipulative succession, you'll fear you're developing mental problems!). Follow Chubb and Two Brew through college, successes, marriages, failures, the creative process, paranoia and maybe even a murder or two. Artistic, funny, so sad, and the kind of book that demands a third or fourth reading. A witty writer, William Goldman also has incredible strength in characterization, pace, dialogue (the best, no wonder Hollywood stole him away!), plotting, and "beauty of the tale." It's a shame that "the novel" (well, reading, in general) is a dying artform, but at least we've got an artist like Goldman to provide! us the kind of wonderous swansong which may revitalize the "wonder of books" (even if it IS 200 years in the future)...!

Have you ever wondered just how many people in a big city like New York are unhappy and have seen their dreams shattered ? This books gives an insight of characheters whose lives once filled with dreams are reduced to rational 'one a day at a time' lives.

The main story is about a young man Charles 'Chub' Fuller who writes a great novel about the woman of his dreams and the horrors of his childhood. Charles later suffers from writers block and is unable to write and ends up being a taxi driver and later a researcher.
The sadness in the novel is evident as virtually none of the characters achieves their dreams or actually lives a happy life. Despite a slow start, the authors style is great inspired me to want to be a writer.