Customer Reviews

Dylan Thomas: Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Dog

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This memoir is painful, beautiful, rugged. He shows himself to be proud, horrid, loving, sentimental. It is a small collection of short, powerful stories that span from childhood to young adulthood. He refers to himself at times in first person, other times in third (so you have to pay attention!). Growing into manhood, observing others and being observed. He expresses experiences of personal pride and humiliation with equal relish. Portraits of others in his life are humorous, admiring and at times sad. Hanging out with odd-balls; learning about women. It may have been a simpler time for technology, but the emotional struggles, the economic realities, the physical exertion required in a life in early 20th century Wales were harsh. All-in-all, this book is unforgettable.

I would rather read this book than any by James Joyce. Thomas may be remembered for his wonderful poems, but his short pieces are, under no circumstances, to be ignored.

Thomas writes of his youth, which is a subject that many writers have attempted to write about, and where they fall short he excells. The stories are nothing but fun. Actually, they are more than fun; they are often beautiful. By all means, READ THIS!

Hemingway once said that "all good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse."
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG DOG is one of those happy few books..beautifully written,funny, moving, cruel and joyful at the same time..please read it!!

It's been a while since I read this book, but I wanted to be the first one to review!! The book was filled with small excerpts from Dylan Thomas' life, many of which dealt with surreal type encounters. The first part of the book seemed to lag somewhat, but the last story got me hooked and then ended in a very odd way, which was really cool. Maybe I shouldn't be writing this, I'm no lit expert. I'd reccommend it though.