Customer Reviews

Fame and Obscurity

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I say 4 stars only because of the datedness of some of the material. But the pieces on Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio in this book (both written in 1966) are brilliant and incisive portrayals of a time and states of mind (and of icons in an age when celebrity was in some ways larger than life than it is today and in some ways refreshingly not) that are both long gone.

Non fiction literature is a USA product, at the most it comes fron the anglosaxon culture. That is why we can say that Gay Talese is The non fiction writer par excellence. The best there is. Yes, there might be better known non fiction writers "names", but no one has a cleaner, precise more efficient prose than Gay Talese. By far he is the best. If one pay attention to the structure and the language of his works you unerstand at least three things: in literature the theme IS NOT the most important part, also we can understand how non fiction most be written and the importance that these fourth genre has nowadays. Pure fiction works seems to be declining in front of non fiction. Except storys out of these world (Avatar, Harry Potter, et al). Maybe we have had enough fiction, after all real life has proven that the best storys are next door and the best characters are walking in the neighbourhood. Gay Talese's works are an impeccable argument. Yes, there is also Mailer, Wolfe, Krakauer, Didion...

The best piece of journalist I ever saw. From the first to the last page this book has a flowing narrative that is enjoyable and addictive at the same time. The way he depicts the characters (all real) and gathers all information in its minimal details has no parallel.