Customer Reviews

The Inman Diary: A Public and Private Confession (Vols 1-2)

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When this two volumne set was first published, it was sold in shrink-wrap plastic and did not allow potential readers to get any sense of it's content. It was an expensive gamble that I wasn't prepared to take. But I always remembered a fascinating review in the NY Times, and some years later I bought a used (although evidently un-read) copy in a second-hand book store. For the next two months I became immersed in the bizarre world of Arthur Inman, unable to put the book down for more than a few hours at a time. Through a lifetime of reading, I have never encountered such a unique document. Arthur, the Monster; Arthur, the Bigot, Arthur, the Insufferable Egoist; Arthur, the would-be chronicler of the American Century; Arthur, the Hypochondriac Extrodinaire, Arthur, the Listener, paying strangers to share their lives in the annoymous dark; Arthur, the bedridden Sex Experimenter... etc., etc. Doggerel Poet, Psychological Tyrant, Racist, hateful Historian, Rich Cry-Baby, Cruel Deviant: Arthur is the Great American Armchair Monster of Boston...But there is so much more. Very much more to this quirkiest ghoul of enormous literary ambition. Daniel Aaron is a brilliant editor, whose great gift to American letters must be this singularly unique reading experience. In the end you come to love Arthur, and to admire his strange, beautiful, insane creation. Almost impossible to describe, this book is so full of decades of American life that you can lose yourself in its novelistic, labyrinthian, and always human stories.

I am reading this two volume work for the third time. Arthur Inman was the scion of two prominant Atlanta families and grew up with a degree of affluence most of us can only imagine. At an early age, perhaps 22, he dropped out of college and became an invalid. Part of his disability was that he could not stand bright lights and so spent much time in a darkened room. Arthus was addicted to doctors and spent a fortune being treated by them. He never worked and his parents supported him to the end. Arthus started to write his diary to amuse himself. Later he began to pay people to come and read to him and talk to him. He was especially fond of women and liked to fondle them in the dark. Arthur married his wife, Evelyn, when she was about 23. Evelyn is the heroine of the story. The diary itself is huge, 155 volumes and 14 million words. It is a fascinating read. Arthur had strong opinions on many subjects. For instance, he believed in slavary (with himself as a master) and thought black inherently inferior to whites. The story ends in 1963 when Arthus kills himself. I am reading this book for the third time because it's a great read. Arthur grows on you and I have come to see him as a friend. I think you will too. Enjoy.

Don't read this book because you read reviews of other people raving about it. There is nothing to rave about, unless they are raving about the total number of pages...which I'm sure that's what is happening. Most reviewers, I'm sure, never got through the book.

It's heavy, and the man hated everyone (he was a HARDCORE bigot).

Read it because you want to understand the psyche of someone who has left a tedious chronicle of their life culminating in suicide. He was unpleasant and not at all likeable.

Most people who kill themselves leave no reason behind. Arthur Inman leaves 40+ years of reasons behind. In a nutshell - Arthur Inman was a self-important bigot.

Don't get me wrong. His suicide didn't offend me. I'm pro-choice in ALL RESPECTS. You can do, with yourself, whatever it is you want. I don't moralize it.

It's your life, but for god's sake, read and be educated.

Mike (who ACTUALLY READ both volumes edited by Daniel Aaron)

You won't be forgotting this one anytime soon. I'd like to see the full version released one day, that is, the 65 volumes, which are apparently stored at Harvard. As it is, this is one of the greatest reading experiences you will ever have. Arthur Inman is a worthy competitor of Hannibal Lecter.