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The Isherwood Century: Essays on the Life and Work of Christopher Isherwood

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As a long-time reader of Isherwood's novels, autobiographies and diaries, I thought I knew everything there was to know about him. I was wrong, and I'm happy to say that I learned a great deal about the intimate Isherwood (as opposed to the person he chose to reveal in his work) from this collection. The informal Isherwood is here in memoirs and reminiscences, first and foremost by his partner Don Bachardy. As you would expect, Bachardy's portrait of Isherwood is precise, detailed, affectionate and harrowing (his series of drawings of Isherwood's last days are included), but the memories of former students of Isherwood as teacher, mentor and friend are equally revealing. The professional Isherwood appears in previously unpublished interviews and memoirs by such colleagues as Carolyn Heilbrun, whose piece about her few intersections with Isherwood as a literary subject takes an interesting turn into recalling his profound kindness to her in a time of spiritual crisis. And the lively and accessible essays by literary scholars served first to remind me of what an original and vivid writer Isherwood was and second to send me back to the novels that so inspired me when I first encountered them. Isherwood achieved thrilling literary effects by combining witheringly accurate observation of his characters with a sensual evocation of time and place as if by magic. It seems only fitting that when the many writers here take very different beads on this complex man and artist what emerges from the collage of viewpoints is a surprisingly emotional and coherent portrait of the man himself.

"The Isherwood Century". What a great choice of title for this invaluable (and well edited) collections of essays, interviews, ruminations on the life and influence of Christopher Isherwood. While his is a household name, primarily beacuse of the worldwide success and endurance of "Cabaret" the musical based on his Berlin Stories (I am a Camera, Goodbye to Berlin, etc), this informed and endlessly interesting survey provides a fine documentation for Isherwood's position of importance on 20th Century literature, his positive role model for gay writers and all gay people who care about significant relationships, his courage as an early pacifist, his impact on those students fortunate enough to have studied in his unique classes. Reading first hand encounters from such a broad spectrum of friends and reporters always give a more fine tuned view than a straight out biography. And for a man whose literary skills polished the concept of autobigraphy that is matched by few others, this is quite an achievement.

Reading "The Isherwood Century" is discovering an involved panorama of life in the past century - politically, artistically, internationally, psychologically, and spiritually. More than a memoir, this book remains intimate despite its scope. At last we have a reference (outside of his own wondrous diaries) that validates the greatness of this significant human being.

The Isherwood Century is an impressive collection of essays and interviews on the life and work of Christopher Isherwood, including a fresh, in-depth view of his literary legacy and continuing influence. Included are Katherine Bucknell (Who is Christopher Isherwood?); Dan Luckenbill (Isherwood in Los Angeles); Stathis Orphanos (In the Blink of an Eye: Evolving with Christopher Isherwood); Michael S. Harper (Ish circa 1959-1963); Michael S. Harper (Reading from Isherwood's Letter circa 1959-1963); Robert Peters (Gay Isherwood Visits Straight Riverside); Carolyn G. Heilbrun (My Isherwood, My Bachardy); James P. White (Write It Down or It's Lost: Isherwood as Mentor), and sixteen other informative and insightful contributors. The Isherwood Century is a "must" for all students and fans of Isherwood's accomplishments and thoughts.