Customer Reviews

The Judgement of Paris

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

 

 

In his memoirs, Gore Vidal calls this novel the beginning of his literary voice. It is a joy to read, and appears to have been a joy to write, for this youthful, vibrant, charismatic novel flows effortlessly through cities, affairs, and misadventures. Colorful characters abound -- early on there's an uproariously matter-of-fact description of our hero's casual fling with the wife of an American power broker. The mythological superstructure of the book -- glorious youth flirting with power, wisdom, and love -- is light enough for Vidal's characters to prance and amuse. It's a nice departure from his oh-so-serious historical novels and a welcome, balletic hop into Vidal's fantasies. He wrote this novel around 1950 -- when peace and prosperity were just re-emerging after wartime. Read this book, if only to see Gore Vidal exercise a masterful light touch years before he turned bitter.

Gore Vidal's wit and humour sparkle in this tale of a young american boy traveling Europe in search of a purpose to his life. Like Paris, he knows the lures of power, knowlwdge and love, represented by three fascinating women. The characterization and the detailing of the major and minor charachters make of this book a masterpiece, full of wry notations and often exilarating situations. A must read!

This is the first true Vidal novel. The value of those that went before this work are valuable more for their content than style ("Williwaw" and "City and the Pillar" - both strongly recommended nonetheless). With the Judgment of Paris, Vidal became the heir to a beautiful tradition that may be traced back to Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain" and Somerset Maugham's "Christmas Holiday."

The content of this novel is bold for 1952. I tried to find some information on its reception at the time, but found nothing online. I did learn that Vidal's novel The City and the Pillar: A Novel, published in 1948, a coming of age story of a homosexual male, caused Vidal to be blacklisted for 6 years in which time he wrote under pseudonyms. This book is dated within the blacklisting period, but I can't find a publication date. Perhaps it was written under a pseudonym with a different title.

The coming of age theme (so-called on the cover jacket) features experiences in Europe's (and Cairo's) post-war Bohemian circles. It includes some scenes that would surely challenge 1950's sensibilities. The unabashed homosexual characters demonstrate that the blacklisting did not deter Vidal.

I found the story too fragmented. Phillip has experiences in Rome, Cairo and Paris. He socializes with a free spirited and monied crowd. There seems to be no center, other than the protagonist, who appears to be floating around. He has no distinct personality, for instance, he hates politics, but might go into it. He has an ivy league education, but there are no signs of it other than the society he hob nobs with.

While the themes are modern, the format is not. Some of the characters give a page long discourse on life - today's fictional characters speak in sound bites. The "coming of age" protagonist is a 26 year old WWII veteran. The classical allusion of the title doesn't capture the story, and suggests a lofty message.

Not a great book, but you can see the beginnings of a great novelist.

Lucid and entertaining, this coming of age novel follows the travels of Philip Warren as he discovers himself and contemplates his future with the help of a diverse gaggle of characters. Vidal captured the essence of the modern world while including the grandeur of the ancient tales that so captivate us all.

I personally have never read a book that I liked so much that when I turned he final page, I reopened the first and proceeded to read it again. The Judgment of Paris is truly a delightful story, I recommend this book to both fans of Vidal and to those who have never heard of him before.

This novel was a nice find.

I don't care for Vidal's later works...the historical novels are a chore and tiresome to read. The loony whacky ones like Myron are unreadable...this one was good.

Too bad he reinvented himself in the late 50s...he has a lot of wit and talent.