Customer Reviews

Memoirs of an Amnesiac

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This has always been one of my favorite books. I recall reading it for the first time as a pre-teen, and chuckling at his OUTRAGEOUS stories. I'm probably among the last generation that remembers this brilliant man, which is a shame. In the days of the great "talk shows", like Jack Paar, etc.., Oscar Levant was always one of the most coveted, and controversial, guests. I remember seeing him on t.v., as a kid, & being fascinated by this odd looking man who, though I quite honestly didn't get 90% of what he was saying, was obviously someone truly unique. This book has all his irreverent humor, the humor even evident in his telling of his long battle with mental illness, and his extreme, then un-named "obsessive-compulsive" disorder. His brutal honesty about his ordeal was unheard of at that time, and was long before the trend of todays celebrities, who do everything but hawk their x-rays on informercials. There's many names in this book that you will recognize, and his telling of his encounters with various celebrities is not always in their favor, and will have you rolling on the floor. He was literally thrown off the air in the 1950's, for a remark he made on a live talk show, pertaining to Marilyn Monroe and her conversion to Judaism, which is recounted in this book, but can't be repeated here. But at the time, the staid 1950's, it must have had the audience awestruck in utter shock at his outrageous (and incredibly humorous) statement. This is just a fabulous book about one of the greatest wits of this century, the man who started out as an incredibly accomplished and respected pianist, he was most known for his rendition of good friend Gershwins "Rhapsody In Blue", and became something more than just a clown. Totally touching, hysterical, and honest, this book will have you falling in love with dear, lost, brilliant Oscar. In todays, for the most part, [dissapointing] "celebrity" climate, we sure could use the likes of him again.

Oscar Levant's Memior's of an Amnesiac is one of the MUST-READ'S for anybody that enjoys the greatness of wit and wisdom. Levant, throughout the book, is acerbic and sardonic in a brilliant way. His anecdotes come to life marvelously the way he writes, and his biting wit is evident at all times. For instance, the titles of each chapter are laced with his dark-humor (though shockingly revealing of how he feels of himself). Chapters like "Total Recoil", "My Bed of Nails", and "Stand up and Faint". At the same time, the book is achingly disturbing, as he honestly (and avoiding any sugar-coating) tells the stories of his breakdown, his addiction to drugs, and his current mental condition. One cannot help but think that writing it was cathartic for Levant. Levant the musical genius; Levant the tragic figure; Levant the wonderful impudent Wit. All in all Oscar Levant's Memiors of an Amnesiac is a pleasure to read, and a great probe into the mind of the one of the world's greatest characters.

This book is fun to read, and offers an interesting historical review, from Levant's delightfully twisted view. If Kevin Bacon is six degrees from everyone now, Levant was three in his time. His is simply the most fascinating mind I've had the pleasure of looking into.

I also recommend "The Unimportance Of Oscar", if you can find it (I got my copy from the used book section on Amazon). It's a continuation of the thoughts in this book.

Luckily found this among my mother's books, the title caught my eye. When asked about it, my mother laughed softly. I thought, if it can make her laugh it must be funny; well it's the best humor, and I turned to a page and busted out laughing. It's more than that. I read the one I bought from time to time, and there is always a point of feeling I'm in the belly of a beast. Such integrity I'd never known, and never felt I could fit in this world 'til reading "Memoirs of an Amnesiac".

In this book, the hypochondriac genius of movies, radio, television, and the concert stage delivers all the neurotic humor expected. But the author, a talented writer as well as one of the great pianists of the 20th century, also succeeds at conveying the ambience of the artistic world of the 1920s through 1950s. His insights about his contemporaries, including celebrated conductors, musicians, composers, and actors, are fascinating.

My son had to explain (to my wife) the joke behind the title. An amnesiac can't remember and a memoir is a written record of memories. Hence, a contradiction, but still a great title and an emblematic preview of what's to come when you read this book. And you do want to read this book because Oscar Levant is unique, funny, honest, interesting, and weird. He is the kind of person that you want to read about because he seemed to know everyone who was anyone in American music or in American film and of course he has the inside scoop on those people including Harpo Marx, Louis Mayer, Irving Berlin, Fanny Brice, Aaron Copland, Arnold Schoenberg, Dorothy Parker, Paul Whiteman, Judy Garland, Arturo Toscanini, and Harry Truman. Oscar Levant, as SN Behrman said, is the kind of person that if he had not existed, could not be imagined. Yes, he's that bad. Because he is brutally honest about his life, his loves, his obsessions and compulsions, his drug addictions and his music and friends, we have here a real-life true quill biography that takes no prisoners and lacks the usual apology or gloss or pastiche so common these days. Brutal honesty - that's the ticket. Oscar has to tap eight times to get water from the faucet. He has to tap eight times to shut the water off. He needs to name each street his limo passes and if he misses the name, his driver has to circle back to get the name. He will throw away a pack of cigarettes if someone talks while he is opening the pack. His wife, June, (her title should be Saint June) who picked up the pieces after each nervous breakdown, still must have a separate waste paper pail in each room so that she doesn't contaminate the waste paper in his pail. When Oscar had his heart attack, he had to go through all his night time rituals before he could get into bed for the doctor to check him. In short - a real nut case. And yet, and yet, a world-class pianist, composer, television and film personality who led a life well lived. You wouldn't want him in your home for dinner unless, of course, he kept his mouth shut and just played his marvelous interpretations of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, which, incidentally, I am listening to right now. Ah, genius, - it has its problems and it has its pleasures.

When I was in college back in the 1970s, I began listening to my mother's 78s on a tall Victrola that was relegated to a spare bedroom at the back of the house. I was just beginning to learn about Classical music and was always on the lookout for something truly unique among all the artist. Upon hearing Gershwin's Concerto in F, I was immediately fascinated by the pianist, Oscar Levant, who played it far better than anyone I had ever heard before. My mother told me that he was her favorite pianist and that he had written three books. Though they were out of print, I managed to find them at some of the used bookstores in Uptown Whittier.

"Memoirs" is among the most important biographies in my substantial library of nonfiction books. Levant was an amazing raconteur with genius in many areas besides music. With a near-photographic memory and an acerbic wit, literally every page is filled with nostalgic anecdotes exceeding the realm of sheer entertainment. Levant's style of writing is laconic, acerbic, insightful, and genuine. He is never boring.

The primary fault of "Memoirs" is its lack of organization. It is a hodgepodge of information that seems to have come from Oscar off the top of his head. His first book, "A Smattering of Ignorance," was much more detailed and far better organized. Then again, "Smattering" was written before Oscar had gone off the deep end, mentally; before his series of mental breakdowns. Perhaps, a more accurate title for this book could have been, "A Scattering of Indignants" because of Oscar's cynical view of the world.

This is NOT a book of gossip, but it IS riddled with scandalous tidbits of information about some very significant people over four decades of Levant's extraordinary life. It was through this book that I learned about various members of The Algonquin Round Table. "Memoirs" is like the seed of which eventually branched into an entire library of books of its genre. Aside from being entertaining, it is both intellectual and highly educational; a book that I have read again and again and use for reference. If you are truly a lover of nostalgia and a student of seemingly useless knowledge, this book is definitely for you.

To those who wish to compare Levant's "Memoirs" to "Harpo Speaks!" please remember that the latter wasn't written by Harpo Marx himself, but by Roland Barber, a professional writer. Harpo, having literally been "dropped" out of the 2nd grade {some bullies threw him out of the classroom window and he never went back to school}, it would have been impossible for him to write such a book on his own. {"Harpo" happens to be my all-time favorite book, by the way.} Oscar Levant, even though a high school drop-out, would have never used a ghostwriter, and I'm glad he didn't. What you get, for better or worse, is pure Levant.

Oscar Levant's humor is timeless. His best humor is directed toward himself. It's a fun read, I'm going to buy the rest of his books. Better than watching television.

This book was a disappointment although it covers the scope of Oscar Levant's life from Tin Pan Alley to Carnegie Hall to Hollywood to mental hospitals.

A major problem with the writing is that it consists of endless name dropping without context. If you aren't familiar with the names (which I wasn't for the most part) then a good deal of the story is lost.

Another feature of the writing is a constant stream of one-liners from Oscar and others. These were undoubtably funny when they were first said, but in the book they seem forced. For example, "I once said cynically of a politician, "He'll double-cross that bridge when he comes to it."" If you enjoy one-liners then this book showcases them throughout.

As a fan of Oscar Levant from movies like Rhythm on the River and An American In Paris, I was pleased that he was up front about many aspects of his life. However, the famous line, "Beneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character" had a lot more truth to it than I had assumed. Oscar really does exhibit rude behavior, selfishness, cheating and drug addiction. And of course neurosis. He is honest to his faults.

A better (but far briefer) description of Oscar Levant is in Harpo Marx's book "Harpo Speaks". That book also has a lot of name dropping, but the literary style is rich so that it's fascinating even if you are not familiar with the Algonquin Round Table.

With Oscar's book, I was satisfied about the scope of the writing, but disappointed in the terse style although it's an easy read.

oscar levant is a tragic figure; however, he gives the world-----suffering from its own mental illness-----a "hell" of a lot of hope. he was the player of the :"time" in respect to gershwin's music. his recording of Rhapsody in Blue was a best seller for 10 years. levant was a true music genius; i ,feel, the same could be said for his writing of music, not just the playing of music. he, likewise, could write "words" via his own books, with as much power as his music creations. the greatest "thing" of all was his ability to conquer "depression." i know, myself, how tough it is, because i lost 10 years of my life to the same thing he suffered for most of his life on again and off again. depression, now today, can finally be treated with medicine to restore the "chemical" inbalance which causes the "major" or "severe" depression to give up its hold on a person. besides all of his "wit" in writing, on the t.v. with jack paar, acting in american in paris,etc.-----i think he should be remembered, also, post-humously, for his gallant, personal "fight" to destroy the evils of mental illness, specifically: "depression." a movie of his life should be a project for some director to show the horrors of "deep" depression to much of the world, who to this day do not really understand "it." maybe a movie has been made; i am currently unaware of "one." i would love to play the lead "role" because, of my personal experiences with depression. i would not have to "act" the part; also, my father-----who suffered from depression, was named, strangely enough, "oscar." now would not that be poetic justice; oscar's son playing "oscar." i have read this book(his best, i belive) over 10 times; i can always come back to it when i need to have a great laugh: total recoil-----best chapter in all of book to make you laugh. people you do not have to believe me-----just go buy the book and/or check it out of library, and "go" for it. read it. i hope to run into levant in the "here," after; and listen to his great stories in "person" for the first time, if you get my "drift." till then, i will just have to "wait." but, then, there are probably others, also "waiting," like me.....