My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor [Paperback]

Alec Guinness (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1998

This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished -- and beloved -- actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The distinguished British actor Guinness, at 82, laments in his silken voice the indignities of aging. He also reminisces about deceased friends and his early low-pay contracts. He shuns needless spending but believes his country's taxes should support the House of Lords and the Queen. He hails the expectation that Queen Elizabeth might visit the Scottish school where 16 children were slain but omits her decision not to go. In these diary selections from 1995 and early 1996, Sir Alec attends mass with his wife but few current films; reads Dickens but not Austen; digests pork pie but not pressed duck. Talk of his film and stage work is brief, and obscure people's names are numerous. In spite of his familiar, well-recorded voice, many American listeners may find this abridgment bland. Of marginal import to biography collections.?Gordon Blackwell, Eastchester, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Booklist

"I never liked New Year's Day," begins Guinness, but he decided to start this diary with his 1 January 1995 entry; and he ends the diary on 6 June_ 1996, in acknowledgment of the momentous day in 1940 when his son Matthew was born, or "possibly" the Normandy invasion. The point is that Guinness is concerned so much with beginnings and endings that he calls the reader's attention to them, reminding one and all that the sun is most certainly setting on the end of a sublime actor's days. And there is deep sadness to his recordings of the passings of dear friends and the preparations for memorials. Yet, the diary is about so much more than reflections on death; it is about the full life being lived by a much-beloved actor whose name will long be remembered. Sir Alec's friend John le Carrehas written a warm foreword that complements the diary nicely. Consider it a coda to Guinness' best-selling 1986 autobiography, Blessings in Disguise. Bonnie Smothers --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 273 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Pr (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786212039
• ISBN-13: 978-0786212033
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,934,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly entertaining and thought-provoking, October 9, 1999

By 

R. B. Bernstein "R. B. Bernstein, Adjunct Pro... (Brooklyn, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Name Escapes Me (Paperback)

In this, the first of his two volumes (so far, I hope) based on his journal, the great actor Sir Alec Guinness makes writing and reading seem as effortless as his acting. His graceful, lucid prose is remarkable, as are his observations and ruminations on his life, on the craft of acting (he never lets one forget that acting is a craft with exacting standards of professionalism), on his reading, on his religious life, on the world around him, and on his family and friends. He is one of the sharpest yet kindest observers of the human comedy, and reading him is not only an unalloyed pleasure but nourishing to the mind and the heart. Readers of this book should scour used-bookstores for BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE and should also hunt down his new book A POSITIVELY FINAL APPEARANCE.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this book, February 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: My Name Escapes Me (Paperback)

I haven't hear the audio version of Sir Alec's diary: don't need to since I can hear his voice in my head as I read. Gracious to a fault about his fellow actors, prickly about fans who invade his privacy (whether spying him at a museum or appearing in the back garden), exasperated at the Star Wars fame, he is a truly eccentric Englishman and proud of it. I love it when he admits he probably went on and on while telling a story; a common fault of the loquacious and the aging. Pokes fun at himself and endears himself all the more. Delightful.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The man behind the Sir, July 4, 1998

By 

Antje Freudenberg (Adendorf/ Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Name Escapes Me (Penguin Audiobooks) (Audio Cassette)

"My Name Escapes Me" is one of those audiobooks you want to spend an undisturbed evening with, curled up in your most comfortable armchair, armed with a pot of tea. I can't say what I expected when I bought this tape, but definately not "meeting" Alec Guinness on such a personal level. His gentle humor charmed me within the first minutes of listening, and his out-look on life itself is something you don't want to miss. You suffer with him upon the loss of another friend but moments later can join him in celebrating life and whatever it has to offer. You like Alec Guinness - this tape is a must.