The Outermost Dream brings together essays and reviews by William Maxwell, one of America's foremost writers and editors. Maxwell chose deliberately to focus on biography, memoir, diaries, and correspondence when reviewing books: "what people said and did and wore and ate and hoped for and were afraid of, and in detail after often unimaginable detail they refresh our idea of existence and hold oblivion at arm's length." In reading his reviews, we are struck by Maxwell's skill in choosing the one particular, the haunting moment, that further illuminates our understanding of the power of an individual life. His discernment is equally telling whether writing about literary luminaries such as Virginia Woolf, Lord Byron, E.B. White, Isak Dinesen, or delving into the diaries of an unknown Victorian curate with vivid dreams of murder and mayhem.
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Amazon.com Review
With the publication of The Outermost Dream, a collection of essays by William Maxwell, Graywolf Press's Rediscovery Series has saved from obscurity yet another literary jewel. Most of these pieces originally appeared in the New Yorker, where Maxwell was a fiction editor for 40 years, on the occasion of the release of a biography, memoir, diary, or collection of correspondence by or about a noted (or not-so-noted) author. Maxwell brings such a stunning combination of intellect and passion to his subject matter that his essays (one can hardly call them mere book reviews) are, as Maxwell expects of great writing, astonishing. Each is a sharply focused miniature, allowing the reader to enter the world that Maxwell describes, whether it be that of a humble 19th-century curate-cum-diarist or the young V. S. Pritchett, who published his first work, a joke in the Paris Herald, while working as a stock clerk for a photographic-plate manufacturer. It is a rare pleasure to find oneself in such capable hands.
From Publishers Weekly
Maxwell is noted both for his 40 years as a fiction editor at the New Yorker and for his own short stories and novels (including the American Book Award-winning So Long, See You Tomorrow ). However, as a reviewer, he has preferred nonfiction books that "tell what happened--what people said and did and wore and ate and hoped for and were afraid of, and in detail after often unimaginable detail . . . refresh our idea of existence and hold oblivion at arm's length." His 19 essays collected here discuss biographies, autobiographies, letters, diaries and memoirs, singling out such subjects as Colette's intense curiosity about the world and Byron's character as revealed in his financial accounts; Virginia Woolf's malicious tongue; and Giacometti's creative gloom. The "outermost dream" of the title refers to the published diary selections of the Reverend Francis Kilvert, an obscure 19th century English clergyman whose quiet life belied his startling dreams. Maxwell's scrupulously fair and gracefully written considerations of books offer a wealth of concise detail and an unerring sense of the influence of shaping events, patterns and character in life and literature.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Marvellous Volume of Literary Sketches,
This review is from: The Outermost Dream: Literary Sketches (Paperback)
William Maxwell was a long time editor at the New Yorker and a fine fiction writer in his own right. As a reviewer and essayist, his work centred on the person - diaries, biography, memoirs and letters. In this wonderful book we are given a window into some fascinating lives, some famous and others forgotten, in a style that is elegant and yet simple. No authorial pyrotechnics are allowed to get in the way between the reader and the stories. The subjects range from E.M. Forster's guide book on Alexandria, Lord Byron's personal finances and Colette's third and happiest marriage to the family relationships that lay behind Samuel Butler's "The Way of All Flesh." I hope other readers will find "The Outermost Dream" as enjoyable as I did.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Learning Experience,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Outermost Dream: Literary Sketches (Paperback)
I read this book several years ago in hardcover. Maxwell provides exceptionally well written critiques of contemporary biographies of writers and poets, and in doing so probably provides us with as strong a sense of the subject's writing style and personality, but without the detail of course, as was provided by the biographer. Upon completing this book I had been exposed to well crafted criticism, and had become familiar with several of the world's most important and unique writers. Highly recommended. If you enjoy Maxwell's writing, you will highly respect this book.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: The Outermost Dream: Essays and Reviews (Hardcover)
This book was delivered to me by the Post Office wet and totally destroyed.
I was told by them that they were not responsible for articles that were not insured. I sent my complaint to the seller but received no reply.
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