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Review
"Largely to amuse herself, [ Gertrude Stein ] wrote The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas in 1932...using as a sounding board her companion Miss Toklas, who had been with her for twenty-five years. It has been said that the writing takes on very much Miss Toklas' conversational style, and while this is true the style is still a variant of Miss Stein's conversation style. ...She usually insisted that writing is an entirely different thing from talking, and it is part of the miracle of this little scheme of objectification that she could by way of imitating Miss Toklas put in writing something of her own beautiful conversation. So that, aside from making a real present of her past, she created a figure of herself, established an identity a twin, a Doppelganger.... The book is full of the most lucid and shapely anecdotes, told in a purer and more closely fitting prose... than even Gide or Hemingway have ever commanded .... "
-- Donald Sutherland
"... The record of nearly thirty years of life in a fantastically changing Paris and else where -- a life passed in the most stimulating and important society."
-- Louis Bromfield
"... One of the richest, wittiest, and most irreverent [biographies] ever written."
-- William Troy
-- Donald Sutherland
"... The record of nearly thirty years of life in a fantastically changing Paris and else where -- a life passed in the most stimulating and important society."
-- Louis Bromfield
"... One of the richest, wittiest, and most irreverent [biographies] ever written."
-- William Troy
Book Description
Stein's most famous work; one of the richest and most irreverent biographies ever written.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a great read!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (Paperback)
I just finished this book and I really loved it. Yes, Gertrude Stein is very conceited, and yes, sometimes the language is difficult to work through, but if you take the time to get through this book you will not regret it. It was so witty and subtley funny that I was smiling almost the entire way through. This book is definitely worth the time it took to read it.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A genius? Hmmm..,
By bixodoido (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (Paperback)
This book is an interesting look at the art and literary scene of Paris at the turn of the century. This book is actually more of an autobiography of Gertrude Stein, but supposedly is written through the eyes of her longtime companion Alice Toklas. Many who knew Toklas said that Stein imitated her voice and style perfectly, and perhaps that is why it is considered such a great work of literature. For my part I enjoyed the narrative, thought I was not particularly fond of the way it was written. I realize this is a style unique to Stein, but it just didn't work for me.The most fascinating part of this work is seeing such great figures as Picasso and Hemingway through the eyes of Stein/Toklas. Even TS Eliot makes a brief appearance. The narrative is very interesting for this reason--with all these great figures around, how could it not be amusing? And, of course, Stein does not hesitate to use the medium of Toklas to proclaim that she is one of the three actual 'geniuses' that Toklas has ever met (incidentally, this short list excludes both Hemingway and Eliot). In fact there is an awful lot of egotism apparent throughout this book, and it is very irritating at times. Still, this is a very interesting look at Paris before, during, and after the first World War, and provides fascinating insight into a circle of painters, musicians, and literary figures that I'm sure many people would gladly give a limb to have belonged to.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Oh, man. This one is a challenge,
By
This review is from: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (Paperback)
Gertrude Stein was a self-proclaimed genius. In order to announce this fact to the world, she chose to write about herself in the words of her whatever, lover, Alice B. Toklas (probably secondarily most famous for her marijuana-laced brownies during those flower-power hippie years).Stein's writing is, um, difficult. Yeah, difficult. And convoluted and innovative and unusual in the extreme - and totally egocentric. This purported autobiography of Alice B. is in reality the autobiography of Gertrude Stein. Here's the most famous line from the book: "I may say that only three times in my life have I met a genius and each time a bell within me rang and I was not mistaken." One of the 3, of course, was herself, Gertrude. Sheesh. Fortunately, sublime conceit is tempered with wit and irony, which makes the reader willing to continue slogging thru this epistle. It ain't easy, though. While this 'autobiography' is one of Stein's most accessible works, it's still pretty hard going for the average literate reader. I think we can thank posterity that this particular experimental style of writing didn't prove to be universally popular. For a wonderfully original take on the relationship between Toklas and Stein, read the wickedly innovative The Book of Salt.
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