National Book Critics Circle Award Winner: Biography CategoryNational Book Award Finalist2015 Winner of the Sheridan Morley Prize for Theatre BiographyAmerican Academy of Arts and Lettersrsquo; Harold D. Vursell Memorial AwardA Chicago Tribune Best Books of 2014USA Today: 10 Books We Loved ReadingWashington Post; 10 Best Books of 2014The definitive biography of Americas greatest playwright from the celebrated drama critic of The New Yorker.John Lahr has produced a theater biography like no other. Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh gives intimate access to the mind of one of the most brilliant dramatists of his century; whose plays reshaped the American theater and the nations sense of itself. This astute; deeply researched biography sheds a light on Tennessee Williamss warring family; his guilt; his creative triumphs and failures; his sexuality and numerous affairs; his misreported death; even the shenanigans surrounding his estate.With vivid cameos of the formative influences in Williamss lifemdash;his fierce; belittling father Cornelius; his puritanical; domineering mother Edwina; his demented sister Rose; who was lobotomized at the age of thirty-three; his beloved grandfather; the Reverend Walter Dakinmdash;Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh is as much a biography of the man who created A Streetcar Named Desire; The Glass Menagerie; and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as it is a trenchant exploration of Williamsrsquo;s plays and the tortured process of bringing them to stage and screen.The portrait of Williams himself is unforgettable: a virgin until he was twenty-six; he had serial homosexual affairs thereafter as well as long-time; bruising relationships with Pancho Gonzalez and Frank Merlo. With compassion and verve; Lahr explores how Williamss relationships informed his work and how the resulting success brought turmoil to his personal life.Lahr captures not just Williamsrsquo;s tempestuous public persona but also his backstage life; where his agent Audrey Wood and the director Elia Kazan play major roles; and Marlon Brando; Anna Magnani; Bette Davis; Maureen Stapleton; Diana Barrymore; and Tallulah Bankhead have scintillating walk-on parts. This is a biography of the highest order: a book about the major American playwright of his time written by the major American drama critic of his time.
#4521829 in eBooks 2014-05-30 2014-05-30File Name: B00KQW8FFE
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. a bit too BlobbyBy WumpshireA clear art style; that is readable but the story falls flat. The print quality is a bit cheap too. I suppose thats the idea; a punk rock aesthetic; no real direction and a bit predictable. Its like an obscure 7 inch record you listen to twice. After finishing I thought I probably wont buy Blobby Boys 2; but will certainly hold onto for some color and ink inspiration. Worth the $8 though; and I can see the artist teaming up with a writer to make something more trashy; or go the other way and give it more depth. I give it two bags of popcorn and only 1 soft drink2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Not worth even $5By scott harrisThe art style is cool and thats about it. Theres no plot and not in a fun way. Its just pure laziness on the authors plot. Forgettable characters and ambiguous; gratuitous use of nondescript imaginary drugs to appeal to the VICE crowd. Do yourself a favor and buy Simon Hanselmanns Megahex instead.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Krista GarnerIt was pretty fine.
