Edmund Wilson A Biography Book

I always enjoy the first third of biographies more than the middle. The journey to success. The various ways in which childhood plays a role in that yearning for distinction. The excitement of the first taste of glory. Middles often bore me. I generally like ends but in this case unfortunately the end was absent being written before Albee died and before one of my favorite Albee plays: The Goat.

So really enjoyed reading about 1950s, 60s NYC, Albee bursting on the scene with A Zoo Story then Who's Afraid..., his romance with Terrence McNally, and his strange childhood - being the adopted scion of a scion of a cold and distant but extremely wealthy vaudeville magnate. (Theater was not in his blood but in every bit of consciousness growing up.)

Middles are where the writer has to work harder to keep our interest and here I felt like the writing was a tad dry. A riveting story about an alcohol fueled fight with Joe Papp not withstanding. But reading about one of my heroes was all in all enjoyable and helped me understand him and his plays much more. (Psst: George and Martha are partly based on drunken conversations between Albee and his former lover William Flanagan.)