Reviews for The Paris Review Anthology

The average rating for The Paris Review Anthology based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-03-17 00:00:00 Gary Leach When I first received this special-ordered library loan, I thought "Not the wrong book again." Anthologies remind me of city driving-the constant start and stop of concentration can get tiresome. Nevertheless, I'm glad I dug in. I had fun reading this book because it shares a variety of pieces published from 1953-1987 ranging from humorous to outright shocking with their audacity and irreverence. The timelessness was evident. I had to check the dates on some stories a few times since several could have been written today. The authors' seething comraderies was evident (as related in every introduction), particularly amongst those who attended the Paris Review parties. Various writers, publishers, editors partied together over the years in an attempt to support and tolerate each other in spite of their exceedingly odd behavior (e.g.. head-butting each other when drunk, or suddenly, furiously hurling objects at mirrors in anger). I suppose they knew that only others in the industry could tolerate their erratic temperaments. These pieces are produced by some of the world's finest writers, but it seems that having a solid right hook may be the essential secret ingredient to a successful writer's life. Looking forward to the "paris review interviews" if I can manage to get my hands on a copy. p.s. The book was divided into 6-year increments (eg chapter 1 spanned 1953-1959, 2 1960-66). Each chapter had a fiction, poetry and non-fiction component. I read 1-3 fiction pieces in each chapter and a few poems. I only read 2-3 non-fiction pieces in the entire book.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-06-29 00:00:00 Rebecca Troup Great stuff. I am kind of cheating here because I read mostly just the poetry parts. Excellent verse included. I was inspired to dig into this because I have always enjoyed the self-mocking, more-gonzo-than-Hunter-Thompson, yet secretly intellectual journalism of George Plimpton. His introductions - and also his short story - were excellent.