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Kalki
Gore Vidal Before writing my thoughts on this book, I must confess that I am very much a fan of Mr Vidal's work, as well as his most interesting life. I also realize that many of Vidal's books and essays are simply not very accessable to the masses. Kalki, however, has mass appeal, as well as the usual Vidal style and class. Kalki, the title of the last incarnation of the god Vishnu, is prophesied to bring about the end of our world as we know it, and then to remake civilization with the help of a choosen few. Vidal provides this Kalki, as a Midwestern American who installs himself in Nepal. He has predicted the imminent apocalypse. The day will soon arrive when he will mount a white horse and destroy the world with his great sword. No one, he claims will escape his wrath except the choosen few. A young American avaitor and hero is sent by her newspaper to cover the story. She is the only reporter allowed to visit Kalki, and his interest in her is more than anyone can anticipate. As she learns more about the cult figure, more about his drug deals, his vast fortune, and his sexual ferocity, she begins to confirm her skepticisim. But, she also begins to fall in love. As the climatic
day approaches, and Kalki perpares to mount the great white steed in the
center of Madison Square Gardens, events begin to unfold at a breakneck
pace. What will the fate of the world bring?
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Julian
Gore Vidal Ballantine Books: 1986Julian the Apostate was the nephew of Emperor Constantine the Great. Julian ascended to the throne in A.D. 361, at the age of twenty-nine, and was murdered four years later after an unsuccessful attempt to rebuke Christianity and restore the worship of the old gods. His rise to the throne and his murder still elicit debate and discussion among scholars, despite the vast written record of Julian's life. Vidals book throughly explores this impressive figures short life.My ReviewGore Vidal is, perhaps, best know for his historical fiction. Books like 1876, Burr, Washington DC, and Empire bring history to life through the use of fictional characters. Julian, on the other hand, is narrarited via letters between two of Julian's contempories and is based on these letters and Julian's own (if somewhat skewed) autobiography.There are so many angles to Julian's life. The restoration of Hellenism and reining-in of Christianity is perhaps the best known, but Julian's devotion to restoring the empire by re-establishing Rome's influence in the northern reaches of Gaul and his ideas of public education are also important. Regardless of one's views on Christianity (or even the Roman Empire) Vidal's novel will gather your interest quickly and keep you reading to discover the fate of Julian. Vidal paints the portrait of a hero, scholar, and master tactition, that the reader can not help but cheer along. I read this book because I am very interested in the rise of Christianity and the environment that made the rise of such an inprobable religion possible. Vidal, somewhat a skeptic himself, does a remarkable job on this front. He elicits the thoughts and beliefs of the people of the time -- not just Julian and the court, but scholars, businessmen, and city leaders. I would certainly
recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in early Christianity
-- scholarly or not.
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By: Gore Vidal By: Gore Vidal By: Gore Vidal T. G. Elliott
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The
City and The Pillar
Gore Vidal Ballantine Books: 1986In 1948, Gore Vidal was on the path of literary and political fame. His grandfather, the legondary Senator T.P. Gore was working hard behind the sceens to get Vidal elected to the House of Representatives. With two acclaimed novels to his name, the post war literary society was toasting his arrival. Then, out of no where, Vidal issues this book, The City and The Pillar.Perhaps, reading this some fifty years later, it may be difficult to understand what all of the fuss was about. But, in 1948, a novel about two gay men and the activities between them was completely ground-breaking. As a result, Vidal's political hopes were dashed, though he would unsuccessfully run for a House seat two times. And, the literary community shut the door on him. The novel was throughly panned by every major reviewer, and the New York Times refused to review any other Vidal titles. It would take nearly 15 years before he was accepted back into the fold. The book, itself, recounts the sexual intimacy between teens Jim Willard and Bob Ford. Shortly after, Bob leaves to persure his life, and Jim is devastated. Vowing to find Bob, Jim leaves home as well searching for his friend and lover. Along the way, he meets other gay men and forms touchy friendships, mostly based on sex and money. Years later,
as grown men, Jim does meet Bob, and the reaction is both violent and painful.
In may ways, the story is autobiographical, though Vidal, for many years,
disclaimed this idea. In his memoirs, he explains how he wanted to
recount, for himself, how events might of played-out had his own love not
died at a young age. Certainly, Jim is nothing like Vidal, either
physically or mentally.
My NotesAs I have written in my Most Influential Books list, this was one of the first 'gay' novels I read. While this is not on the same level as Vidal's great historical novels, it still contains a powerful story.Vidal's blunt, often cynical, view of homosexuality in the novel lends to the credibility of the characters. Too often, authors deal with the subject of homosexuality by creating exaggerated portrayal, either to the left or right - depending on the author's bent. In the City and the Pillar, both Jim and Bob are fairly generic in their everyday lives, and on occasion Jim alludes to his own apperance as fairly ordinary. Indeed, even the names of the characters are 'all-American.' I believe this is reason the novel was criticized to such extreams. Society was prepared for gay stereotypes in literature, but in this book, Vidal has given the characters depth and feeling. Quite a bit
has been writen regarding the ending of the book. Many have said
the conclusion was bitter and disappointing. Certainly it was dramatic,
and again lends to the credibility of the characters. In real life,
romance often ends painfully and without real resolution. Vidal's
ending is truthful and honest.
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By: Gore Vidal By: Gore Vidal By: Andrew Tobias as John Reid By: Stephen Spender By: E.M. Forster
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Palimpsest:
A Memoir
Gore Vidal Ballantine Books: 1986My NotesWhen Gore Vidal learned that biographers were collecting information about him, he decided he better write is autobiography first. Palimpsest is an incredible account of an incredible man. Many people know of Gore Vidal from his massive works of historical fiction. Not near as many are familiar with his short stories, early novels, and essays. Fewer still are aware of family and relations. Here, the book delves into great detail, chronicling his life from early childhood to the present. The shear number of influential people of the twentieth century that Vidal came into contact with is mind-boggling. The shear number of influential people he is related to is more mind-boggling.Vidal is the son of Eugene Vidal, one of the pioneer American aviators, and a major pre-World War II advocate for an American air force. He was a close advisor to several Presidents including FDR. Vidal’s grandfather, T.P. Gore, was the first Senator from Oklahoma and a political powerhouse in Washington, D.C. Also among his relations, as a half step-sister, was Jackie Kennedy. His on-again, off-again relationship with Jack and Jackie (as well as some rather bitchy gossip) is one of the highlights of the book. Vidal expresses no regrets about his life, except perhaps, the constant lamentations for young Jimmy Trimble, his childhood love who died on Iwo Jima at 19 years old. He does discuss the shifts of his memory. As time passes, the events of his past life take different forms and have new meanings. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. In fact, this idea is expressed in the title of the book. Literary, a palimpsest is “a parchment or tablet that has been imperfectly erased and remaining, therefore, still visible.” In Vidal’s own words, “…discreet archaeological layers of a life to be excavated like the different layers of old Troy, where at some point beneath those cities upon cities, one hopes to find Achilles and his beloved Patroclus, and all that wrath with which out world began.” Personally, I found the details of his early adulthood captivating. Vidal traipsed through Europe with his ‘buddy’ Tennessee Williams, his not-so-buddy Truman Capote, and a whole host of others. His reactions to post-War Europe in the late forties and early fifties give real insight to motivations in later work. While his descriptions of various people he meet over the years is somewhat disappointing, mainly because Vidal has never been much for other people. “I have never wanted to meet most of the people that I had met and the fact that I never got to know most of them took dedication and steadfastness on my part,” he says of the catalog of celebrities that passed in and out of his life. I wish he had further detailed his encounters with E.M. Forster, Stephen Spender, and Christopher Isherwood, but I will make due with what he has given. Clearly, this
book has much to say about living through the post-war world. Gay
or straight, this is a fascinating life that should be explored.
Not being a particular fan of biographies (and certainly not of autobiographies),
I would have expected much less meat from the work and more fat.
I was very pleasantly surprised. Any book that can impart information
about life and living is worth reading, but when a book gives you volumes
to aid in your own living, it is a must read.
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By: Gore Vidal By: Andrew Tobias as John Reid By: Stephen Spender By: Charles Winecoff By: Christopher Isherwood
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Copyright © 1998-1999 Mark James. Page design and graphics by Ann Stretton.
