Vanessa Redgrave Books

Chariots of Fire was a very inspirational work in my life. Ian Charleson as the role of Eric Liddel was especially so. I just viewed the movie again on a video iPod while I was flying from Tucson to DC. What a wonderful movie. Even more so was Charleson's portrayal of Eric Liddel -- God fearing, disciplined, and when he ran you could see the light of God in him...

I am crushed by the fact that Ian Charleson passed away almost 16 years ago. I had no idea. I was hoping to find him.

Long live Ian.

I regret never meeting Ian Charleson but have a feeling I knew him from his work. It's too bad he didn't live longer for more to be aware of his outstanding talents and the almost effortless ability to portray just about any emotion he wished on command whether on stage or behind the camera.

I'm glad this tribute has been created so he can be remembered by those who miss him.


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Note: This is a review of the particular "Cambridge School Shakespeare" edition [Edited by Rex Gibson, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000] of As You Like it and not a review of the play itself.

This edition (a) contains the unabridged play and (b) tries to explain and elucidate Shakespeare's play to teenagers of the age of maybe 15-17. It clarifies difficult language, highlights the main conflicts, puts the play into a historical context and the context of the literary tradition that it belongs to. It encourages the reader to think of different possible ways to play the characters and different ways to understand the play.

I am not a teenager and I am not 16 years old any more, in fact, I am 53 years old with a PhD in Economics and a Masters in Psychology. I read Shakespeare for fun, to challenge my brain, and to grow personally. I found this edition of the play very helpful and enjoyable. The commentary neither spoiled my fun by overanalyzing or showing off its learnedness nor did it offend my intelligence by oversimplifying. In addition, the layout of the book is quite reader-friendly.

If you are a Shakespeare scholar or a scholar of English Lit, this edition will probably be too simple for you. For people of my caliber, however, I can really recommend this edition. Enjoy!

The Caedmon recording of As You Like It is well worth the purchase just to hear two Redgraves soar in their performances.

As with all of Shakespeare, the concept of love at first sight is given far too much credit, but other than that, this is a delightful romp filled with much amusement. The language is as beautiful as one expects in Shakespeare, but is somewhat less difficult for the modern reader to follow than in some of his plays; I found myself being more distracted than helped by most of the footnotes. As with most Shakespearean comedies, it was easy to see that this play was intended for the amusement of the common people; the similarities in style between the plot here and in much modern pop culture were striking (the sexual innuendo to be had when a woman passes for a man and finds another woman falling in love with her, for instance). If it had a flaw, it was that the ending was just a little TOO pat and contrived, even for a comedy, but that's just a minor quibble.

As far as Shakesepare's comedies go, "The Comedy of Errors" will always be my favorite. And while this "As You Like It" never quite obtained the popularity of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or "The Taming of the Shrew," one probably could argue that "As You Like It" is the best of Shakespeare's comedies. This play contains several plots that Shakespeare cleverly intertwines and it offers a happy ending with love triumphant. But more important than the triumph of love, the theme of reconciliation carries through to virtually everyone in the story. The story begins with the sibling rivalry of Orlando and his older brother Oliver who has hoarded the family inheritence. After a brief fight, Oliver hopes that Orlando may accidentally die in a wrestling match against Charles. This is where a 2nd plot comes in. The Duke Frederick (who has a daughter Celia) has banished his older brother (the true Duke who has a daughter Rosalind). But for now, Rosalind is allowed to stay and she has made good friends with Celia. Orlando meets these 2 girls and falls into favor with Rosalind. After the wrestling match, things start to go bad. Orlando learns that his brother Oliver is planning to kill him, and Rosalind is banished. But all is not lost. Orlando takes his loyal servant Adam and flees while Rosalind (in the male disguise of Ganymede), along with Celia, and the comical Touchstone will flee to look for Rosalind's father. And here is where the play becomes mostly comical. (Good comedies can often have a sad start. "The Comedy of Errors" shows this well.) Moving on, we meet Rosalind's father and his crew who have made exile into a paradise. From Duke Sr's party, we meet the melancholy Jaques. But he is arguably the most interesting character in the story. (In fact, the most famous passage from this play belongs to Jaques. The 7 stages of man which end in nothing. Perhaps Macbeth took lessons from Jaques: 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.') Duke Sr welcomes Orlando and Adam, and it isn't long before Orlando and Rosalind run into each other. Shakespeare maintains the comedy when Rosalinde keeps her male disguise on and tells Orlando he must practice wooing on him/her. Touchstone has some comical romantic moments with Audrey. And there is an interesting triangle where the shepherd Silvius loves Phebe, but Phebe loves Rosalinde (seeing only Ganymede)! We may recall this from "the 12th Night" when Olivia loved Viola in her male disguise. But after this comical moment, all begins to resolve. Oliver comes on the scene and he and Celia fall in love. (So much so that Oliver is willing to reconcile with Orlando and grant him all.) The play ends with not only the reunion of Rosalind and her father, but the joyous weddings of Rosalind / Orlando, Celia /Oliver, Audrey /Touchstone, and Phebe / Silvius, but more good news comes. Celia's father mends his ways and returns all to Rosalind's father. Jaques offers the crowning touch. Despite his cynical nature, he is NOT a villain. Ironically, this hermit type man converses with more characters than anyone in the story, and while he can not take part in the play's final happiness, he DOES wish everyone well. As I said, my favorite comedy will always be "The Comedy of Errors." But don't make the mistake of overlooking this comedy.

This has to be one of Shakespeare's gayest plays (no pun intended). Whatever tragedy may have occurred in the beginning - at the court - is totally forgotten when the action moves to the forest, where Robin-hood like; a banished duke, a melancholy philosopher and a cast of love sick characters act out their lives on the stage.

Much of the play is centered on Rosalind - the female lead in 'drag' - who falls in love with the third son of a nobleman, Orlando, who has been cheated out of his inheritance by his eldest brother. Her father, the duke, has also been cheated by a brother and is now living in the forest with his `merry men'. Her short stay at court is disrupted when her uncle changes his mind about her and `graciously' gives her a few days to get out of the kingdom. This event leads to her escape into the forests with her cousin, the daughter of the duke at Court. As the play progresses more and more characters end up in the forest which becomes the stage where all these actors play out their parts - to paraphrase Jacques.

As a reader you sometimes have to suspend rationality in order to swallow some of the larger than life events that occur in this story (The snake - Lion - Lion killer scene for example). It's not meant to be taken too seriously I'd imagine, just a play about love and romance and the lengths one will go to because of love. The only rational person in this play seems to be the Malvolio-like Jacques, whose deer hugging antiques (forerunner of modern day Environmentalism?) and refusal to take part in the revelry make him the butt of the other's jokes. Even the clown seems to have been pierced by Cupid's arrows as he too weds a country `wench', something unheard of in the other plays where the clowns all seem to be eunuchs.

If you're reeling from any of Shakespeare's tragedies, or want to escape the ordered, (courtly?) existence that is your life and take a dive into an almost fantasy-like world where all is love and laughter, this play may be your ticket.

I almost put this book down after the first 100 pages. The writing was difficult to get into and I kept thinking to myself, "is it worth the bother?"

I am SO glad that I did persist through the book, because it certainly was worth it. Woolf's writing is very lyrical and flows so freely (and so scattered!) that I sometimes had to re-read sentences multiple times to make sure I'd understood things correctly. It was slow going compared to my usual reading; but it was so beautiful! There's a passage in the book where Mr. Ramsey is reading, and it explains my approach to the book rather well:
"He read...as if he were guiding something, or wheedling a large flock of sheep, or pushing his way up and up a single narrow path; and sometimes he went fast and straight, and broke his way through the bramble, and sometimes it seemed a branch struck at him, a bramble blinded him, but he was not going to let himself be beaten by that; on he went, tossing over page after page."

Woolf's brier patch of words is thick and convoluted, but it was completely worthwhile picking it apart in spite of the slow start.

A beautifully and thoughtfully written novel examining and comparing life and art during the WWI era in Great Britain and contrasting those who experience life primarily through deeds and action (Mrs. Ramsay) and those who primarily experience life through thought and reflection (Mr. Carmichael)--and the underlying contempt and misunderstanding each has for the other.

Virginia Woolf's novel "To the Lighthouse" is about the inner psyche of the Ramsay family and friends as they progress over a ten year period. It is written in an stream-of-consciousness style except for an interlude between the two major time periods. I did not find this book very interesting. Although there is a lot of prose on the pages, I found that in the end I knew very little about the major characters. This book just wasn't worth the read for me.
For those of you who don't like "spoilers" (there is one shocker at the end of the first time period), don't read the introduction by Eudora Welty found in this version. It reads like a book report and essentially summarizes the entire plot.

Lauded as a staple of the modernist canon, Woolf's stream-of-consciousness novel of alienation is better appreciated for its exquisitely delicious prose and her ability to invoke the tragic beauty of striving for intimacy and immortality (symbolized by the eponymous lighthouse), only to find it always just beyond one's grasp. Is there a sadder line anywhere in Western literature than when Mrs. Ramsey is tucking her young son James into bed? "In a moment he would ask her, `Are we going to the Lighthouse?' And she would have to say, 'No: not tomorrow; your father says not.' Happily, Mildred came in to fetch them, and the bustle distracted them. But he kept looking back over his shoulder as Mildred carried him out, and she was certain that he was thinking, we are not going to the Lighthouse tomorrow; and she thought, he will remember that all his life."

The idea of Virginia Woolf's fiction being read aloud effectively has struck me as an impossibility. The very interiority of Woolf's style seemed to suggest that readers hear the narrative voice within themselves. This reading proves me dead wrong. Virginia Leishman's reading--and interpretation--added much to my passion for a novel I have always loved. Readers--and listeners--new to Virigina Woolf need to be able to listen for long stretches of time in order to follow the stream of consciousness that propels the story. This commitment will be amply rewarded.

I am glad I purchased this. I will listen to it many, many times.

In the Country of Last Things is pure allegory, but such is the force of Auster's writing that the reader is prepared to suspend disbelief.

It is a unique characteristic of the industrial world that none of us has a complete vision of how it works, and it is easy to imagine that what we don't understand, let alone control, could suddenly cease to function; Auster plays on this basic fear to weave a morbid, often horrific tale.

The heroine, in search of her brother, finds herself trapped in a city that we recognise as having once been 20th century American, but has now become a crucible of destitution, savagery, and violent struggle for survival. This grim novella describes a society which has ceased creating or even producing, and is thus reduced to consuming what is left... until that runs out. It holds a mirror to our own compulsory consumption, waste and greed, and it forces us to consider the actual value of modern material comfort. It also lets Auster exploit on a grander scale his pet themes of decay and degradation, of homelessness and its impact on identity.

Post-modern decay apparently isn't pretty. It is a place of book burners and ghouls, of cannibals and suicidal fanatics, of pathetic attachment to the most miserable objects, and of general disregard for human life and dignity, even if hope and love aren't entirely missing. But it makes for a fascinating read, one that it is difficult to complete in anything but a single, mesmerising sitting.

Mr. Rogers never lived in Auster's neighborhoods. This dystopian tale of an unidentified city falling apart and reverting to anarchy will leave you shivering. We don't know if this societal breakdown is really a world wide phenomenon or if it only affects this one city.

My enjoyment was from the people, and their means of coping with continuing worsening of conditions. Nothing ever got better yet some still clung to hopes that tomorrow would be brighter; while others had totally given up.

Auster wants you to have to think while reading his books and they are short enough for you to maintain your concentration. This was quite enjoyable.

Paul Auster presents us with yet another must-read. This novella takes place in an unnamed city that has suffered complete ruin. There is no consistent government to speak of and anarchy rules supreme. But, the fascinating premise is that this is not a world problem, this is a city problem. It is a land cutoff from the world, and the world seems to have forgotten about it. Sound familiar? (Keep in mind this book was first published in 1987.) However, newspapers are still trying to get the scoop on what's going on, and so reporters are occasionally sent in, though most never return.

One such reporter who never returned left behind a younger sister who has traveled to the country of last things in order to find him. From a privileged family, it takes her a surprisingly short amount of time to adapt to the horrific conditions under which she must survive. She is primarily the narrator of her story, and we follow her as she experiences tragedy, death, suffering, but also, as impossible as it may seem, love and hope.

I've heard this book is about everything that can go wrong in a society and how it can leave the reader with a sense of despondency; however, I found the book to be a testament to the power of hope and love.

To touch upon Auster's style: I've read many of Auster's books, and while he explores similar themes, I've never read two books that were written in the same manner. Auster gives us something fresh and artistically progressive with each book he writes. In the Country of Last Things is virtually a how-to for any budding writer as it uses sparse detail and very limited dialogue to completely drive home the potency of the theme.

I've yet to read a book I did not like from Paul Auster, and In the Country of Last Things is certainly no exception.

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

The setting provides some wonderfully lurid details in Paul Auster's futuristic narrative and will keep readers turning the pages of his dystopian novel, but the so-so character development of IN THE COUNTRY OF LAST THINGS ultimately prevents this echo of Orwell from receiving the 4 stars it flirts with. There's no question that Auster is creative and compelling in describing a city gone mad with hunger, crime, and want, but once you go beyond the protagonist Anna Blume, you run into characters who are poorly developed and of little interest to the reader.

One of the book's strengths is in describing the futuristic world. It is powered by factories that burn human waste and human cadavers for energy needs, for starters. The streets are wild and dangerous, as scavengers battle over food and objects. Rife with corruption, citizens wheel and deal under a police state that often looks the other way as they break the "law." Beyond hope, many citizens choose death in interesting ways. The Leapers jump off of building roofs. The Runners run themselves into a frenzy until they collapse dead on the streets. And the Assassinators stalk people who want to die at an unknown time by an unknown method, so pay the assassinators to perform the function.

This setting and these conditions provide momentum for the book's plot as anything can happen. The "country" of the title, then, is the book's greatest strength. Unfortunately, the episodic nature of the plot sometimes gives the book a disjointed feel as characters come and go so quickly that there is little allegiance to or feeling for them on the part of the reader. Also, Auster is not above throwing in a little gratuitous sex, even when it adds nothing to the plot or the characters involved.

Despite these drawbacks, the book was intriguing in its way and should satisfy fans of dystopian fiction. I read it in a day, and although I was happy to witness Auster's artistry in creating so bleak and bizarre a world, I was just as happy to leave it and move on. For fans of the genre, this book should prove satisfying. For fans of literature, it should prove interesting, if sometimes lacking, in its ambition and reach.

It is the end of the world as we know it, and Paul Auster feels fine - sort of. His novel "In the Country of Last Things" seems to be unusual in his body work. But as the narrative advances one can notice that this novel perfectly fits his literary obsessions and constant themes. Characters live in a dystrophic world that resembles a lot the our very own world. This can be a strange and dangerous future.

This place is reminiscent of the Great Depression, when the rule is the lack - of food, clothes, services and, above all, dignity. Anna Blume is the main character, a girl who travels to this country to find her lost journalist brother. Since it's a chaotic place nor she, neither can make out what has happened.

Auster is not after a reason to explain why the world has gone rotten. The most important thing is surviving. Anna has to find means of going through hard times and yet emerge as a human being. With this device, the writer is dealing with complex and important themes.

"In the Country of Last Things", Auster exploit of the dearest issues to him: the difficult people have to communicate to each other. Sometimes words are not enough, when everything shouldn't have a limit. "You stop, but that does not mean you have come to the end. The words get smaller and smaller".

Auster, an author who has such an ease for words, here finds that one of the job of a writer is to overcome the limits that language may impose. This is the aim thing he has perceived in his career, sometime succeeding.

This is a review of the book edition. This selection from an FM station in London has a distinct British flavor. Arranged alphabetically by author, we stroll from "Dover Beach" (Matthew Arnold), to "When you are old" (Yeats). Along the way are various fun animals: Macavity the mystery cat, Blake's Tiger, Chesterton's Donkey, and Lawrence's Snake. Perhaps some of the longer poems are not to my taste (e.g. Tennyson "The Lady of Shalott"). Each poet is introduced with a short, useful biography. The most popular poem of these listeners is Wordsworth "The Daffodils".

Performers:
Eddie Albert, Stephanie Beacham, Harvey Fierstein, Elliott Gould, Joel Grey, Gregory Hines, Kevin McCarthy, Vanessa Redgrave, Jean Stapleton, Ernie Hudson, Glenda Jackson, Cheryl Ladd, Kevin McCarthy, Cathy Moriarty, Sharon Stone, Burt Reynolds, Rod Steiger, Alfred Woodard, Michael York, Ephram Zimbalist, Jr.
Original poems and introduction written by Judith Cummings.

This is a CD of straight Aesop's fables followed by the narrator trying to turn the moral into common language. Aesop's read better than they listen - at least for me. My kids really didn't like it because the stories are short (only about 1 minute) and the "real life applications" didn't make sense to them or me. Overall, I wouldn't recommend it unless you just want somebody to read the stories to you.

I'm not really sure what I expected when I purchased a used copy of Vanessa Redgrave's autobiography. Maybe, it was to get a glimpse of an artist's perspective on acting. That certainly was not however what I ended up taking away from this bio. Rather, a wealth of information about politics and the Redgrave family is quickly thrust upon you within the first few pages. Once you sort out who everyone is, then you must go and cross-reference the political background of the times. This is where things started to get rough. Redgrave's writing is peripatetic and disjoiunted in style making it a difficult read. Once you get beyond the first few chapters however, her passion for politics and acting overwhelms you (in a good way) and you become caught up in the formation of her performing and political conscious.

The best part of the bio are the early letters she includes --written to both her father and various cousins-- which are witty, passionate, and illustrate perfectly the young Redgrave's thirst for knowledge and understanding. A warning to the potential reader: if you are not well-versed in the history of England, or the political parties or politics of the East, I urge you to consider some background reading in conjunction with this book as it is necessary to have a handle on some aspect of her writing before you attempt to follow her political path.