From the Bookshelf of Queereaders…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
Slightly tedious at times, but mostly like one of those fabulously glamorous movies where Kristin Scott-Thomas and Matthew Goode lounge around with cocktails, ogling both sexes and griping about that beastly war. I enjoyed Isherwood's matter-of-fact treatment of homosexuality; however, I didn't find his narrator to be nearly as interesting as his tragic wife. The women bring this book to life, and as one of the first mentions of camp in 20th century literature, that's how it should be.
...more
Let me start by saying I'm partial to Isherwood. His Prater Violet is perhaps my favorite novel of all time. The World in the Evening, however, may be a close runner-up. Isherwood oscillates between epistolary and straight-forward narrative, for a rather haunting, heart-felt experience that eschews sentimentality. It's the story of Stephen Monk, a wealthy young man who meanders throughout the world in the company of his wife, Elizabeth Rydal - a celebrated British author - in the early '30s. As
...more
"Everyday, life only goes on because of our utter insensivity".
Beautifully written prose right up to the last page. Isherwood's talent remains his ability to plunge us into the depth of human emotion and struggle. A portrait of the past which regrettably no writer today could possibly come close to portaying. ...more
Beautifully written prose right up to the last page. Isherwood's talent remains his ability to plunge us into the depth of human emotion and struggle. A portrait of the past which regrettably no writer today could possibly come close to portaying. ...more
Fascinating to read some more Isherwood. He imports some of his spiritual experience with Hinduism, without actually naming it, and also helps the world get a glimpse of gay and bisexual men in the fifties.
Nov 23, 2014
Christopher
marked it as to-read
Jan 28, 2015
Robert Dunbar
marked it as to-read
Nov 09, 2019
Frank van Kalmthout
marked it as to-read
