Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl, by Donald Sturrock:
I always approach a biography with a bit of trepidation. First, I'm always a little afraid at what I might find out about this wonderful person (I usually only read biographies of people that I find wonderful, inspiring, smart, cool....in other words, no bad guys or meanies). If I find out some rather negative information about my chosen hero, will I still look at them in the same regard. or will it all be tainted? Or will the truth set me free, and I appreciate them for the complex person as they really are/were?
The other reason I don't read a lot of biographies is because they are so darn long. I have to really want to know about a person to invest in a 600 + page biography. Sometimes, a quick look on wikipedia will suffice, or a biography from the juvenile section. I'm not the only one who thinks this way: on the back cover of Storyteller, Quentin Blake, longtime collaborator with Roald Dahl, writes "a 600-page book with the word 'authorized' on the cover looks to me a rather daunting prospect....." I couldn't agree more.
But the complex, flawed, adventurous, creative, generous person who was Roald Dahl is definitely worth the investment of reading time. In fact, after I put the book down I wished it had been longer. I wanted to know even more about this person who lives on in his stories. Little things, like what did Dahl think about the Beatles? Or, what was his favorite color? Or bigger questions, like would I actually like Roald Dahl, one of my literary heroes, if I met him? I think this is a sign of an excellent biography: you learn what makes that person tick, and are so engrossed that you want to know even more. Perhaps a pilgrimage to the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is the next logical step.
I can't say enough good things about Donald Sturrock's writing. His research is thorough, his sources are abundant. He had met Dahl and spent time with him, so he knew him personally. He just "gets" Dahl, and is not afraid to paint us an accurate picture, warts and all. Interestingly, Dahl's mentor, Charles Marsh, is discussed a lot throughout the book, as he had a profound impact on Dahl's life. The more I read about Marsh, the more I wanted to know about him ("work hard, talk little, be truly a miser of time" he once advised Dahl). Same thing with Dahl's first wife, Patricia Neal - what happened to her after their divorce? How did she cope with being cast out of Gipsy House? I'd like to spend some more time with the figures who once spent time with Dahl.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of the book is the relationship he has with his characters. Readers know that every part of a book is part of its creator: the author's experiences, the author's personality, the author's flights of fancy. Dahl and a buddy used to go poaching, and schemed a way to score a load of pheasants that is identical to what you'll read in Danny, The Champion of the World. Dahl once came up with a story about a giant who blew dreams into the bedrooms of little children, to entertain his youngest daughters. Sounds like The BFG, yes? And, as Sturrock adeptly observes, one of Dahl's greatest characters, Willy Wonka, is simply a mirror image of his creator.
There are plenty of warts here - Dahl cheated on his first wife, he started arguments at dinner parties just for fun and he didn't always clean his fingernails......no matter. If you love Roald Dahl, you'll love him even more after reading this biography. Care to join me on the pilgrimage?
-Cheryl
Showing posts with label This book is so big you can use it to block your knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label This book is so big you can use it to block your knitting. Show all posts
Monday, March 18, 2013
Monday, July 5, 2010
Book Nook - Einstein
Hi readers,
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson is a well-researched, well-written look into Albert Einstein's life. I can't help but feel rather intimidated to "review" such a tome on such an iconic genius, so I shall be offering the CliffsNotes version instead. So, here goes:
-Einstein never failed math, as the rumor goes ("I never failed in mathematics....before I was fifteen I had mastered differential and integral calculus" page 16). He did, however, drop out of high school, promising his parents that he would continue his studies & try to get into the Zurich Polytechnic (page 24).
Do you like all the quotes & page references? I'm feeling quite scholarly! Anyway, continuing on:
-Einstein loved to play the violin & in the many times it's mentioned in the book, it sounds like he excelled at it. According to Einstein, "Mozart's music is so pure and beautiful that I see it as a reflection of the inner beauty of the universe itself" (page14).
-Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Maric, had a daughter, Lieserl, before they were married. Worried that this would damage Einstein's budding career, they kept the baby a secret. Lieserl was raised by a friend of Maric's and historians suspect she died of scarlet fever in 1903. Einstein never saw her, nor told any of his friends or family about her.
-Einstein developed many of his theories by doing thought experiments. In his most famous thought experiment, which he used for the Theory of Relativity, he imagined "if a person could run after a light wave with the same speed as light, you would have a wave arrangement which could be completely independent of time" (page26). There is much to be said for taking it easy & letting your brain just think!
-Einstein's 2nd son, Eduard, was institutionalized for schizophrenia for much of his adult life. Einstein had a poor relationship with him and their visits were tense.
-Einstein's 2nd wife was Elsa Einstein, who happened to be his first cousin. They didn't have any children together, but Einstein loved her 2 daughters from her first marriage very much.
-When Einstein started to become a celebrity, Elsa "began charging a fee to photograph him, and she donated the money to charities that fed hungry children in Vienna and elsewhere" (page 269).
-Einstein's early successes came "in part from his rebelliousness. There was a link between his creativity and his willingness to defy authority. He had no sentimental attachment to the old order, thus was energized by upending it" (page 317).
-Time travel can only be to the future, not to the past. I couldn't find where this is in the book, but I remember reading it & thinking it was interesting. I googled this & found a good quote by Stephen Hawking that basically states, if we could travel back to the past, where are all the time tourists from the future?
-Einstein had a lot of lifelong friends, too many to list. They were both scientific colleagues and good friends.
-After his early successes, Einstein spent the latter part of his career searching for a unified field theory, which he never finished. In fact, he was writing equations on his deathbed.
-The pathologist performing the autopsy took Einstein's brain without his family's permission and had various research done on it.
These little sound bites just scratch the surface of this biography. If you ever want an in-depth look at Einstein's life, I highly recommend this book!
In closing, I leave you with a good quote about Einstein's famous Theory of Relativity. Chaim Weizmann sailed across the Atlantic with the Einsteins in 1921 and said "during the crossing, Einstein explained his theory to me every day, and by the time we arrived I was fully convinced that he really understands it" (page 292).
Unfortunately, after reading the book, I still need CliffsNotes on the theory that made Einstein famous and contributed to modern conveniences and knowledge of the universe. However, I thoroughly enjoyed (and understood!) the personal side of Einstein and have that much more respect for this great figure of history.
Cheryl
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson is a well-researched, well-written look into Albert Einstein's life. I can't help but feel rather intimidated to "review" such a tome on such an iconic genius, so I shall be offering the CliffsNotes version instead. So, here goes:
-Einstein never failed math, as the rumor goes ("I never failed in mathematics....before I was fifteen I had mastered differential and integral calculus" page 16). He did, however, drop out of high school, promising his parents that he would continue his studies & try to get into the Zurich Polytechnic (page 24).
Do you like all the quotes & page references? I'm feeling quite scholarly! Anyway, continuing on:
-Einstein loved to play the violin & in the many times it's mentioned in the book, it sounds like he excelled at it. According to Einstein, "Mozart's music is so pure and beautiful that I see it as a reflection of the inner beauty of the universe itself" (page14).
-Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Maric, had a daughter, Lieserl, before they were married. Worried that this would damage Einstein's budding career, they kept the baby a secret. Lieserl was raised by a friend of Maric's and historians suspect she died of scarlet fever in 1903. Einstein never saw her, nor told any of his friends or family about her.
-Einstein developed many of his theories by doing thought experiments. In his most famous thought experiment, which he used for the Theory of Relativity, he imagined "if a person could run after a light wave with the same speed as light, you would have a wave arrangement which could be completely independent of time" (page26). There is much to be said for taking it easy & letting your brain just think!
-Einstein's 2nd son, Eduard, was institutionalized for schizophrenia for much of his adult life. Einstein had a poor relationship with him and their visits were tense.
-Einstein's 2nd wife was Elsa Einstein, who happened to be his first cousin. They didn't have any children together, but Einstein loved her 2 daughters from her first marriage very much.
-When Einstein started to become a celebrity, Elsa "began charging a fee to photograph him, and she donated the money to charities that fed hungry children in Vienna and elsewhere" (page 269).
-Einstein's early successes came "in part from his rebelliousness. There was a link between his creativity and his willingness to defy authority. He had no sentimental attachment to the old order, thus was energized by upending it" (page 317).
-Time travel can only be to the future, not to the past. I couldn't find where this is in the book, but I remember reading it & thinking it was interesting. I googled this & found a good quote by Stephen Hawking that basically states, if we could travel back to the past, where are all the time tourists from the future?
-Einstein had a lot of lifelong friends, too many to list. They were both scientific colleagues and good friends.
-After his early successes, Einstein spent the latter part of his career searching for a unified field theory, which he never finished. In fact, he was writing equations on his deathbed.
-The pathologist performing the autopsy took Einstein's brain without his family's permission and had various research done on it.
These little sound bites just scratch the surface of this biography. If you ever want an in-depth look at Einstein's life, I highly recommend this book!
In closing, I leave you with a good quote about Einstein's famous Theory of Relativity. Chaim Weizmann sailed across the Atlantic with the Einsteins in 1921 and said "during the crossing, Einstein explained his theory to me every day, and by the time we arrived I was fully convinced that he really understands it" (page 292).
Unfortunately, after reading the book, I still need CliffsNotes on the theory that made Einstein famous and contributed to modern conveniences and knowledge of the universe. However, I thoroughly enjoyed (and understood!) the personal side of Einstein and have that much more respect for this great figure of history.
Cheryl
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