Christopher Isherwood Knihy

Berlínské povídky jsou souborným vydáním dvou původně samostatně publikovaných svazků, novely Konec pana Norrise a souboru kratších povídek Sbohem Berlíne. Autor v knize představuje věkově, sociálně i národnostně pestrou paletu charakterů Berlína třicátých let: záhadného noblesního hochštaplera, bohatého dětinského barona, mladoufrivolní začínající zpěvačku, všetečnou postarší bytnou, chudou berlínskou rodinu, rodinu bohatých židovských obchodníků, atd. Všechny tyto živé a plastické postavy spojuje formálně postava vypravěče, autorovo literární alter ego; postavy vstupují do jeho života, z nenadání jej zase opouští, ale zanechávají v něm svou unikátní stopu. A pak je to samozřejmě Berlín jako takový – kvetoucí evropská metropole s bujarým nočním životem, kavárnami a rušnými ulicemi – dalo by se říct, že tvoří tu nejvýznamnější postavu ze všech. Někde v pozadí ale cítíme i narůstající politické napětí a hrozbu nacismu. Všechny Isherwoodovy postavy se s nastalou situací musejí nějak vyrovnat, ať už je politika zajímá či nikoliv.

Novela patří patrně k autorovým (1904 - 1986) nejzajímavějším, silně autobiograficky laděným textům patřícím ke klasickým anglickým "short stories".

Isherwood's lectures on writing and writers, now all available for the first time In the 1960s, Christopher Isherwood gave an unprecedented series of lectures at California universities about his life and work. During this time Isherwood, who would liberate the memoir and become the founding father of modern gay writing, spoke openly for the first time about his craft--on writing for film, theater, and novels--and spirituality. Isherwood on Writing brings these free-flowing, wide-ranging public addresses together to reveal a distinctly American Isherwood at the top of his form. This updated edition contains the long-lost conclusion to the second lecture, published here for the first time, including its discussion of A Single Man, his greatest novel, and A Meeting by the River, his final novel.

In the final volume of Christopher Isherwood's diaries, he reflects on aging with humor and curiosity. He explores Hinduism, writes his last works, and engages with the vibrant art scenes of the 1970s alongside his partner, Don Bachardy. The narrative captures a rich tapestry of cultural encounters amid significant historical events.

Isherwood anthology that include two complete novels, PRATER VIOLET and A SINGLE MAN, and excerpts from several other works including THE BERLIN STORIES, which was the inspiration for the popular musical and film CABARET.

This second volume of Christopher Isherwood's remarkable diaries opens on his fifty-sixth birthday as the fifties give way to the decade of social and sexual revolution. číst celé

In spare, luminous prose these diaries describe Isherwood's search for a new life in California; his work as a screenwriter in Hollywood, his pacifism during World War II and his friendships with such gifted artists and intellectuals as Garbo, Chaplin, Thomas Mann, Charles Laughton, Gielgud, Olivier, Richard Burton and Aldous Huxley.

At times pious, at times profane but always unashamedly honest, "The Diaries of Christopher Isherwood" provide an inside look at the life and times of one of the most celebrated writers of the century. Chronicling Isherwood's life from 1939, when he emigrated to the United States, until 1960, these entries cover some of the most turbulent years of his career and give readers unprecedented insight into the major turning points in his life. Here, Isherwood relates the spiritual crisis he went through as World War II began, his discipleship (along with Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard) with the Hindu monk Swami Prabhavananda and his decision to become a pacifist. Here also are his accounts of his intense social life in Hollywood, his career as a screenwriter and his many sexual affairs. Readers will be particularly fascinated by his revealing anecdotes and gossip about the literary greats (such as W. H. Auden, Thomas Mann, E. M. Forster, and Tennessee Williams) and movie stars (such as Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin and Sir Laurence Olivier) of the time.

The best prose writer in English' Gore Vidal Celebrated as a masterpiece from its first publication, A Single Man is the story of George Falconer, an English professor in suburban California left heartbroken after the death of his lover Jim.

WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY PHILIP HENSHERBerlin, the Greek Islands, London and California. Often regarded as the best of his novels, Down There on a Visit tells the vivid stories of Isherwood's life that, together with The Berlin Novels, were to have comprised his great unfinished epic novel.