- Hardcover: 205 pages
- Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; First Edition edition (1 Oct 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0375400958
- ISBN-13: 978-0375400957
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 15 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,551,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
A provocative, profoundly moving literary debut--part personal history, part cultural commentary--that announces a writer of dazzling originality.
In an emotionally charged narrative that weaves together past and present, the personal and the scholarly, a young critic and classicist takes us on a search for the meaning of identity--while showing, through remarkably fresh and accessible readings of such classical Greek and Roman writers as Catullus and Sappho, Ovid and Sophocles, how ancient stories continue to hold truths for us today.
The landscapes through which Daniel Mendelsohn takes us: the deceptively quiet streets of the suburb where he grew up, torn between his mathematician father, who sought after scientific truth, and his Orthodox Jewish grandfather, who told "beautiful lies"; the Southern university, steeped in history and secret traditions, where he first experienced seductions both sexual and intellectual; Internet chat rooms and the streets of Chelsea, Manhattan's newest gay ghetto, where "desire for love" competes with "love of desire"; the quiet, moonlit house where a close friend's small son teaches him the meaning of fatherhood.
And, in a narrative tour de force that marks the book's conclusion, Mendelsohn's themes--desire and sexuality, the hidden meanings of classical and Hebrew writings, the restless search for cultural and personal identity--come together in a final revelation. In a neglected Jewish cemetery, the author uncovers a family secret that demonstrates the universal need for storytelling, for inventing myths of the self.
In an emotionally charged narrative that weaves together past and present, the personal and the scholarly, a young critic and classicist takes us on a search for the meaning of identity--while showing, through remarkably fresh and accessible readings of such classical Greek and Roman writers as Catullus and Sappho, Ovid and Sophocles, how ancient stories continue to hold truths for us today.
The landscapes through which Daniel Mendelsohn takes us: the deceptively quiet streets of the suburb where he grew up, torn between his mathematician father, who sought after scientific truth, and his Orthodox Jewish grandfather, who told "beautiful lies"; the Southern university, steeped in history and secret traditions, where he first experienced seductions both sexual and intellectual; Internet chat rooms and the streets of Chelsea, Manhattan's newest gay ghetto, where "desire for love" competes with "love of desire"; the quiet, moonlit house where a close friend's small son teaches him the meaning of fatherhood.
And, in a narrative tour de force that marks the book's conclusion, Mendelsohn's themes--desire and sexuality, the hidden meanings of classical and Hebrew writings, the restless search for cultural and personal identity--come together in a final revelation. In a neglected Jewish cemetery, the author uncovers a family secret that demonstrates the universal need for storytelling, for inventing myths of the self.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
For a long time I have lived in two places. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
For a long time I have lived in two places. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found this memoir beautifully written and, in many ways, a continous challenge to my own feelings and beliefs. It is a book that I think will evoke a certain amount of resistance, particularly in his views concerning the unnaturalness of fidelity in gay men. And that is why I liked it so much - the author is very unashamedly honest and puts into words the questions with which many of us struggle for answers. I especially liked his essay, "Paternities", and how fatherhood (the recognition of his own father's influence as well as his influence on his "son")continues to redefine an identity that I think so many gay men assume is fixed.
The book is personally challenging, persuasive, honest and totally non-judgemental. He writes with the somewhat detached manner of a critical and curious observer, but the words really become like a song that seem to transcend a "gay" identity and illuminates a broader "male" identity in all its flattering as well as unflattering aspects.
I definitely recommend this book as a "must read". In my estimation, it joins the ranks of Paul Monette's "Becoming a Man" as innovative, honest reflection, both men who tell it like it is for them and provide us with self-revelations along the way.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The sheer breadth of material Mendelsohn covers in one book would have been enough to impress me -- this is not only a book about family, about growing up, about discovering who you are, and about fatherhood, but it's also a masterful and intriguing dissection of some key Greek myths and literature, all tied together quite brilliantly. And to top it all off, Mendelsohn's writing can really take your breath away. It's refreshing to know that a truly original, painstakingly crafted book like this can still find a home amidst all the junk out there. It would be a mistake to pigeonhole this book as a "gay memoir;" it's a truly wonderful memoir and deserves a place on any intelligent reader's shelf.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A poignant and personal wander through the classics and being gay. Bravo for writing about being gay without sacrificing a beautiful intellectual premise.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
a provocative book about love and life
This autobiographical "study" of erotic desire and family dynamics is very entertaining and its focus on classical mythology is stimulating, but ultimately a little... Read more
Published on 27 Aug 1999
Fascinating account of self-reflection
Not since I read Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar in the seventh grade has a book moved me to new levels of personal growth. I found myself taking notes and underlining passages. Read more
Published on 19 Aug 1999
TOUCHING,POWERFUL HIGHLY ENJOYABLE
A DEEPLY AFFECTING AND PERSONAL JOURNEY THAT HOLDS UNIVERSAL APPEAL A MUST READ
Published on 2 Aug 1999
Excellent, Meaningful but with too much detail
The book tells of the authors insite to his own life. Reading it can add to your insite into your own life. Read more
Published on 17 July 1999
Beautifully wrought, intricately thought.
Perhaps the best thing I can say about this gorgeous and provocative book is that the author has crafted such movingly expressive arguments for his beliefs that even when I... Read more
Published on 11 July 1999
Myopia on parade
I was very disheartened by this narrow, though intellectually promiscuous meditation on how great it is to be gay. Read more
Published on 4 July 1999
a compelling mix of seemingly unrelated themes
Our book club just assigned "The Elusive Embrace" and I ended up finishing it in a night.Where I was expecting a gay memoir I instead found a beautifully woven tapestry... Read more
Published on 1 July 1999
Beautifully written and extremely readable.
The title might not lead you to expect a page-turner, but I couldn't put this book down--I finished it in an afternoon. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 1999
Too Dense for Its Own Good
Although the premises of Mendelsohn's fragmentary and redundant essays are always compelling, the style of this book is like reading through a haze of canvas. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 1999
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