- Paperback: 296 pages
- Publisher: University of Minnesota Press; 1st University of Minnesota Press Ed edition (1 Mar 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 081663369X
- ISBN-13: 978-0816633692
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 14.1 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 746,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
With The Memorial, Christopher Isherwood began his lifelong work of rewriting his own experiences into witty yet almost forensic portraits of modern society. Set in the aftermath of World War I, The Memorial portrays the dissolution of a tradition-bound English family. Cambridge student Eric Vernon finds himself torn between his desire to emulate his heroic father, who led a life of quiet sacrifice before dying in the war, and his envy for his father's great friend Edward Blake, who survived the war only to throw himself into gay life in Berlin and the pursuit of meaningless relationships.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From the Publisher
A lively, ironic portrayal of England in the 1920's.
With The Memorial, Christopher Isherwood began his lifelong work of rewriting his own experiences into witty yet almost forensic portraits of modern society. Set in the aftermath of World War I, The Memorial portrays the dissolution of a tradition-bound English family. Cambridge student Eric Vernon finds himself torn between his desire to emulate his heroic father, who led a life of quiet sacrifice before dying in the war, and his envy for his father’s great friend Edward Blake, who survived the war only to throw himself into gay life in Berlin and the pursuit of meaningless relationships.
With The Memorial, Christopher Isherwood began his lifelong work of rewriting his own experiences into witty yet almost forensic portraits of modern society. Set in the aftermath of World War I, The Memorial portrays the dissolution of a tradition-bound English family. Cambridge student Eric Vernon finds himself torn between his desire to emulate his heroic father, who led a life of quiet sacrifice before dying in the war, and his envy for his father’s great friend Edward Blake, who survived the war only to throw himself into gay life in Berlin and the pursuit of meaningless relationships.
"Only now that Isherwood is dead can the pattern be seen clearly in a life that ranged restlessly from Oxbridge skeptic to Hindu disciple, from literary collaborator with W. H. Auden to Boswell of prewar Britain and postwar Hollywood. . . . His novels and nonfiction now all seem to be chapters of one enormous work in which he is the major character." The Guardian
"A genuine interpretation of the times." Frank Kermode
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'd never heard of Christopher Isherwood, this book was recommended to me..It's a story about a group of people and their lives in the aftermath of World War one. There really is no central character. The story is a bit confusing in that the author gives us various scenes with the characters in part one, before introducing them in part two, which is set eight years previously. And throughout the book, we are given fleeting glimpses of these people, and various flashbacks to even earlier periods before the war.
Ultimately, this book is about the landed gentry and their decline during the inter-war period, their fears and resentment of the working class and the rise of socialism and as such, it is a brilliant book. Because it doesn't beat the message in: it skims over it. It is like a film that only gives fleeting glimpses, and lets you draw your own conclusions. It is only towards the end that the homosexuality of it's main character (if it has a main character) become apparent, and this is handled in the narrative in an excellent way: glossed over, worked around, barely alluded to, never directly acknowledged; just as in reality.
And most importantly, there is no obvious conclusion to this book. It's a series of incidents with various people of the same class, but of different 'schools' and generations. We see them in situations several years apart, and then it's just left at that, there's no obvious ending, except what we make for ourselves.
Overall, this book is a terrific insight to a particular generation and time in history, which can only be told by someone who lived through it and saw it.
Ultimately, this book is about the landed gentry and their decline during the inter-war period, their fears and resentment of the working class and the rise of socialism and as such, it is a brilliant book. Because it doesn't beat the message in: it skims over it. It is like a film that only gives fleeting glimpses, and lets you draw your own conclusions. It is only towards the end that the homosexuality of it's main character (if it has a main character) become apparent, and this is handled in the narrative in an excellent way: glossed over, worked around, barely alluded to, never directly acknowledged; just as in reality.
And most importantly, there is no obvious conclusion to this book. It's a series of incidents with various people of the same class, but of different 'schools' and generations. We see them in situations several years apart, and then it's just left at that, there's no obvious ending, except what we make for ourselves.
Overall, this book is a terrific insight to a particular generation and time in history, which can only be told by someone who lived through it and saw it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Not all that memorable....
22 Nov 2004
Format:Hardcover
This is admittedly only the second Isherwood novel I have read...and the first half sets up what I thought was going to be a really good finish...but I was a bit disappointed.
Regarding the various relationships of several members of a family, and a few outsiders, there is really one one thread that comes through as a focal point or 'main' story, and that is of the relationship between the character of 'Eric' and his cousin 'Maurice', as well as the involvement of Maurice and Edward, an older man in the habit of making life more cushy for Maurice, much to Eric's disdain.
Citing moral corruption and the decline of character of his cousin, Eric strives to barr Edward from continuing his support of Maurice with an appeal to the man's better judgement.
Again, this book has a lot of potential, but it just didn't move me the way The World in the Evening did. I give it four stars for Isherwood's writing style, but cannot give an additional mark for content.
Regarding the various relationships of several members of a family, and a few outsiders, there is really one one thread that comes through as a focal point or 'main' story, and that is of the relationship between the character of 'Eric' and his cousin 'Maurice', as well as the involvement of Maurice and Edward, an older man in the habit of making life more cushy for Maurice, much to Eric's disdain.
Citing moral corruption and the decline of character of his cousin, Eric strives to barr Edward from continuing his support of Maurice with an appeal to the man's better judgement.
Again, this book has a lot of potential, but it just didn't move me the way The World in the Evening did. I give it four stars for Isherwood's writing style, but cannot give an additional mark for content.
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