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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant study of a troubled genius, 29 Jun 2004
BS Johnson was a wonderful writer. Whatever your opinion of his formal experimentation, he always managed to connect on a very deep and human level - so that you always come away from his books feeling like you've had a profound and intimate experience. Coe manages very much the same thing here. By teasing out the self-doubt and insecurities at the heart of this apparently bullish and didactic man, he brings out the human being from beneath the cloaks of theory and dogma.As one expects from a novelist, Coe does not give away the goods too soon, playing his trump card only at the very end. But having read his conclusions, I now feel I'm as close as I'm ever likely to get to understanding the reasons behind Johnson's tragic suicide. Yet Coe is careful to remind us that biography is not an exact science, and that this is just one view of the man. Though diligently researched, with access to primary documents and the people who knew him best, there must still be, of necessity, a fair amount of conjecture. It is clear that Coe has been engaged in a process of deep questioning about the nature of biography whilst writing this book - much as Johnson was when writing his (largely autobiographical) novels - and that is one of its great strengths. My one reservation is that, for me at least, Coe comes down too much on the side of the conservatives regarding Johnson's experimentalism. I don't think that Johnson could have written 'The Unfortunates' in any other form than that which he chose. Though he claimed the loose-leaf format reflects the random workings of the brain, as much as anything I think it was probably a distancing device, necessary in order for him to confront this very painful material. Like 'The Unfortunates', Coe's book left me feeling strangely uplifted in spite of the tragedy. It must be something to do with the human spirit - that dignity, honesty and integrity in the face of the inevitable. I came away from it all with a much clearer vision of Johnson's failings as a man, but also a lot more respect for his integrity and determination - artistically as in life, he was a man who was not afraid to stand up for the things he believed in.
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by BSS Johnson
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