tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post7027539269752068070..comments2024-03-13T07:34:24.149+00:00Comments on The Age of Uncertainty: The Wonderful Mr WilsonSteerforthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-20772313398502812022014-06-09T19:27:15.613+00:002014-06-09T19:27:15.613+00:00Thanks for this amazing post. I was once in a phon...Thanks for this amazing post. I was once in a phone box in France with a book dealer who had his phone number and some sort of introduction. We phoned his Monte Carlo number and got short shrift. He did not want to sell a single book. Jot101https://www.blogger.com/profile/04163335378108954329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-33109492698937903112014-05-29T22:37:43.645+00:002014-05-29T22:37:43.645+00:00"And it's just been published by Kernopff..."And it's just been published by Kernopff". I never knew that's how to pronounce it. Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18308068899467100319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-11585761021965826822014-05-29T17:49:59.733+00:002014-05-29T17:49:59.733+00:00George - I ended up with a free copy of Little Wil...George - I ended up with a free copy of <i>Little Wilson and Big God</i> and found it entertaining but exhausting. I wouldn't want to be stuck on a Greyhound bus with Burgess for longer than two hours.<br /><br />Annabel - He's entertaining and there's a dry sense of humour behind the eccentric facade, but he does go on.<br /><br />Carol - Thanks. I hope you explore the works of Etienne when you have a chance.<br /><br />Mike - I agree. He was an extraordinary man, frustrated that he never achieved his true vocation of composing (although his music's pretty awful). I used to wonder why he appeared on <i>Wogan</i>, which was always slightly embarrassing for him and Terry.<br /><br />Joan - Perhaps it's all scripted and he's reading an autocue ;)<br /><br />Nota Bene - Yes, that was hilarious - ten years before the riots. He was living in Italy at the time and I suspect that his visits to London didn't expose him to the livelier districts of the city. Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-91463987056510826642014-05-29T14:18:39.761+00:002014-05-29T14:18:39.761+00:00Mr Burgess' comments at the beginning...about ...Mr Burgess' comments at the beginning...about London being a Utopia so there's nothing to write about, where as American is a very interesting place had me laughing until I nearly fell off my seat...Nota Benehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00969705852180234416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-45172639454261603852014-05-29T13:27:37.639+00:002014-05-29T13:27:37.639+00:00I thought it was interesting that he almost never ...I thought it was interesting that he almost never met anyone's eyes. I'm not sure why that attracted my attention, but it did.<br /><br />joan.kylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17015342608992682333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-85700170270725559042014-05-29T10:33:10.041+00:002014-05-29T10:33:10.041+00:00Elderly publisher anecdote: for a while in the 80s...Elderly publisher anecdote: for a while in the 80s I was Burgess's paperback publisher (Abacus) - The Kingdom of the Wicked, notably.<br /><br />I only met him once, in London, in a hotel somewhere in Bayswater where he was staying with his rather fearsome wife. We had nothing much to talk about, it was merely a courtesy call, and I took along a Sphere/Abacus catalogue, mostly so he could see the company he was keeping, which included Primo Levi.<br /><br />After the briefest glance at the Abacus list he moved on to the mass-market stuff on the Sphere list, particularly SF and crime. 'Haven't read that...haven't read that...could I have a copy of that...?' he was soon saying, to the point where I gave him a pen and asked him to mark the titles.<br /><br />I ended up sending a sizeable box of freebies to his house in Monaco. Knowing his voracious reading habits, I have no doubt he read all of them, too. He was a bit of an old rogue, inclined to self-importance, but a true renaissance man - we won't see his like again.MikePhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08589363260977274335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-53625608183806900002014-05-28T23:33:29.736+00:002014-05-28T23:33:29.736+00:00What a fun post. Love your reply, Steerforth. xox...What a fun post. Love your reply, Steerforth. xoxoCanadian Chickadeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12995693884248628958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-37827459772562192072014-05-28T12:55:50.614+00:002014-05-28T12:55:50.614+00:00Burgess certainly is great value (despite his mop ...Burgess certainly is great value (despite his mop of hair) - I chuckled all the way through that clip - thanks for finding it. It also reminds me that I have his Shakespeare book 'Nothing like the sun' on my shelves to read ...Annabel (gaskella)http://gaskella.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-16463623421533837372014-05-27T23:35:28.168+00:002014-05-27T23:35:28.168+00:00The local used book sale yielded a copy of Little ...The local used book sale yielded a copy of <i>Little Wilson and Big God</i> a while back, which like most Burgess is very readable. I did not much like what I believe was his final novel, <i>The End of the World News</i>, but I did enjoy the preface, which I recall as saying that it wasn't worth the trouble of writing good books any more.<br /><br />J.D. Salinger published more than the double-ell Frenchman, at least one novel, two novellas, and a book of short stories. But he long outlived his last publication date.<br />Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-72639390126476641882014-05-27T20:29:15.726+00:002014-05-27T20:29:15.726+00:00I don't know who you're talking about, but...I don't know who you're talking about, but I was referring to Etienne Sallinger, the author of <i>La Vie Est Trop Courte Pour la Pédanterie</i>, a retiring man who only published one novel.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-23657478660770780172014-05-27T18:43:38.471+00:002014-05-27T18:43:38.471+00:00JD might have felt the need to appear on TV to sho...JD might have felt the need to appear on TV to shout "One L in Salinger!". <br /><br />Usually it's "Hemmingway", so this is novel. Thanks!Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.com