This was a great review (although I do have to say, old fogy that I am, that on Monday I told my Basic Writing Skills students at Fordham that distinterested doesn't mean "uninterested") -- a very good job of criticism.
I guess you can't blame a 90-year-old for doing a little recycling, but Auchincloss's greatest book (though I like his collection Tales of Manhattan a lot) is his 1964 book The Rector of Justin.
The headmaster there (disguised Groton, Auchincloss' prep school) was actually based not so much on Groton's headmaster but on Judge Learned Hand, probably the most famous federal judge (and maybe the best) who never made it to the Supreme Court.
I'd probably advise anyone who wants to try an Auchincloss prep school book to go with The Rector of Justin.
Wow, he's writing books at 90. Can you imagine doing that? Maybe you will...
duh, I meant disinterested -- and maybe it's because I'm also a lawyer, I like reserving the meaning to its use in "disinterested party" -- in other words, someone who doesn't have a (legal, financial) interest in something -- a neutral party.
Fuck... you're right about "disinterested"... that's my bad.
Yeah what I was trying to convey in the review was that a lot of the trappings are laughable (stilted speech, etc) but he has the fundamentals absolutely down. At 90 that's really impressive.
I once heard a friend's snobby grandmother say that "Auchinclosses have good genes." Although I thought she was a Society-worshipping moron at the time, maybe she was right.
Louis is the one intellectual Auchincloss out of the whole mass of them, though his cousin Hughdie had two smart stepkids, Gore Vidal and Jackie Onassis.
6 comments:
This was a great review (although I do have to say, old fogy that I am, that on Monday I told my Basic Writing Skills students at Fordham that distinterested doesn't mean "uninterested") -- a very good job of criticism.
I guess you can't blame a 90-year-old for doing a little recycling, but Auchincloss's greatest book (though I like his collection Tales of Manhattan a lot) is his 1964 book The Rector of Justin.
The headmaster there (disguised Groton, Auchincloss' prep school) was actually based not so much on Groton's headmaster but on Judge Learned Hand, probably the most famous federal judge (and maybe the best) who never made it to the Supreme Court.
I'd probably advise anyone who wants to try an Auchincloss prep school book to go with The Rector of Justin.
Wow, he's writing books at 90. Can you imagine doing that? Maybe you will...
duh, I meant disinterested -- and maybe it's because I'm also a lawyer, I like reserving the meaning to its use in "disinterested party" -- in other words, someone who doesn't have a (legal, financial) interest in something -- a neutral party.
Fuck... you're right about "disinterested"... that's my bad.
Yeah what I was trying to convey in the review was that a lot of the trappings are laughable (stilted speech, etc) but he has the fundamentals absolutely down. At 90 that's really impressive.
At 90 being able to hold a pen is impressive.
I once heard a friend's snobby grandmother say that "Auchinclosses have good genes." Although I thought she was a Society-worshipping moron at the time, maybe she was right.
Louis is the one intellectual Auchincloss out of the whole mass of them, though his cousin Hughdie had two smart stepkids, Gore Vidal and Jackie Onassis.
Jesus, some family. No wonder everybody in the novel is in the upper crust of the upper crust.
Post a Comment