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Title: Myra Breckinridge/Myron (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by Gore Vidal ISBN: 0-14-118028-5 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (18 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: EASY DOES IT ON THIS ONE
Comment: Some of the past reviewers went to take an aspirin and swallowed the whole bottle. Myra was but an amusing story that posed the deep question of what part one's sexuality plays in defining one's ultimate identity. If a guy should discover half way through life that he wanted to be a she-read this book before whacking it off. The amputation solved nothing for Myron. Myra had hoped she'd evolve into a new, superior species but discovered that a lovely woman's body didn't erase her loneliness. Myra did claim a temporary uniqueness but Vidal's heavy handed ending decapitated that idea.
The sequel Myron was a totally different cup of tea. Since by then there were no characters the reader could identify or sympathize with, a comic book quality emerged which did very little beyond illustrating the amusing war of the sexes. You needn't be a sadist to enjoy this book but it wouldn't hurt. I suppose some of Neal Gabler's (LIFE THE MOVIE) questions regarding psuedo reality and life imitating art were also illustrated here-but don't expect any clarification.
Rating: 4
Summary: The incomparable Myra
Comment: As part of her plans to conquer Hollywood, Myra Breckinridge arrives at her late husband Myron's uncle Buck's drama academy to stake her claim. She turns heads and wreaks havoc all in her efforts to get where she wants to be. Myra takes no prisoners in any venture, especially in terms of sex. When Buck confronts her with the lack of evidence of her marriage to Myron and of the demise of Myron, Myra is forced to reveal her true nature. Ultimately Myra gets what she wants, but not in the way she planned, after a hit-and-run accident nearly destroys her. Challenging the 1960s' attitudes about gender and sexuality, "Myra Breckinridge" is not as scandalous now, but it's still shocking and campy. This is #23 of the 100 Best Gay and Lesbian Novels, as selected by the Publishing Triangle. Picking up several years after "Myra Breckinridge", "Myron" finds the banal man living with his wife in a nice California town, when suddenly he finds himself inside the movie "Siren of Babylon", during its filming in 1948. Myron struggles to find out what's happening to him as well as figuring out a way back, but the revitalized Myra is determined to seize control of the body they share and conquer the Hollywood of 1948, thereby recreating the world according to her wishes. Even more outrageous than its predecessor, "Myron" is loads of fun and showcases Vidal's wit, intelligence, and wild imagination.
Rating: 4
Summary: Too late to be shocked, but still enjoyable...
Comment: I supposed had I actually read the book when it was first published, then I would have been able to appreciate the shock value of the story. As it was, it's a bit like watching "Psycho" for the first time so long after it's originally been released: even if you've never seen it, you still know the 'surprise' ending.
However, having said that, Gore Vidal is still Gore Vidal always enjoyable, witty, and always pushing the envelope. If I disagreed with his philosophies on life, sexuality and politics, I might find stale the fact that his entire body of work includes references to all of them, but since I don't, I just take heart that they are being represented time and again by such a gifted author.
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Title: Memoirs of a Beatnik by Diane Di Prima, Diana Di Prima ISBN: 0140235396 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Hearts of Men : American Dreams and the Flight from Commitment by Barbara Ehrenreich ISBN: 0385176155 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 01 March, 1987 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Beebo Brinker by Ann Bannon ISBN: 1573441252 Publisher: Cleis Press Pub. Date: 10 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Kalki by Gore Vidal ISBN: 0141180374 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Burr : A Novel by Gore Vidal ISBN: 0375708731 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 15 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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