Basil Street Blues

Rating:
Summary: Reading the Lines of Basil Street Blues and Between Them
Review: Although Michael Holroyd had a difficult life growing up among eccentrics, his beautiful prose and gentle sense of humor show that he nonetheless emerged as a remarkably insightful, down-to-earth adult. His descriptions of the people who influenced him are wonderfully observant, and kinder than most of the people probably deserved. On page 142, he notes that what he can reveal "emerges more between the lines of my writing," and he gives us ample lines to read between. I would strongly recommend Basil Street Blues to anyone interested in the art of memoir writing, as well as anyone interested in knowing more about Holroyd.

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant and engaging family memoir
Review: Holroyd, a biographer, turns his skills as a researcher and writer onto his own family, and proves that the devil really is in the details, and in the telling of the same. The display of his skills as a writer in dealing with the homely eccentricities and dusty skeletons in the closet of his own life have convinced me that I must, at the very least, acquire and read his work on Bernard Shaw. Definitely recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A biography lovers dream
Review: This is one of the most beautifully constructed books ....beginning slowly with an introduction too Holroyd's unusal ancestors .... his own shyness and youth among various estranged folks, and then building to a wonderful, generous, end.

I was quite overwhelmed as the last few chapters came round. I am highly recommending it to readers