The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

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Summary: Gertrude Shines
Review: "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" made Gertrude Stein a household name in America in the 1930s, and for good reason. This is Stein at her most accessible and I must highly suggest it for any first-time readers of this literary genius. The book has a light, breezy tone, interesting subject matter (Picasso & various renowned artists pop up throughout), and Stein's trademark intellectual brilliance. The device of using Toklas as an approach to Stein's life is certainly interesting and is responsible for some of the most entertaining passages. And this book is certainly entertaining, thanks to Stein's supreme wit and her clever descriptions of the people she interacts with and situations she finds herself in. I highly recommend this book, especially for those who haven't read Stein before. Her vivacity, wit, intelligence and skill are on display here in an accessible, classic work.

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Summary: Stein is not a genius
Review: Despite what all of the other reviews say, Stein is not a genius. The previous reviewers were simply regurgitating what their professors insisted upon in college. This book is Stein's most accessible--do read it, just so you can know what kind of sense the book does NOT make. The best part of this novel is the format (autobiography, but written by someone else), which is unique; however, the stolen style, nonsensical delineations, stale dialogues, and immobile plot definitively strip away any claims that this rich, disturbed woman was a genius.

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Summary: A very important book.
Review: First of all, this is one of Gertrude's most accessible books. The Autobiography showcases her most elegant and beautiful prose. Furthermore, the reader is offered a glimpse into her fabulous and fascinating life. Plus you get to meet some of her good friends like a young painter named Picasso and a young writer name Fitzgerald. So the Autobiography is an exquisitely well-written book full of enormously important and interesting history. For god's sake, read this book!

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Summary: Oh, man. This one is a challenge
Review: Gertrude Stein was a self-proclaimed genius. In order to announce this fact to the world, she chose to write about herself in the words of her whatever, lover, Alice B. Toklas (probably secondarily most famous for her marijuana-laced brownies during those flower-power hippie years).
Stein's writing is, um, difficult. Yeah, difficult. And convoluted and innovative and unusual in the extreme - and totally egocentric. This purported autobiography of Alice B. is in reality the autobiography of Gertrude Stein. Here's the most famous line from the book: "I may say that only three times in my life have I met a genius and each time a bell within me rang and I was not mistaken." One of the 3, of course, was herself, Gertrude. Sheesh. Fortunately, sublime conceit is tempered with wit and irony, which makes the reader willing to continue slogging thru this epistle.
It ain't easy, though. While this 'autobiography' is one of Stein's most accessible works, it's still pretty hard going for the average literate reader. I think we can thank posterity that this particular experimental style of writing didn't prove to be universally popular.
For a wonderfully original take on the relationship between Toklas and Stein, read the wickedly innovative The Book of Salt.

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Summary: Language as liquid
Review: Gertrude Stein's playful and witty story of her life with Alice Toklas (told via the life story of Alice) chronicles nearly thirty years, up to 1932. Crackling with energy and zest, the story unfolds like conversation at a party where Picasso, Hemingway, Matisse, and others are in attendance, and the reader is introduced to them all in succession. Documenting not only their exciting life together, the book also takes us through the dangers of World War 1, as well as detailing Stein's writing activities. Ultimately, it is Gertrude Stein herself who shines throughout the book, through the lens of Toklas, and it is this portrait crisp and alive that makes this the most well-known of her works.

Rating:
Summary: What a great read!
Review: I just finished this book and I really loved it. Yes, Gertrude Stein is very conceited, and yes, sometimes the language is difficult to work through, but if you take the time to get through this book you will not regret it. It was so witty and subtley funny that I was smiling almost the entire way through. This book is definitely worth the time it took to read it.

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Summary: An unconventional look at an unconventional writer.
Review: In using her lover Alice as the narrator of something called an autobiography, Stein reveals that we can expect something unusual with this book. Of course, she delivers, turning ordinary events and words into a sometimes difficult but always fascinating prose narrative. One can easily see why so many artists and writers sought her company.

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Summary: "Alice in Wanderland!"
Review: There are so many things to hate about this book that I'm not quite sure where to start. This book is often praised for its innovation, but Stein is not the first to write in a conversational tone (semi-stream-of-consciousness). What made this book so intollerable to me was its lack of substance... everything here is gossip. I do know many of the artists and writers that are discussed, but all we hear about is who liked whom, and what they liked to have for dinner. What is most annoying about this book however, are the vain complements that Ms. Stein's makes about herself through the mouthpiece of her lover, Alice B. Toklas. She refers to herself as a genius over and over again, and tells us that she is the most important literary figure in the 20th century. Today most of this is read as a joke that Stein was in on, but many of her contemporaries later said that she was in fact a self-important braggart, and that she did believe she was superior to the other writers (and painters, poets, sculpters, etc.) of her time. Many people who have written biographies of the ex-patriot modernists have said that one of the reasons Stein wrote this book was to get revenge on all of the people who had made light of her work over the years. She clearly does exactly that, but pretends that her reason for putting these people down is because they were flawed individuals. Fortunately for Gertrude Stein's posterity, the primary reason that this book continues to flourish is so everyone could read not about Stein and Toklas, but about Hemingway, Eliot, Picasso, Matisse, Whitehead... the true geniuses of the time.

Rating:
Summary: What a great read!
Review: This book is an interesting look at the art and literary scene of Paris at the turn of the century. This book is actually more of an autobiography of Gertrude Stein, but supposedly is written through the eyes of her longtime companion Alice Toklas. Many who knew Toklas said that Stein imitated her voice and style perfectly, and perhaps that is why it is considered such a great work of literature. For my part I enjoyed the narrative, thought I was not particularly fond of the way it was written. I realize this is a style unique to Stein, but it just didn't work for me.

The most fascinating part of this work is seeing such great figures as Picasso and Hemingway through the eyes of Stein/Toklas. Even TS Eliot makes a brief appearance. The narrative is very interesting for this reason--with all these great figures around, how could it not be amusing? And, of course, Stein does not hesitate to use the medium of Toklas to proclaim that she is one of the three actual 'geniuses' that Toklas has ever met (incidentally, this short list excludes both Hemingway and Eliot). In fact there is an awful lot of egotism apparent throughout this book, and it is very irritating at times. Still, this is a very interesting look at Paris before, during, and after the first World War, and provides fascinating insight into a circle of painters, musicians, and literary figures that I'm sure many people would gladly give a limb to have belonged to.

Rating:
Summary: A genius? Hmmm..
Review: This book is an interesting look at the art and literary scene of Paris at the turn of the century. This book is actually more of an autobiography of Gertrude Stein, but supposedly is written through the eyes of her longtime companion Alice Toklas. Many who knew Toklas said that Stein imitated her voice and style perfectly, and perhaps that is why it is considered such a great work of literature. For my part I enjoyed the narrative, thought I was not particularly fond of the way it was written. I realize this is a style unique to Stein, but it just didn't work for me.

The most fascinating part of this work is seeing such great figures as Picasso and Hemingway through the eyes of Stein/Toklas. Even TS Eliot makes a brief appearance. The narrative is very interesting for this reason--with all these great figures around, how could it not be amusing? And, of course, Stein does not hesitate to use the medium of Toklas to proclaim that she is one of the three actual 'geniuses' that Toklas has ever met (incidentally, this short list excludes both Hemingway and Eliot). In fact there is an awful lot of egotism apparent throughout this book, and it is very irritating at times. Still, this is a very interesting look at Paris before, during, and after the first World War, and provides fascinating insight into a circle of painters, musicians, and literary figures that I'm sure many people would gladly give a limb to have belonged to.