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Rating: 
Summary: Vidal's only short story collection
Review: I bought a rather tattered, cheapish 1960's paperback of 'A Thirsty Evil' some years ago ("an insight into the world of unconventional relationships", with an added essay 'On Pornography'). Puzzling, this is Gore Vidal's only collection of short fiction. He never seems to have taken to the format, yet he was of a generation that thrived on it (he's elsewhere adept at the short form - see his essays).For readers used to Vidal's later, witty style, you may be disappointed. There is no 'Duluth' or 'Myra' here. All of these stories were written between 1948-56, at a time when Vidal was writing a bunch of diverse novels, before finding his voice with 'The Judgement of Paris' and 'Messiah'. Several of these stories were published in the 'New World Writing' journal of the early fifties. I believe Vidal helped establish that periodical, which is notable for publishing Chapter 1 of 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller in 1955 (called 'Catch-18'). My favourite stories in this collection are 'Erlinda and Mr. Coffin', darkly funny and written through the voice of "a gentlewoman in middle life" & 'A Moment of Green Laurel', where a man meets himself as a boy, a la 'The Twilight Zone'. 'Laurel' is haunting and seemingly autobiographical (from a writer who calls himself "the least autobiographical of authors"). The other stories are a mixed bunch - 'Three Strategems' is an interesting but rather cold depiction of Key West in the late 40s; 'The Robin' is a very brief reminiscence; 'The Zenner Trophy' tries a little too hard to preach its agenda - that it is perfectly normal for healthy young men to want to sleep with each other - no matter how perfectly right Vidal is in his opinion; 'Notes From An Abandoned Journal'; 'Ladies in the Library'. From the mid-1950s (when this book was first published), until the publication of 'Julian' in 1964, Vidal was unable to financially support himself from his novels (he cites the New York Times' blanket refusal to review his books after 'The City and the Pillar'). He worked in Hollywood ('Ben-Hur'), television, the theatre (two hits - 'Visit from a Small Planet' and 'The Best Man'), and wrote pulp detective fiction under the pen name Edgar Box. Surprising, then, that he didn't pen any short stories in that era for the many magazines. Our loss.
Rating: 
Summary: Gore Vidal, our underrated man of letters
Review: It seems that Gore Vidal never quite gets the attention he deserves. His is one of the sharpest and freshest intellects around, and his writing is as good as one might expect from that description. It is only his essays, however, that seem to get much attention, but I contend that his novels, and this--his only collection of short stories--deserve, no, demand equal attention. Each story in here is well done and a pleasure to read; they are also stimulating to the mind. How often do I have the pleasure of saying I loved every short story in a single collection? It is a rare experience, I assure you. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Collection and My Introduction to Vidal
Review: This collection is very short, but very much a treat. It is the first work I read of Vidal's and I am very glad I ran into it (I saw it in Bargain Books at Barnes and Nobel, and such a low price on an author I'd been wanting to read was too tempting :-). The first story, "Three Stratagems," is a curious little gem about a hustler garnering the interest of a wealthy man. The atmosphere and narration are absorbing, and what happens at the end when the young hustler is in the rich man's room is truly surprising. "The Robin," is a short and disquieting piece about an old man looking back upon the cruelties of youth. "A Moment of Green Laurel" was definately interesting; as you read you strugle to figure out if the main character is crazy or the memories that haunt him do materialize in the way they do. At the end of the story, he finds himself face to face with himself as a young boy. "The Zenner Trophy" is a touching and aptly written piece. A boy is being evicted from his high school a mere couple weeks before graduation after being caught having never-specified homosexual relations with another student, but it is to be discovered that the closeted teacher sent to give him the news is taken it hard while the boy is seemingly indifferent; a great story on the commentary of the growing strength of each generation. "Erlinda and Mr Coffin," is not the books most entertaining piece, but it is decent anyway. It deals with the internal struggle of an old woman who fears what friens will think because she has a non-white girl staying in her boarding-house/hotel, as well as a dramatic fight between the girl--who has amazing voice-acting abilities--and the opporater of a local theatre. "Pages From An Abandoned Journal," is a fun, interesting story of the evolution of one man from being engaged to a woman, and the events that bring him to self realization. The story ends with him gay-clubbing and talking of his ex-lover, Bill. He meets some very interesting and entertaining characters on the way. The book ends with "The Ladies of the Library," which is a very intriguing piece reported to have many shades of Mann's A Death In Venice (I have not read the work yet, so I can not verify the similarities or their extent.) This is a great collection, and a gay classic from when homosexuality was still called "sexual inversion."
Rating:
Summary: A Great Collection and My Introduction to Vidal
Review: This collection is very short, but very much a treat. It is the first work I read of Vidal's and I am very glad I ran into it (I saw it in Bargain Books at Barnes and Nobel, and such a low price on an author I'd been wanting to read was too tempting :-). The first story, "Three Stratagems," is a curious little gem about a hustler garnering the interest of a wealthy man. The atmosphere and narration are absorbing, and what happens at the end when the young hustler is in the rich man's room is truly surprising. "The Robin," is a short and disquieting piece about an old man looking back upon the cruelties of youth. "A Moment of Green Laurel" was definately interesting; as you read you strugle to figure out if the main character is crazy or the memories that haunt him do materialize in the way they do. At the end of the story, he finds himself face to face with himself as a young boy. "The Zenner Trophy" is a touching and aptly written piece. A boy is being evicted from his high school a mere couple weeks before graduation after being caught having never-specified homosexual relations with another student, but it is to be discovered that the closeted teacher sent to give him the news is taken it hard while the boy is seemingly indifferent; a great story on the commentary of the growing strength of each generation. "Erlinda and Mr Coffin," is not the books most entertaining piece, but it is decent anyway. It deals with the internal struggle of an old woman who fears what friens will think because she has a non-white girl staying in her boarding-house/hotel, as well as a dramatic fight between the girl--who has amazing voice-acting abilities--and the opporater of a local theatre. "Pages From An Abandoned Journal," is a fun, interesting story of the evolution of one man from being engaged to a woman, and the events that bring him to self realization. The story ends with him gay-clubbing and talking of his ex-lover, Bill. He meets some very interesting and entertaining characters on the way. The book ends with "The Ladies of the Library," which is a very intriguing piece reported to have many shades of Mann's A Death In Venice (I have not read the work yet, so I can not verify the similarities or their extent.) This is a great collection, and a gay classic from when homosexuality was still called "sexual inversion."
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