Christopher Isherwood Criticism
Christopher Isherwood (1904–1986), celebrated for his incisive portrayals of pre-war Berlin, stands as a significant figure in 20th-century literature. His works, notably The Berlin Stories, which includes Goodbye to Berlin and Mr. Norris Changes Trains, capture the chaotic yet compelling atmosphere of Berlin in the 1930s. These narratives delve into the decadence and political unrest of the era, serving as a historical lens through which the ominous rise of Nazi power is observed. The cultural impact of these stories is underscored by their adaptation into the play I Am a Camera and the subsequent musical and film Cabaret, as examined in The Evolution of Cabaret.
Isherwood's unique narrative style, often described as a detached, camera-like perspective, is noted for capturing the stark realities of his settings. This method allows readers to witness historical changes with clarity and emotional distance, as praised by critics such as Kate O'Brien and V.S. Naipaul. The character of Sally Bowles from Goodbye to Berlin epitomizes Isherwood's ability to create vivid and memorable figures who embody the spirit of their time, a focus discussed in reviews by Valentine Cunningham and David Lodge.
Isherwood's exploration of identity and sexuality is woven throughout his canon, providing a deeply autobiographical element to his work. While some critics have found certain narratives uneven, as noted by the Times Literary Supplement, others such as Alfred Kazin and Basil Davenport have lauded their psychological depth and social insight. His collaboration with W.H. Auden in plays blending prose and verse is another testament to his versatile talent, with Stuart Hampshire discussing the Bildungsroman structure recurring in his work.
His later novel, The World in the Evening, demonstrates technical prowess and sophisticated character studies, despite Angus Wilson's critique of its spiritual themes. Furthermore, the "High Camp" style, as identified by Frank Kermode, enriches his narratives with humor and irony, fostering thematic cohesion across his oeuvre.
Isherwood's engagement with Hindu mysticism, reflected in his translations and philosophical writings, adds yet another dimension to his exploration of identity and spirituality. His "camera" style and "outsider" perspective, analyzed by Colin Wilson, contribute to the authenticity and enduring appeal of his work. Despite some criticisms, including Kingsley Amis's observation of a decline in his post-war literary output, Isherwood's innovative use of narrative techniques, such as the "first-person dummy" narrator noted by Carolyn G. Heilburn, consistently pushed the boundaries of modern storytelling.
The personal crises detailed in Kathleen and Frank are commended by W. H. Auden for their historical and narrative resonance. The evolution of Isherwood's identity and his thematic explorations, as discussed by Paul Piazza and D. S. Savage, reveal a complex interplay of maturity and perpetual questioning, underscoring his place in literary history.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Isherwood, Christopher (Vol. 11)
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The New and the Old Isherwood
(summary)
In the following essay, Angus Wilson criticizes Christopher Isherwood's novel The World in the Evening for failing to convincingly portray spiritual themes and personal growth, while acknowledging Isherwood's advancement in technical skill, character development, and understanding of human relationships.
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Isherwood's Hell
(summary)
In the following essay, Stuart Hampshire explores Christopher Isherwood's unique literary form, highlighting his use of a recurring hero to create a distinctive Bildungsroman, characterized by the tension between private life and public events, and a narrative voice that challenges the reader's expectations of moral clarity and truthfulness.
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Frank Kermode
(summary)
In the following essay, Kermode explores Isherwood's literary inquiry into societal and personal crises, highlighting his unique use of "High Camp" to express serious themes through humor and artifice, while examining the thematic connections between Isherwood's works such as "The Memorial" and "The World in the Evening."
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'An Integrity Born of Hope': Notes on Christopher Isherwood
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In the following essay, Colin Wilson explores Christopher Isherwood's evolution as a novelist, highlighting his "camera" narrative style inspired by Henry James and the "outsider" perspective, and argues that Isherwood's pursuit of truth and honesty, particularly regarding his own identity, gives his works their enduring quality.
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The New and the Old Isherwood
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- Isherwood, Christopher (Vol. 1)
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Isherwood, Christopher (Vol. 14)
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Mr. Isherwood and Friend
(summary)
In the following essay, Evelyn Waugh assesses Christopher Isherwood's Journey to a War as an admirable work exhibiting high literary standards, though he critiques Isherwood's lack of enthusiasm as a journalist and his honest disinterest in the notoriety of public figures.
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A Bit Glassy
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In the following essay, Kingsley Amis critiques Christopher Isherwood's works, highlighting a decline in his literary quality post-1945 and his struggle with maintaining detachment in narrative, while expressing hope for a revival of his early expressive talent.
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Carolyn G. Heilburn
(summary)
In the following essay, Carolyn G. Heilburn argues that Christopher Isherwood's literary excellence lies in his innovative documentary style and his use of a "first-person dummy" narrator, which allows him to explore political themes with aesthetic distance, although his later novels sometimes struggle with narrative technique, particularly when incorporating Vedanta into his work.
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The Diary of a Diary
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In the following essay, W. H. Auden interprets Christopher Isherwood's Kathleen and Frank as a successful attempt to resolve his Integrity crisis, while critiquing its readability without Isherwood’s insights but praising its narrative and historical significance.
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Paul Piazza
(summary)
In the following essay, Paul Piazza examines Christopher Isherwood's literary evolution, highlighting how his works reflect his personal and spiritual journey, particularly his relationship with maternal and paternal figures, and his transition from Edwardian societal critique to a Vedantist philosophy that informs his narrative style and thematic exploration of identity and spiritual awakening.
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Christopher Isherwood: The Novelist as Homosexual
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In the following essay, D. S. Savage analyzes Christopher Isherwood's works, asserting that they reflect the author's struggle with maturation and his complex entanglement of innocence and guilt, particularly in relation to sexuality, indicating a perpetual immaturity and unresolved Oedipal complex.
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Mr. Isherwood and Friend
(summary)
- Isherwood, Christopher (Vol. 9)
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Isherwood, Christopher
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Fiction
(summary)
In the following excerpt, O'Brien praises Isherwood's detached narrative style in Goodbye to Berlin, noting that he has perfected the laconic and unemotional selectiveness of the camera, refraining from running commentary.
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Goodbye to Berlin
(summary)
In the following review, the anonymous critic offers a mixed assessment of Goodbye to Berlin. Four of the six sketches or diary fragments that make up this 'roughly continuous narrative' have already appeared in print, one of them in book form. As the narrative now stands it has an uneven quality and leaves a mixed impression. The best of it is very good—clever, honest, anxious, ribald, sometimes pungent, touched with the perplexity and the striving for sympathy, if not with sympathy itself, that together seems to enclose Mr. Isherwood's characteristic mood of seriousness. In that mood Mr. Isherwood is plainly determined to describe at first hand only and is as plainly on guard against ready-made feelings. He puts himself in the witness-box and takes what he might possibly call the novelist's oath: he swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about Berlin before Hitler, about its night life, about its slums, cafés, lakeside villas, about the backboneless dreamers and the Nazi toughs among the young. And in reading you feel that, up to a point, he is in fact telling the truth not merely as he sees it but also as you yourself and most other people might see it.
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Books in General
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In the following positive review, Garnett considers the short fiction in Goodbye to Berlin as a series of character portraits.
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Leaves from under the Lindens
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In the following review, Kazin views Goodbye to Berlin as an accurate portrayal of Berlin in the years before World War II.
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Atmosphere of Decay
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In the following review of Goodbye to Berlin, Davenport contends that “Mr. Isherwood combines an uncanny accuracy of observation and ability to convey his impressions with a universal sympathy almost unknown in English literature.”
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Review of Goodbye to Berlin
(summary)
In the following mixed review of Goodbye to Berlin, Green deems Isherwood a promising author.
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Review of Goodbye to Berlin
(summary)
In the following review, the reviewer provides a favorable assessment of Goodbye to Berlin. Christopher Isherwood continues his account of the Berlin of pre-Hitler days, begun in Mr. Norris Changes Trains. The tone of the book is objective and impersonal throughout.
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The Writer
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In the following review of Exhumations, Naipaul offers a mixed reaction to Isherwood's detached narrative style.
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Tourist and Camera
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In the following review, the anonymous critic derides Isherwood as a writer who has never reached his literary potential.
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Goodbye to Berlin: Refocusing Isherwood's Camera
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In the following essay, Thomas discusses the narrators in Isherwood's work.
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The Evolution of Cabaret
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In the following essay, Blades chronicles the adaptation of The Berlin Stories to the stage and cinema.
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Cabaret
(summary)
In the following review, Cunningham explores the emphasis on the character of Sally Bowles, which is reflected in the edition of Isherwood's stories entitled The Berlin of Sally Bowles.
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‘Camp’ and Politics in Isherwood's Berlin Fiction
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In the following essay, Thomas traces Isherwood's utilization of Camp motifs in his work.
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Review of Goodbye to Berlin
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In the following essay, Lodge reflects on the enduring popularity of the character of Sally Bowles.
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Fiction
(summary)
- Further Reading