Edmund White Criticism
Edmund White is a distinguished American novelist, playwright, and nonfiction writer, whose works compellingly examine themes of homosexuality, identity, and societal dynamics. His literary journey began with his debut novel, Forgetting Elena (1973), which established him as a significant voice in literature, earning comparisons to Marcel Proust and Oscar Wilde for its elegant and conscious prose. The novel's exploration of social snobbery and identity on Fire Island has been praised by critics such as William R. Evans and Simon Karlinsky for its comedic yet profound narrative.
White continued to explore complex themes in works such as Nocturnes for the King of Naples (1978), which presents reflective monologues by a grieving young man. While some, like John Yohalem, critique its ornate prose, others, such as J. D. McClatchy, celebrate its stylistic virtuosity and thematic depth. His influential novel A Boy's Own Story (1982) delves into the coming-of-age experiences of a young homosexual, drawing acclaim for its universal themes and exquisite prose, as highlighted by Publishers Weekly and J[amie] B[aylis]. This novel, part of a trilogy that continues with The Beautiful Room is Empty (1988), underscores White's ability to balance autobiographical realism with imaginative artifice, a duality discussed in Remembering Desire.
White's later novels, such as Caracole (1985), further explore themes of sex and power within fantastical settings. This novel, critiqued for its "elegant variation" by Adam Mars-Jones, demonstrates White's ongoing engagement with the interplay of realism and artifice, a point noted by critics like Phyllis Rose in Moralists and Esthetes. Beyond fiction, White has made significant contributions to nonfiction, such as his work States of Desire (1980), which provides a sociological study of American gay communities. While lauded for its insights by Richard Goldstein, it has also faced criticism from Paul Cowan for its scope.
White's essays collected in The Burning Library (1994) further showcase his range, blending art with social commentary, appealing to both gay and straight audiences by highlighting their commonalities and differences. This ability is underscored by critics such as Clark Blaise and explored in interviews like An Interview with Edmund White, where he delves into the authenticity required in fiction. His works continue to resonate with readers through their exploration of societal and personal identities, marked by a distinctive prose style that navigates between the deeply personal and the universally relevant.
Contents
- Principal Works
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White, Edmund
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Gay, Straight and Grim
(summary)
In the following review, Bailey discusses White's States of Desire, and how the book deals with the issue of bigotry against homosexuals.
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Remembering Desire
(summary)
In the following review, Wilson asserts that "In White's growing-up novel, [A Boy's Own Story,] the tale of the child's peregrinations in the treacherous land of desire is, finally, secondary to the 'story' of the adult's struggle to bring all to mind, to integrate his various selves by coming to love them."
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Moralists and Esthetes
(summary)
In the following review, Rose discusses the verbal stylization and psychological realism of White's Caracole.
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Passion, purity, innocence and (European) experience
(summary)
In the following review, Mars-Jones lauds White's Caracole and says, "This suavely alien world can give intense and almost continuous pleasure."
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Don't Give In to the Baggy Grown-Ups
(summary)
In the following review, Blaise asserts that White's The Beautiful Room is Empty "is packaged as an autobiographical novel, yet as a novel its flaws reduce its value and interest considerably."
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An American Scrapbook
(summary)
In the following review, Lemon praises White's The Beautiful Room is Empty, but complains that "the ending's exhilarations [are] a diminishment of the power and beauty of what had gone before."
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An Interview with Edmund White
(summary)
In the following interview, Edmund White, in conversation with Kay Bonetti, discusses the autobiographical elements in his novels, the impact of his identity as a gay writer on his work and public perception, and how AIDS influences both his personal life and his literary themes, emphasizing the need for complexity and authenticity in fiction.
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Three times three
(summary)
In the following review, Dyson complains that, "The problem with Trios is that it plays as if real dramatic skill in writing and direction has not been applied."
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From celebration to elegy
(summary)
In the following review, Powell complains that, "As so often in the book, [The Burning Library] White's admirable capacity for sympathetic understanding not only inhibits his critical judgment but actually weakens the case being argued."
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From the Stonewall to The Burning Library
(summary)
In the following interview, Edmund White and Ryan Prout explore White's reflections on his career, the evolution of gay culture, and his role as a gay writer, emphasizing the interplay between his personal experiences and broader social movements, and highlighting the importance of preserving the multifaceted nature of gay culture beyond the singular focus on AIDS.
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Intimations of Mortality
(summary)
In the following review, Dickstein discusses White's Skinned Alive and asserts that, "In writing about AIDS yet keeping it at bay, he has turned a mortal threat into a surprising source of literary strength."
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Apologising
(summary)
In the following review, Wood discusses White's The Burning Library and Skinned Alive. Edmund White has always struggled between appeasing the gods of his art and paying off the princelings of politics. Endearingly, and sometimes infuriatingly, he insists on doing both, and the result often leaves his pockets rather empty. Thus in his book of selected journalism, The Burning Library, he can move from a sublime celebration of Nabokov's 'greatness' to a demand that 'even the hierarchy inherent in the concept of a canon must be jettisoned.' It is how he is able, in a piece about Robert Mapplethorpe, to argue that 'passion, like art, is always irresponsible, useless, an end in itself, regulated by its own impulses and nothing else' and to propose in another that the best gay writing should be a combination of confession, reportage and witness.
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Gay, Straight and Grim
(summary)
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White, Edmund, III
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William R. Evans
(summary)
In the following essay, William R. Evans critiques Edmund White's "Forgetting Elena" as a pastiche that ultimately devolves into triviality, recommending only the opening and closing chapters for their stylistic merit and suggesting that the novel's complexity may appeal to puzzle enthusiasts but falls short of providing substantial literary worth.
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America, Texas and Fire Island
(summary)
In the following essay, Simon Karlinsky argues that Edmund White's Forgetting Elena masterfully explores the dynamics of social snobbery and group identity on Fire Island, drawing comparisons to literary figures such as Austen, Gogol, and Robbe-Grillet, while presenting a unique and profound narrative beneath its comedic facade.
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Baroque Inventions
(summary)
In the following essay, J. D. McClatchy argues that Edmund White's novel, Nocturnes for the King of Naples, exemplifies his stylistic virtuosity and thematic depth by intertwining intricate prose with a profound exploration of love, identity, and memory, thereby marking White as a significant figure in modern literature.
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Apostrophes to a Dead Lover
(summary)
In the following essay, John Yohalem critiques Edmund White's novel "Nocturnes" for its indulgent, ornate prose and narcissistic themes, arguing that while the novel possesses beauty and artistic talent, it lacks the appeal and charm found in White's earlier work "Forgetting Elena."
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Modus Eroticus
(summary)
In the following essay, Richard Goldstein reviews Edmund White's States of Desire as a didactic exploration of middle-class gay society, noting its hospitality and lack of engagement with minority experiences, while commending White's stylistic finesse and his ability to convey complex social dynamics without overt sensationalism.
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The Pursuit of Happiness
(summary)
In the following essay, Paul Cowan critiques Edmund White's "States of Desire" for its narrow portrayal of "Gay America," arguing that White's lack of empathy and depth in exploring his subjects results in a superficial and uninsightful narrative that fails to illuminate the complexities of the lives it intends to depict.
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A review of "A Boy's Own Story"
(summary)
The critic explores Edmund White's memoir "A Boy's Own Story," highlighting its universal appeal and exquisite prose that captures the poignant and humorous experiences of a precocious boy navigating a homosexual identity within a fractured family environment.
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A Boy's Own Story
(summary)
In the following essay, J[amie] B[aylis] examines Edmund White's A Boy's Own Story as a masterful blend of novel and nonfiction that explores the complex coming-of-age of a homosexual youth in the 1950s, highlighting the nuanced portrayal of the boy's struggles and emotional growth.
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The Bodies and Souls of American Men
(summary)
In the following essay, Catherine R. Stimpson explores Edmund White's "A Boy's Own Story" as a novel that intertwines themes of alienation, male identity, and homosexual desire, reflecting on the intricacies of growing up and the pursuit of manhood through the lens of American masculinity.
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A Prince of Self-Approval
(summary)
In the following essay, Alan Hollinghurst examines Edmund White's A Boy's Own Story, arguing that while the novel's depiction of adolescent sensibility is poignant, its style, marked by elaborate metaphors and self-conscious artifice, raises questions about its intentional challenge to conventional literary norms and its reflection of a homosexual literary identity.
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William R. Evans
(summary)
- Further Reading