A Little Original Sin: The Life and Work of Jane Bowles

by Millicent Dillon

Book Overview

Tennessee Williams called Jane Bowles "the most important writer of prose fiction in modern American letters." John Ashbery said she was "one of the finest modern writers of fiction in any language," consistently producing "the surprise that is the one essential ingredient of great art." Here, available again, is the only biography of this powerful writer.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520211936
• ISBN13: 9780520211933
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 476 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Another era...

She was a golden rebel, whose short and storied life was celebrated among the most eminent and glamorous of her time: Tennessee Williams, Libby Holman, Aaron Copeland, Truman Capote, Gertrude Stein and AliceB. Toklas, Leonard Bernstein, etc. Married to author Paul Bowles, she produced a small collection of work including the novel "Two Serious Ladies", her play "In the Summer House" and a book of stories, all characterized by her elliptical way of seeing things.

The Original Biography

It's hard not to appreciate the elbow grease Millicent Dillon put into assembling the facts of Jane Bowles's tumultuous life just a few years after her death in 1973. Dillon includes generous excerpts from Bowles's letters and interviews most of the major players in her circle. But I found myself wishing she'd take more of a stab at finding a larger interpretation or meaning to Bowles's career, working her into a wider context that would help make sense of her writing and her times. The roots of Bowles's desperate alcoholism, her fear of writing in the shadow of Paul's success, her original, highly unusual approach to sexuality & gender in a more stringent time and place, her tangled relationship with Judaism, her fascination with the culture (and women) of Tangier: Dillon touches on these topics, but her reluctance to take Jane's life on any terms other than the author's own, or those of her close-knit circle, give the biography a sad, claustrophobic feel: it seems like a lot of ink to spill on someone who spent much of her life searching for ways to avoid writing. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Bowles would benefit from a biographer more plugged in to the academic world, someone familiar with contemporary issues in queer studies or gender theory or Jewish-American lit, to really bring Jane's achievement to life.

Really and orrigina sin

Great biography about a great character. Dillon's book is full of accurate info about one of the most original writers of all time. She mixes perfectly well literature and life. Also we can see all her friends and contemporaries: Paul Bowles, Tenese Williams, Carson McCullers, Truman Capote, Gore Vidal, Harper Lee, ...So what you will find find is the perfect autodestruction of a creative mind surrounded by omens, terrors and obsessions, and the incredible pulsion of living. The good thing is that after reading this book you will feel the necessity of reading her works, and then you wil encounter the most incredible masterpieces of the 20 century. Good luck

Great Biography about a Great Experiemntal Writer

This is a wonderfully well-written biography. It traces the interesting, complicated, humorous and intriguing life of the writer Jane Bowles. Married to writer and composer, Paul Bowles, it follows them on their many travels and their many friendships. Bowles approached life in her own peculiar way, and this aspect is captured by Dillon. The frustrations, anxieties and insecurities are caught in Bowles' many letters to friends. Dillon does a great job researching the illnesses that plagued Bowles near the end of her life, and Dillon is sensitive to how these roadblocks affected a deeply talented writer.

...and so it gos...

I have loved biographys for a long time now, this is one of my favorates. Her life style is intreaging, and it boggles me to know that each page in this book is true. Jane is far from being a good person, but her passion for life, love, and writing supass any wrongs she has done. If you love life read this book; and if you don't, find out what your missing.