Conversations With William Styron (Literary Conversations Series)

The American novelist discusses literature, his writings, and the role of history in fiction

Only between the discussions of Lie Down in Darkness (1951) and The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), does a definite William Styron begin to emerge from this collection of 25 interviews, originally published in the New York Times, Paris Review, etc. Early on, he seems tentative and takes great pains to portray himself as separate from the "Southern tradition," and as a hard-drinking, "writing is hell" author. But, as his reputation grows, Styron's interviewers (and the colloquia in which he participates) give him the opportunity to be more expansive, and his conversation comes more and more to resemble the whirlwind of ideas and images that marks his prose. The controversy surrounding The Confessions of Nat Turner is well documented here (an exchange between Styron and a group of Black militants helps fix the tone of the time), as is the genesis of Sophie's Choice. And an extended conversation with Arthur Miller will intrigue scholars and casual readers alike. On balance, the same can be said of much of this collection. November
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ever since the Paris Review ``Writers at Work'' series 30 years ago, demand for literary interviews has grown. These 25 conversations, spanning more than three decades in Styron's career, should please all devotees of the genre. What effect does his Southern background have on Styron's work? Who were his mentors and models? What problems did he have as a white author speaking as a black ( Nat Turner ), or as a gentile writing about Auschwitz ( Sophie's Choice )? Styron's forthright answers to questions such as these reveal the sincerity, intelligence, and seriousness that we prize in his novels. Michael Edmonds, State Historical Soc. of Wisconsin Lib., Madison please note: LJ's review of David M. Ber geron's Shakespeare's Romances and the Royal Family (LJ 4/15/85) contained the sen tence ``The author's argument is reasoned and restrained; he makes no large claims,'' to which should have been added ``asking only to stimulate further discussion, the pur pose of the best scholarship.'' Also, at the end of the review the sentence ``Yet there is much here that is provocative and worthy of attention'' was omitted.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.