Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2006
416 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
One of the extraordinary aspects of this book is that Hughes allows his observations of the world around him to be its focal point rather than the details of his past. He is able to regale us with anecdotes of unknown talents and eccentrics as well as famous names such as Irwin Shaw, Robert Rauschenberg, Cyril Connolly, Kenneth Tynan, Marcel Duchamp, and many others. He revels in the joys of sensuality and the anguish of broken relationships. He appreciates genius and craft and deplores waste and stupidity. The book can soar with pleasure and vitality as well as drag us into almost unbearable pain.
"Hughes's vivid ruminations and sharp-eyed insights combine in bold, definitive strokes to yield a rich portrait of the art expert." - PW.
"So funny, candid, and incisive is Hughes' self-portrait and chronicle of the postwar art world up to 1970, readers will hope avidly for a second installment." - Booklist.
"A sometimes poignant, sometimes nasty, often amusing and always erudite memoir by the historian and art critic." - Kirkus.
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In his thirteenth (?) book to date, Hughes - bestselling author and Times art critic for 30 years, turns the lens on himself.
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