Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
The experience of the ``Lost Generation'' in the 1920s was not unique: after the Second World War, Paris once again became a haven for expatriate American writers, shows Sawyer-Laucanno ( The Invisible Spectator , a biography of Paul Bowles). After setting the stage with an account of the old guard--Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Sylvia Beach--at the time of the city's liberation from the Nazis, the author introduces his main characters, singularly and in groups: Richard Wright and James Baldwin; the literary cliques centered around the Olympia Press and the founders of the Paris Review ; Chester Himes; Irwin Shaw and James Jones; Harry Mathews and John Ashbery; Lawrence Ferlinghetti and even Beats such as William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. Figure by figure, Sawyer-Laucanno composes an impressive mosaic of the Parisian American literary scene. Detailing the material and social conditions that these writers found in Paris, Sawyer-Laucanno discusses how that city empowered them in ways that American cities could not have. His well-considered literary biographies succeed in capturing an important cultural moment. Photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)
Library Journal
This is a gripping account of American writers who lived in Paris during the decade and a half following World War II--transplanted literary luminaries that include Richard Wright, James Baldwin, William Styron, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, James Jones, Irwin Shaw, Chester Himes, John Ashbery, and the Beat writers. Stifled by racism, McCarthyism, and conformist values, they found in France the freedom to create, and eventually they became respected members of French intellectual circles. With Paris as a backdrop and the Lost Generation as inspiration, they produced English-language literary journals--namely, the Paris Review --to showcase innovative literature and introduced the works of contemporary European writers to America. They also wrote some of their finest works. Sawyer-Laucanno ( An Invisible Spectator: A Biography of Paul Bowles , LJ 4/15/89) so adroitly combines biographical, historical, and critical material that he entices readers to seek out these expatriate writers. Recommended for all collections.-- Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Alice Joyce
The author of "The Invisible Spectator", a biography of American novelist and short-story writer Paul Bowles, traces the course taken by the diverse group of American writers who followed in the footsteps of the so-called Lost Generation, figuring historically as the next wave to adopt Paris as their literary home. Appraising the Parisian literary scene as it existed up through August 25, 1944, Sawyer-Laucanno sets the scene with a revealing look at Hemingway's antics following Liberation Day, and by reviewing the final works of Gertrude Stein. While capturing the substance of literary activity through biographical sketches and examination of literary magazines such as "The Paris Review", this penetrating study most effectively targets the greater implications of the friendships, rivalries, and liaisons among the Beats (Ginsberg, Corso, Burroughs), James Baldwin, Richard Wright, John Ashbery, Ferlinghetti, and others. The author's strong suit is his ability to re-create the tenor of avant-garde activity from 1944 through 1960 by connecting links in this chain of select companions who found the freedom they were seeking in Paris. A well-researched accounting of one of American literature's most fascinating periods.
Booknews
Richard Wright, James Baldwin, William Styron, James Jones, Chester Himes, George Plimpton, John Ashbery, Susan Sontag, and the Beats were among those who flocked to Paris during the second great wave of American pilgrimage. Sawyer-Laucanno presents a biographical/historical portrait of the friendships and associations they formed, the cross-cultural influences they occasioned, what they discovered, and what they brought back. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
