Synopses & Reviews
Among the most distinguished twentieth-century English novelists, Christopher Isherwood—author of The Berlin Stories, Down There on a Visit, and A Single Man—is equally famous for the meticulous journals he kept and later published. Numbering thousands of pages at the time of his death in 1986, his journals were a frequent source for his fiction and nonfiction.
It is therefore not surprising that Isherwood made a record of his personal reading. Throughout much of his life, he kept an annual list of books read, along with his opinions of them. At some point, he began a separate notebook quoting specific passages from books that most influenced his thinking. These selections, spanning the time period from the earliest Upanishads to the contemporary, comprise his commonplace book.
Isherwood's collection differs from those of many writers, however, because it is not a compilation of ideas, conversations with others, and comments on his reading. Rather, that material is found in his journals. Why Are You Telling Me This? is an annotated list of readings selected during the last forty-five years of his life. Among the works excerpted are novels, essays, and letters by Saint Augustine, Oscar Wilde, Leo Tolstoy, Henry James, Marcel Proust, E.M. Forster, Federico García Lorca, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Chandler, Tennessee Williams, Shirley Jackson, Ian Fleming, Andy Warhol, and John Lennon.
Don Bachardy is the president of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation and was the late writer's partner of thirty-three years.
James White is the Christopher Isherwood Foundation's executive director.
Synopsis
Published for the fist time, novelist Christopher Isherwood's record of his personal readings from over 45 years. His celebrated novel A Single Man is being directed by fashion designer Tom Ford and released as a feature film in December 2009.
About the Author
Don Bachardy is the President of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. James P. White is the Christopher Isherwood Foundation's Executive Director.