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Hitch 22-A Memoir

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oblivion

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Hitch 22-A Memoir

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Having just finished Christopher Hitchens' memoir, Hitch 22, I'd love to share criticism, praise and thoughts with others would might have read it. Any takers?
Gods and spirits are parasitic--Pascal Boyer

Religion is the only force in the world that lets a person have his prejudice or hatred and feel good about it --S C Hitchcock

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. --André Gide

Reading is a majority skill but a minority art. --Julian Barnes
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DWill

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Re: Hitch 22-A Memoir

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This was a vacation book for me, and in the most general terms I found it a good read in the beginning and end. The middle of the book sagged a little, as if CH didn't know quite how to structure the narrative. Naming chapters after his friends might be an indication of that. He didn't always sustain my interest in his circle of literary and intellectual friends or in his various activities in radical politics. I did enjoy hearing about his childhood and his mismatched parents and the later development of his politics. He's at his best when talking about ideas and when he has an axe to grind, actually.

That's just an off-the-top summary. We can get further into the book, I'm sure.
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oblivion

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Re: Hitch 22-A Memoir

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Thanks, Dwill. Did it bother you too, that CH used a rather huge amoount of name-dropping, especially in places where it wasn't necessary at all? I agree that the first chapters were the most interesting, especially concerning his mother. That man must have quite an Oedipus complex!
Gods and spirits are parasitic--Pascal Boyer

Religion is the only force in the world that lets a person have his prejudice or hatred and feel good about it --S C Hitchcock

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. --André Gide

Reading is a majority skill but a minority art. --Julian Barnes
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DWill

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Re: Hitch 22-A Memoir

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oblivion wrote:Thanks, Dwill. Did it bother you too, that CH used a rather huge amoount of name-dropping, especially in places where it wasn't necessary at all? I agree that the first chapters were the most interesting, especially concerning his mother. That man must have quite an Oedipus complex!
Yes, the name-dropping got pretty bad, and he at one point apologized if he seemed to be name-dropping, which is one sure sign that you're doing it! He also said that in the book he tried hard to be conscious of the "you had to be there" syndrome, whereby other people wouldn't be able to get anything out of the experience being described. Nevertheless, that's exactly what he falls into at times when trying to portray the brilliance and wit of his circle. I thought to myself, "I guess you had to be there." In this book, he makes an effort not to talk about the people really closest to himself, his family, instead remaining the journalist all the way. But some of the reporting is thin to me, and actually I would have been more interested in hearing about his personal life.
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oblivion

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Re: Hitch 22-A Memoir

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DWill wrote:.....conscious of the "you had to be there" syndrome, whereby other people wouldn't be able to get anything out of the experience being described. Nevertheless, that's exactly what he falls into at times when trying to portray the brilliance and wit of his circle. .
Or when he is trying to portray his own brilliance!
Gods and spirits are parasitic--Pascal Boyer

Religion is the only force in the world that lets a person have his prejudice or hatred and feel good about it --S C Hitchcock

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. --André Gide

Reading is a majority skill but a minority art. --Julian Barnes
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