Greene on Capri: A Memoir

by Shirley Hazzard, The Estate of Shirley Hazzard Steegmuller, Shirley Hazzard Steegmuller

Book Overview

When friends die, one's own credentials change: one becomes a survivor. Graham Greene has already had biographers, one of whom has served him mightily. Yet I hope that there is room for the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374166757
• ISBN13: 9780374166755
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 149 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Hazzard brings you to Capri to Meet Greene

Shirley Hazzard's memoir is touching and literally transports you to a time when writers gathered casually on islands and sipped wine wine and talked about the world. However, her friendship with Greene provides remarkable insight into Greene's character and actually left me wanting to read more about Greene, but much more about Hazzard herself.

A Great Memoir

I read Shirley Hazzard's book prior to visiting Capri for the first time in 20 years, and took it with me to read on the flight to Italy. In fact, the book made the journey with me to the island. This is an excellent portrait of Graham Greene and the information Ms. Hazzard adds concerning Capri certainly whetted my appetite and increased my anticipation to get to the island to see the places she mentioned. The book is written in a beautiful style. One hears Ms. Hazzard's voice in her writing and shares her experiences. I must confess that I really did not like Graham Greene very much as a person but I understand a great deal about him and what drove him. I was most touched by what Ms. Hazzard had to say about Harold Acton, so much so that I re-read that part of the book. Mr. Action was such a wonderful scholar and writer with such a wonderful presence that I would very much have liked to have known him. I will never forget the last visit of Ms. Hazzard to Harold Acton when he said he regretted not being able to see Naples one more time. Since I was reading this in Naples I was able to understand what he meant all the more. Someone else I enjoyed learning about was Ms. Hazzard's husband Francis Steegmuller, and some of the books he wrote. In particular the discussion about Mr. Steegmuller's book about Flaubert in Egypt sparked my interest to read it. Another book mentioned by Ms. Hazzard that has my interest in The Viper of Milan, historical fiction on the war between the dukes of Verona and Milan, which sounds like quite an exciting read. So this is a wonderful book that gives us a unique perspective on a great writer - Graham Greene - but also gives us a glimpse into the island of Capri and the people who came to live on this paradise of a place over the years, some who came and left and others who never did. I gained insight into places of the island, such as the Villa Jovis and the town of Capri, and met some interesting people, chief of whom is Ms Hazzard herself. I highly recommend this book for the superb memoir that it is and also for the excellence of the writing.

Don't understand how anyone wouldn't LOVE this book

Shirley Hazzard brilliantly evokes Capri in this easy-to-read portrait of one of the 20th Century's most influential British authors. This book melds literary biography at its best with personal memoir, and Hazzard's friendship with Greene offers important insights into not only his work habits and travels, but also his interpersonal relationships. As to her prose style, Hazzard may be a part of the "old-school" authors--long, serpentine sentences and frequent digressions--but there is only enjoyment to be found in the quiet island life she chronicles. Anyone interested in Greene, Hazzard and the beautiful isle of Capri itself will delight in this book.

A book of ethereal beauty and grace.

I am completely baffled by the negative reviews on this book, especially the comments on Ms.Hazzard's prose. If this prose appears to be too difficult for you, stick with comic strips! This is clearly one of the most beautifully written books I have come across in a very long time. The beauty and grace of Ms. Hazzard's prose leave me breathless at times. The way she describes Graham Greene makes me believe I used to know him. The images she evokes of Capri and the times she and her husband spent there are vivid and all encompassing. This book makes you long to be there. La nostalgie est une chanson douce! I cannot imagine a sweeter song than "Greene on Capri" by Shirley Hazzard.

Evocative and beautifully written

A beautiful portrait of a time and place and an intriguing glimpse of the elusive, contradictory and beguiling Graham Greene. It's a snapshot - not meant to be a full length portrait. Hazzard's tone is measured, thoughtful, at times nostalgic, at all times compassionate and deeply human.I loved this book.