Milking the Moon: A Southerner's Story of Life on This Planet

By Eugene F. Walter

Book Overview

"I've had a great life, and it all happened because I didn't plan any of it."-- Eugene Walter Eugene Walter was the best-known man you've never heard of. In his 76 years, he ate of "the ripened heart of life," to quote a letter from Isak Dinesen, one of his many illustrious friends. He savored the porch life of his native Mobile, Alabama, in the 1920s and '30s. He stumbled into the Greenwich Village art scene in late-1940s New York. He was a ubiquitous presence in Paris's expatriate cafe society in the 1950s, where he was part of the Paris Review at its inception. Perhaps most remarkably of all for a poor Southern boy, he spent the 1960s in Rome, where he participated in the golden age of Italian cinema-including a role in Fellini's 8 1?2-and entertained some of the most famous people in the world. As recorded by Katherine Clark toward the end of Walter's life, his story-enlivened with personal glimpses of luminaries from William Faulkner and Martha Graham to Judy Garland and Leontyne Price-is an eyewitness history of the heart of the last century and a pitch-perfect addition to the Southern literary tradition. Most of all, this sumptuous oral biography conveys the spirit and charm of a truly unique American who defied the odds and authority, embarked on life, and went wherever his fancy and whimsy led him. "Whenever I found myself in the presence of Eugene Walter, I thought that everyone's life could be turned into a work of art. His was. Eugene Walter was a prince of whimsy and magic, and he turned his daily world upside down and made it elfin, cat-haunted, and hilarious. He could snap his fingers, and art would fall out all over the place. Milking the Moon has perfect pitch and flawlessly captures Eugene's pixilated wonderland of a life. I am so grateful to Katherine Clark for the job she has done, for bringing this incredible man's story to the page with such wit, panache, and style. I love this book-I couldn't put it down "-Pat Conroy "Truman Capote lied to harm others; Eugene Walter, sometimes known as the other Capote, the good one, lied only to delight others."-Gore Vidal "Eugene Walter held the nearest thing to a salon; he was an unofficial reception committee and all roads led to him."-Muriel Spark "Eugene Walter is one of those personages who turn up in life and leave, well, an indelible impression in which all personal characteristics-manner, speech, dress, and so on- are memorably distinctive."-George Plimpton, from the Foreword

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609605941
• ISBN13: 9780609605943
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Crown
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.1" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Just like talking to Eugene.

I suppose I was one of the fortunate few who had a chance to meet Eugene before he died. The people I was working for back in the mid-nineties were friends of his and, therefore, I had the chance to be around him.Eugene was the consummate storyteller. One of those who never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn. His idea was to make you enjoy where you were and who you were. To inject a little wonderousness into the world. Although based in truth, nothing he told was strictly true.This book captures him almost perfectly. Although it cannot convey his gestures and antics and voice, it does convey his mind and gift for gab. Pour yourself a glass of port and read with the voice of an eccentric Southern uncle in your head and Eugene starts to come out. It's not quite the same as being there, but this book is as close as any of us will ever be again.

incredible

I'm usually about as materialistic as Eugene Walter-- which is to say not very-- but I'm being very cautious about loaning my copy of the this book, scared to death I'll lose it. This is one of the best books I have ever read (other favorites in this genre are How I Became Hettie Jones and Joyce Johnson's Minor Characters). I know that most of that is the fabulous Walter himself, but a lot of it has to be to Clark's skill as an editor. Letting a subject speak in his or her own voice is very difficult, and Clark does it wonderfully. It reminds me of Walter's anecdote about how he translated scripts-- he threw the original script away and let the essence shine through. Clark lets Walter shine through.

Brilliant. Best read in a long time.

I recycled my newspapers on September 11. (Mundane chores help.)The front page of the Washington Post Book Review in some week in August caught my eye. I read the review by Jonathan Yardley and promptly bought the book. When the horror of world events got too much, I'd retreat to Mobile, Alabama, Paris, and Rome as told by Eugene Walter. What a life. I didn't think I could feel giddy and goofy again. This guy knew what living was all about. Friends and food and art and goofiness and wit -- I love the stories about his 3 years as a cryptographer during WW2 in the Aleutian Islands and the moose. The man couldn't be boring if he tried. I'm buying everyone on my xmas list this book. Check it out.

What a Joy!

I bought this book based on the NYTimes Review. Thoughts were, "If I can be on the treadmill, laughing out loud just reading a review--it's a must-read!"Recommended it to everyone I knew, even though I was only into a few pages--it's a grabber from the start--can just picture him as the King of Cats & Onions, for starters.In our daily lives, when we take ourselves so seriously, how delightful to read about someone who had such a wonderful sense of true joy. He's opened my eyes to a new perspective--to feel the fur of a cat, the smile of someone's eyes, & the humorous little trippings up of life! My next party will be with VERY unusual foods, as well as VERY unusual guests! Found myself wanting to plan a party right away, with this book as the guest of honor!!!

Feel The Magic

I am an unashamed perfervid Biblioholic. I own thousands of books. Literary biography is my preferred logocentric drug of choice. If I could keep just one book from my library it would undoubtedly be Milking the Moon.Good books find me (it's a healthy relationship with the muse) and this one scooted into my hungry paws with a supernatural abandon that surprised even me. Eugene Walter is a composite of a million different felicities. Though I didn't know him in the flesh he is now my friend for life. I've tramped around with him from the mossy environs of Mobile, where everybody is crazy, to Patchen Place to the Cafe de Tournon and tea with Alice Babette Toklas who waxed her moustache and pined for her absent, commaless companion.The fabulous stories never cease; they knead into, flow into,dance into each other like the creation of the universe. Eugene and his life and his marvelous stories are the music of the spheres. If as Mr. Pater says--All art aspires to the condition of music--stop for a moment and let Eugene play for you.Dance with Tallu and Gore and the monkey and the Caribou and all the rest of the protean crazies Eugene encountered and annointed with his presence.Take out a bank loan and buy everyone you know a copy of Milking the Moon.