Palimpsest

A Memoir

De: Gore Vidal

Narrado por: Jeff Cummings

This explosively entertaining memoir abounds in gossip, satire, historical apercus, and trenchant observations. Vidal’s compelling narrative weaves back and forth in time, providing a whole view of the author’s celebrated life, from his birth in 1925 to today, and features a cast of memorable characters - including the Kennedy family, Marlon Brando, Anais Nin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

©1995 Literary Creation Enterprises, Inc. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Excerpts from The Diary of Artois Nin 1944-1947 © 1971 by Audis Nin. Reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company. Excerpts from The Letters of William S. Burroughs 1945-1959, edited by Oliver Harris. © 1993 by William S. Burroughs. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.

The Incomparable Gore

As a teenager, I reveled in public debates between Gore Vidal and his political and literary opponents, delighting in his erudition and wit. Then, I was unaware of his doughty family and friendships that span much of modern political history. In this memoir, Vidal assesses these relationships and himself with candor, humor and gossip that entertains yet never rankles. Highly recommend.

Fascinating!

The story is pulpy and the narrator brilliantly grasps every nuance with authority, humor and depth.

Invigorating and funny

Delightful! An extraordinary life lived by an extraordinary man. The narrator is superb, with just the right amount of arch irony in his delivery. If you’d told me Vidal himself had narrated I would have believed it.

Intelligent, Amusing

Gore Vidal has lived a fascinating life. From the age of six, he spent the next 80 years in the halls of power: government, Hollywood, Broadway, publishing, television. He is perhaps the most well-informed person of the 20th century and he relates his experiences with the sharpest wit. His memoirs are an education. It's not a tell-all (he has no patience for such things). It's simply a first-hand account of what it is to be in the room with the most powerful people at the height of their fame and careers.

A truly exceptional read.

It reads like time travel, with a witty and erudite guide, to a past we have only heard about, and can now experience first hand.