Declare Out Of Books The New Confessions

Title	:	The New Confessions
Author	:	William Boyd
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Deluxe Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 480 pages
Published	:	October 10th 2000 by Vintage (first published September 28th 1987)
Categories	:	Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. Cultural. Scotland

The New Confessions Paperback | Pages: 480 pages

Commentary Toward Books The New Confessions

In this extraordinary novel, William Boyd presents the autobiography of John James Todd, whose uncanny and exhilarating life as one of the most unappreciated geniuses of the twentieth century is equal parts Laurence Stern, Charles Dickens, Robertson Davies, and Saul Bellow, and a hundred percent William Boyd.   From his birth in 1899, Todd was doomed. Emerging from his angst-filled childhood, he rushes into the throes of the twentieth century on the Western Front during the Great War, and quickly changes his role on the battlefield from cannon fodder to cameraman. When he becomes a prisoner of war, he discovers Rousseau's Confessions, and dedicates his life to bringing the memoir to the silver screen. Plagued by bad luck and blind ambition, Todd becomes a celebrated London upstart, a Weimar luminary, and finally a disgruntled director of cowboy movies and the eleventh member of the Hollywood Ten. Ambitious and entertaining, Boyd has invented a most irresistible hero.

Mention Books To The New Confessions

Original Title:	The New Confessions
ISBN:	0375705031 (ISBN13: 9780375705038)
Edition Language:	English
Characters:	Oonagh, John James Todd, Karl-Heinz Kornfeld, Donald Verulam, Hamish Malahide, Doon Bogan
Setting:	Berlin(Germany) Edinburgh, Scotland Hollywood, California(United States) …more England …less

Rating Out Of Books The New Confessions

Ratings: 4.1 From 2275 Users | 142 Reviews

Weigh Up Out Of Books The New Confessions

I've read it twice. It was just as compelling the second time.

Not just my favourite of Boyd's books, one of my top five all time favourite novels.The life of John James Todd is never less than incredible, darkly comic and enthralling, soaked through with wit, memorable characters and period detail, this fictional autobiography of an unsung silent movie auteur is simply magnificent.The great war, ensuing german depression, the (for Todd) unwelcome birth of talkies and the impact of McCarthyism are delivered so convincingly if you tore the cover off and lent

As another reviewer wrote, this book charts the long and tortuous life of John James Todd. I found the attempts to link Rousseaus life and his Confessions with this character John James was too overdone, too obvious and this caused me to roll my eyes once too often: both born to mothers who die immediately after giving birth, both bearing the double barrelled first names Jean Jacques/ John James, both falling for older women while still teenagers and subsequently running away from home and all

Description: The extraordinary, candid story of John James Todd, a Scotsman, born in 1899 and one of the great self-appointed geniuses of the twentieth century. His is an astonishingly rich and diverse career, with remarkable successes and equally dramatic failures. Told in his own words from the vantage point of not-so-serene old age and self-imposed exile, Todd lets us in on the secrets of his fraught and intriguing life.Beginning with his bizarre boyhood and schooldays in Scotland we move on

I'm a big fan of William Boyd. Hes a writer who produces one-off novels that can surprise, entertain and sometimes prompt the reader to think rather more deeply on a subject than they otherwise might. I don't always like his books I disliked Armadillo intensely but I can never fault the quality of his writing. And he can produce stories that grab you and haul you through its pages and spit you out at the end breathless and panting for more. Brazzaville Beach is a case in point.So how did

Boyd's masterful writing embodies everything I look for in a book. His original plots, combination of serious subject matter interspersed with humor, and all too human characters with their many foibles, make for enjoyable reading. I loved the background of early cinematography and the textured layers of John James Todd.It will be interesting to see what he does with James Bond in "Solo" to be published soon. I trust he will bring uniqueness to a well-worn subject.

Basically it's a brilliant read and becoming more fascinating as I go on with the theme of Rousseau becoming more important to the story. This was written several years before Any Human Heart and is in many ways I think better. Why are there so few writers who can do what Boyd does? Tell a story. Too many authors are hung up on wordsmithery and being experimental but lack basic storytelling skills.Incredibly good. Flawed but loveable character of John James Todd.