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A Picador Paperback Original

"The Paris Review is one of the few truly essential literary magazines of the twentieth century--and now of the twenty-first. Frequently weird, always wonderful."--Margaret Atwood

How do great writers do it? From James M. Cain's hard-nosed observation that "writing a novel is like working on foreign policy. There are problems to be solved. It's not all inspirational," to Joan Didion's account of how she composes a book--"I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just retype what I have. It gets me into a rhythm"--The Paris Review has elicited some of the most revelatory and revealing thoughts from the literary masters of our age.

For more than half a century, the magazine has spoken with most of our leading novelists, poets, and playwrights, and the interviews themselves have come to be recognized as classic works of literature, an essential and definitive record of the writing life. They have won the coveted George Polk Award and have been a contender for the Pulitzer Prize.

Paris Review former editor Philip Gourevitch introduces an entirely original selection of sixteen of the most celebrated interviews. Often startling, always engaging, these encounters contain an immense scope of intelligence, personality, experience, and wit from the likes of Elizabeth Bishop, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Rebecca West, and Billy Wilder. This is an indispensable book for all writers and readers.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; First Edition (October 17, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312361750
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312361754
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.17 x 8.5 inches
Reviewer: William
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Delightful! Amazing "inside writing" insights! So many I can't keep track.
Review: I had been looking at Marie Arana's The Writing Life, a book of interviews quite similar to The Paris Review Interviews, when I came across a reader's review that mentioned the book was good but not as useful as The Paris Review Interviews.Intrigued I tracked down the Paris Review Interviews. After reading dozens of glowing reviews it was a “no-brainer” decision to order Volume I, then II, III, and IV. Being able to read these first-person interviews with writing legends, many long dead, is one of the best reading experiences I have ever had. Thus far, I have read Volumes I & II. I am relishing reading Volumes III & IV. These legends provide “inside writing” insights that are beyond invaluable! A recommended read for both novice and experienced writers alike.

Reviewer: Pedro de las Heras Toledo
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Really worth reading
Review: I loved all the interviews. Smart people and tons of wisdom there.

Reviewer: VLBS
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A great way to start your writing day
Review: I had heard another writer mention reading an interview before starting in on the day's work. I decided to try it. Very effective. It provides the right mindset to focus and put the rest of the world to the side for the next few hours.

Reviewer: Duane Schneider
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Perfect Except for One or Two Selections
Review: The Paris Review interviews provide great insights into the minds of writers and lead me to explore some authors I might not read otherwise. This book is well worth reading (although if you're fanatical about the Paris Review interviews you can subscribe to the quarterly and gain access to all of them online). I refrained from giving volume I a perfect rating due to the inclusion of a couple dud interviews. I was curious how the editors chose this initial batch of 16 interviews from among the huge archive they now have. What I was perhaps most struck by, reading these interviews one after the other, was the mix of ego. I got a strong sense of Hemingway's self-regard, which was hardly surprising, as well as Saul Bellow's--again, no surprise. Jack Gilbert's utter lack of ego was refreshing. A lot of the writers and editors strove to be humble. As one might expect, Dorothy Parker and Kurt Vonnegut were funny. Vonnegut's worldview, his concern for humanity and abhorrence of war, were on full display. I think it's this huge-hearted empathy that made Vonnegut more than just a "funny" writer or a writer for the magazines. I found T.S. Eliot's interview to be charming and it gave me renewed respect for him. As erudite as Borges was, he was humble, and the reader gained a strong sense of his ongoing intellectual curiosity. Which brings me to the two subjects in the middle of the book, James M. Cain and Rebecca West. I wonder if they were added for variety's sake since Cain is the only detective writer in the anthology and West was a fiction writer and historian. Their interviews were frankly hard to get through. Cain was at times bewildering and never enlightening. West kept referencing "classics" that have fallen out of regard and writers who have disappeared. I wonder if she will suffer the same fate. She seems known today primarily as the wife of H.G. Wells. After that sag in the middle (did the editors intentionally bury Cain and West there?), the rest of the collection sings, with fantastic interviews of Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Stone, Robert Gottlieb, Richard Price, Billy Wilder, Jack Gilbert, and Joan Didion. There's a curious focus on the movies: Price has become known primarily as a screenwriter, Billy Wilder was a screenwriter/director, and even Joan Didion spent time writing for the movies. But maybe this is a symptom of the contemporary writer? Writers are given an opportunity to edit their interviews, and it seems that Vonnegut pretty much interviewed himself and wrote his interview, though his still seemed conversational. The only interview that appeared overly crafted was Bellow's. Gottlieb's interview was unique in that it included remarks from many of the writers he edited, such as Michael Crichton and Robert Caro. This approach worked well. I knew Jack Gilbert's background so was unsurprised by his remarks, but his take on poetry, his avoidance of "po-biz," and his worldview were incredibly refreshing. Gilbert always tried to write poems that mattered. He was less interested in dazzling form or syntax than on subject. If only more contemporary poets tried to follow his lead. As he pointed out, poets today are tied to self-promotion, career, mortgage, providing for families, so many external factors that push them toward whatever type of poem is fashionable. Gilbert admits that living his type of life--nomadic, often impoverished--requires a great deal of selfishness, and he is very non-judgmental toward other writers, but his remarks still help to explain why so much contemporary poetry is, frankly, unnecessary. If you enjoy great writing and how it is made, I would recommend the Paris Review Interviews. Picking up these anthologies is a relatively cheap way to get a taste of the interviews. However, if you're willing to shell out for a subscription, then you can choose to read the authors you're most invested in. I'm not sure you'll learn much if you approach these as how-to guides for aspiring writers--the authors have such different techniques and aims--but the interviews are nonetheless fascinating windows into the process.

Reviewer: Khan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I have read the four series of the interviews and enjoyed all of them
Review: No piece of writing gets so close to the heart of a writer as Paris Review Interviews. They are the most sophisticated interviews one can read. The magazine has successfully employed knowledgeable professionals to conduct the interviews because the person interviewing a writer must know the writer's work very well. I have read the four series of the interviews and enjoyed all of them. These interviews will tell you about the art of writing because being too theoretical - perhaps it all starts to sound very fake when one writes theories on art.

Reviewer: TK
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Fascinating interview of Earnest Heminway that appeared in The Paris Review in 1958.
Review: This book includes an interview of Ernest Hemingway conducted by George Plimpton. It appeared in The Paris Review in 1958. Since Hemingway was often reluctant to talk about his writing this is a fascinating read.

Reviewer: Ann Hill
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Stories of great writers
Review: I bought these for my son who is a very good writer himself. Great vignettes of great writers.

Reviewer: C. Jones
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: For busy people who ending reading some of the best authors with just a little bit of time.
Review: Was in great condition and received promptly. Looking forward to the read. I love books with multiple authors. I can be a different story every time I pick it up. Great for busy people.

Reviewer: M Roy
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Fantastic book. In fact the series is wonderful. BUT the pages were roughly cut - seems like a reject piece 🙁 So I cannot give 5 stars.

Reviewer: G. Lesen
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Ich habe diese Interviews vor Jahren zum ersten Mal gelesen und war total begeistert. Wann hat man schon mal die Gelegenheit, einem Schriftsteller in der Werkstatt über die Schulter zu gucken? Vor kurzem habe ich dann nochmal reingeguckt, und nicht mehr ganz so begeistert. Das Hemingway- Interview ist immer noch Klasse, aber bei den anderen Schriftsteller weiß ich nicht mehr ganz so genau, wie ich sie einordnen soll. Was auch daran liegen kann, dass sich das Bild des Autoren in den Zeiten des Internets doch sehr geändert hat.