The Farewell Symphony

The Farewell Symphony

Cover of the first US edition
Author Edmund White
Cover artist Chip Kidd
Country United States
Language English
Genre Autobiographical Novel
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date
1997
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages 413 pp
ISBN 0-679-43477-1
OCLC 37538014
813/.54 21
LC Class PS3573.H463 F37 1997

The Farewell Symphony is a 1997 semi-autobiographical novel by Edmund White.

It is the third of a trilogy of novels, being preceded by A Boy's Own Story (1982) and The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988). It depicts the later adulthood of its protagonist and documents his experience of homosexuality from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Allusions to other works

The title alludes to the "Farewell" Symphony by Joseph Haydn.

Criticism

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, James Wolcott suggested that the book "might have been more honestly titled Hilly Buttocks I Have Known." He concluded, "Edmund White the writer has given way to Edmund White the trashy raconteur. It's the same fate that befell Truman Capote, and it wasn't pretty then either."[1]

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.