What do You think about Orson Welles, Vol. 1: The Road To Xanadu (1997)?
I've been reading this book slowly over the past six months or so, which seems appropriate to a book that covers a long, diverse period in a fascinating career. The chapters about Orson's child-and-young-adulthood are enthralling, and do a lot to explain the man and artist he eventually became. The latter part of the book has the most to say about his career in theater (which was the part I knew least about) but also covers his work in radio, and has an involved, interesting account of his life in Hollywood. The focus is in craft and collaboration, less so than his personal life (though it's hard to separate these at times), and there's also a thorough discussion of the critical/media reception of all Welles's efforts. A really thorough, fact-filled book that's also immensely readable and entertaining.
—Caroline
This exhaustive spotlight on Welles' life up until the release of Citizen Kane is triumphant; Callow's prose, highly theatrical (which is not unexpected considering his background), is charged, illuminating, vertiginous and mirth-thrilled.Welles fans will love it; film fans and scholars will find it more than curious and quite fulfilling. Fans of the American theater and radio in the 1930s will also relish this work. Some might find it bombastic, but the subject requires a high-flying style and POV. And there's another volume.
—Christopher
A thorough disappointment. Callow defines his role in the preface as fully outlining the times and events Welles lived through, in order to give a better understanding of his subject. That he does but does a 6 page discussion on the Federal Theatre Project help us understand Welles any better? Sadly not. The book is constantly sidetracked and lacks any major insight into its subject. I'd also add that while he constantly chides Welles for his overcooked style, Callow comes across as the much worse ham, with the biography written in the flowery, theatrical style that constantly draws attention to itself.
—Bm
