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I would never have picked up Life Itself by Roger Ebert if it hadn't been enthusiastically promoted to me by a friend. I didn't really know who Ebert was, and I'd never been interested in biography or memoirs. To my surprise, this turned out to be one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read, and perhaps the one I've seen the most of myself in. In case you don't recognize the name Roger Ebert, does this help? *enthusiastic commercial voice* "Siskel and Ebert give it two thumbs up!" Yup, this is the memoir of Roger Ebert of "Siskel and Ebert" and later "Ebert and Roeper", the film critic.
My friend directed me first to a particular article on Ebert's blog, encouraging me to read his memoir if I liked his writing style. Here's the article:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/02/i_lived_in_dickens_london.html
Like Ebert's other writing, it's nostalgic, evocative, and thought-provoking. He paints a vivid picture of an historic hotel in London, its history, its owners, and its surroundings. He expresses his dismay to find that the street is being modernized, the hotel rebuilt, and I find myself dismayed as well. He conveys his love of tradition, of continuity and quaintness. Naturally, I had to read his memoir. I ordered it that night and received it 2 days later. The wonders of the modern world!
I was not disappointed. Ebert's memoir is arranged vaguely chronologically, but mostly it is arranged topically: his parents, his romances, college, his time writing for newspapers, his alcoholism, this friend, that director, books, London, his illness. It felt to me like getting to know a friend. I don't expect to hear a friend's life story in order; I hear stories as they come to mind about childhood, family, struggles, triumphs, friends.
When my friend recommended the book, he said that he thought Ebert and I might be "kindred spirits". At the time, I was intrigued. In retrospect, I'm flattered. I believe he was referring specifically to Ebert's and my shared reverence of books, which Ebert expresses beautifully:
My books are a subject of much discussion. They pour from shelves onto tables, chairs, and the floor, and Chaz observes that I haven't read many of them and I never will. You just never know...I cannot throw out these books. Some are enchanted because I have personally turned all their pages and read every word. They're shrines to my past hours. Perhaps half were new when the came to my life, but most were used, and I remember where I found every one. The set of Kipling at the Book Nook on Green Street in Champaigne. The scandalous The English Governess in a shady bookstore on the Left Bank in 1965 (two dollars, today ninety-one). The Shaw plays from Cranford's on Long Street in Cape Town, where Irving Freeman claimed he had half a million books. Like an alcoholic trying to walk past a bar, you should see me trying to walk past a used bookstore.Ebert also writes extensively about his time as a newspaperman and film critic and the people he met, worked with, and interviewed in those roles. He is expert at conveying the essence of a person in an anecdote. The following passage is about himself and his wife, Chaz. Doesn't it paint a picture of them?
She would follow me into the mouth of a cannon, but first she'd say, "Do you really think it's a good idea to crawl into that cannon?" Then I would explain that it was my duty as a journalist, a film critic, a liberal, or a human being, etc. to crawl into the cannon. And she'd suggest I sleep on it and crawl into the cannon fresh and early in the morning.Another of the concepts Ebert expresses that I connect strongly with is his feelings around ritual and tradition:
I've been back to the cafe several times again, always hoping for the same seat at the same table. Such returns are an important ritual for me. Chaz says it is impossible to get me to do anything for the first time, and then impossible to stop me from doing it over and over again...I may appear to suffer from some sort of compulsive repetition syndrome, but these rituals are important to me. I have many places where I sit and think," I have been here before, I am here now, and I will be here again."I'm trying hard not to make this review simply a linked up string of quotations, but I can't resist one more. In talking about the illness that has stripped him of his voice and his ability to easily participate in the dinner conversations he loves, Ebert says, "So yes, it's sad. Maybe that's why writing has become so important to me. You don't realize it, but we're at dinner right now." That's how his book made me feel, like we were getting to know each other over dinner, sharing stories. Like I was getting to know an uncle I'd never spoken to much before. I've never wished to meet a famous person before, but today, if you asked me who in the world I'd most like to meet, I think I'd very likely say, "Roger Ebert".
