R.I.P. Gore Vidal

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Sad news for the literary world today, as Gore Vidal passed away last night, losing his fight against pneumonia. He was 86.

I don't know much about him beyond his penchant for *****ing about near everything under the sun and not giving a **** what people thought or what the consequences were. Politics, religion, the dead; nothing was off-limits. I remember a certain quote from the sitcom Frasier, when Frasier is trying to decide whether to go on a celebrity cruise. When his assistant, Roz, tells him Gore Vidal has been on several, Frasier replies, "Gore Vidal? He hates everything!"

I haven't read any of his books, unfortunately. Any suggestions?

[tonywalt]

Damn, sorry to see him go. Although I did not always agree with him, he was one of the sharpest minds of his generation - last of a breed. His wit was so quick, even to the end.

“Washington, D.C.,” “Burr” (1973), “1876” (1976), “Lincoln” (1984) are my favourites. He had a gift for historical fiction.

[neilgee]

Mostly was aware of Vidal and Truman Capote's great rival (unfortunately had to study Capote's In Cold Blood as an A level text many years ago so read a Capote biog) but he was a much better writer than Capote as far as I'm concerned. Kali ,I think, was the name of the only book of his I read but perhaps I'm wrong as I can't verify it on the net, anyway it concerned a virus that killed off all humans and was the tale of the last 4 people on earth who survived. It was pretty damn good.

[dfloyd]

If you haven't read him, you might start with Burr. He had a sharp wit, but he usually came in second place when he tried to match wits with William F. Buckley.

[stlukesguild]

Damn! Great writer. Mutatis you MUST read Myra Breckenridge, if not Julian, Burr, Lincoln, Empire, Hollywood, and any number of his non-fiction works. I think you'd appreciate his take on the Bush Administration.

Vidal was certainly one of our greater wits:

Andy Warhol is the only genius I've ever known with an I.Q. of 60.

A narcissist is someone better looking than you are.

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.

Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.

I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.

It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.

The four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so.

The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return.

There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.

Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either.

How marvelous books are, crossing worlds and centuries, defeating ignorance and, finally, cruel time itself.

You can't really succeed with a novel anyway; they're too big. It's like city planning. You can't plan a perfect city because there's too much going on that you can't take into account. You can, however, write a perfect sentence now and then.

The American press exists for one purpose only, and that is to convince Americans that they are living in the greatest and most envied country in the history of the world. The Press tells the American people how awful every other country is and how wonderful the United States is and how evil communism is and how happy they should be to have freedom to buy seven different sorts of detergent.

I suspect that one of the reasons we create fiction is to make sex exciting.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Those are some great quotes, stlukes. I think I'll share them on FB.

[Kafka's Crow]

Those are some great quotes, stlukes. I think I'll share them on FB.

Some more here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19075751

[Charles Darnay]

Burr and/or Lincoln have been on my list for a while now. I may have to bump them up...or not. I have only read some of his essays and love his style and poignancy (even if I don't agree with everything)

I passed by a bookshop today and the decided (to honour him) put Burr in the window display. Unfortunately it was stuck in between Hunger Games and 50 Shades of Gray....can't decide if Vidal would have laughed or shaken his fist at the display: probably the latter.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Burr and/or Lincoln have been on my list for a while now. I may have to bump them up...or not. I have only read some of his essays and love his style and poignancy (even if I don't agree with everything)

I passed by a bookshop today and the decided (to honour him) put Burr in the window display. Unfortunately it was stuck in between Hunger Games and 50 Shades of Gray....can't decide if Vidal would have laughed or shaken his fist at the display: probably the latter.

Well, The Hunger Games is definitely a notch above 50 Shades of Grey, the latter of which I recently read a few passages from and was quite blown away at the horrid mess of the writing. I've read online erotica that reads like Melville by comparison.

[JuniperWoolf]

Andy Warhol is the only genius I've ever known with an I.Q. of 60.

Haha, that's great. My friend Rosie is an artist who completely hates Warhol, I'll be sharing this with her.

[OrphanPip]

Burr and/or Lincoln have been on my list for a while now. I may have to bump them up...or not. I have only read some of his essays and love his style and poignancy (even if I don't agree with everything)

I passed by a bookshop today and the decided (to honour him) put Burr in the window display. Unfortunately it was stuck in between Hunger Games and 50 Shades of Gray....can't decide if Vidal would have laughed or shaken his fist at the display: probably the latter.

Idk, Vidal seemed to appreciate camp and kitsch and would more likely have been amused, he did the Ali G show after all, he didn't take himself totally seriously. Part of his viscous wit was always a public act, he kind of epitomized the caricature of an upper class waspish *****y queen.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

He also had an affair with Clark Gable. That's just epic.

[hellsapoppin]

Few right wingers were eager to debate him on TV as he usually kicked their butts as easily as you can stomp on a roach. Funny dude, very articulate, superbly informed, and had lots of class.

Will be sorely missed.

[Number7]

I always felt that I never liked him, he just come across as embittered.

[stlukesguild]

And what have you read by him?