What do you think?
Rate this book
Alcohol and the Writer
Discusses the problems Poe, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Faulkner, and O'Neill had with alcohol, and examines the reasons for the high rate of alcoholism among writers
210 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1988
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Read
July 14, 2025Awesome
May 28, 2012
Looking at a cross-section of writers' drinking lives, Alcohol and the Writer attempts to find a connection between alcohol and writing - is it alcohol that fuels the compulsion to write or vice versa?
One of Goodwin's interesting angles is his posit that some writers may experience a sort of fractured personality syndrome. They may feel the pain and joy of people around them, and retreat to write through it, cloaked in the skins of others, essentially using drinking to control the symptoms.
Except for Malcolm Lowry, who may have just been outright nuts.
I also enjoyed how Goodwin tested each author against clinical definitions, asking questions of us to lead us to our own conclusions. There are some questions, however, that have no answers, but the drama played out in these writers' lives more than makes up for the certain diagnostical function demanded by a previous reviewer.
If you're a writer who drinks or even if you love reading about the lives of writers, this is definitely worth a read.
One of Goodwin's interesting angles is his posit that some writers may experience a sort of fractured personality syndrome. They may feel the pain and joy of people around them, and retreat to write through it, cloaked in the skins of others, essentially using drinking to control the symptoms.
Except for Malcolm Lowry, who may have just been outright nuts.
I also enjoyed how Goodwin tested each author against clinical definitions, asking questions of us to lead us to our own conclusions. There are some questions, however, that have no answers, but the drama played out in these writers' lives more than makes up for the certain diagnostical function demanded by a previous reviewer.
If you're a writer who drinks or even if you love reading about the lives of writers, this is definitely worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews