Vanity Fair: Cuestionarios Proust: 101 personalidades reflexionan sobre la muerte, la felicidad y el significado de la vida (Ilustrados nº 15)

by Graydon Carter

Publicamos por primera vez en España los Cuestionarios Proust de la famosa y centenaria revista Vanity Fair, que lo ha empleado para entrevistar a las celebridades del siglo XX que componen este libro. Uno de los valores de esta edición es que cuenta con las famosas caricaturas de Robert Risko, siendo una mirada íntima a la vida de algunas de las figuras culturales más importantes del siglo: desde Bette Midler y Lauren Bacall a Salman Rushdie y Norman Mailer, de Martin Scorsese y Shirley MacLaine a Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton y Donald Trump. Un libro sincero, divertido y fascinante.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Memoir, Humor

438 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Graydon Carter is a Canadian journalist, editor, and publisher best known for his tenure as editor of Vanity Fair from 1992 to 2017. Before joining the magazine, he co-founded the satirical publication Spy in 1986 alongside Kurt Andersen and Tom Phillips. Under his leadership, Vanity Fair became known for its mix of celebrity profiles and investigative journalism, winning 14 National Magazine Awards and earning Carter a place in the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame.
Carter's editorial influence extended beyond print, as he played a key role in producing several documentaries, including Public Speaking (2010), His Way (2011), and Gonzo, a film about Hunter S. Thompson. He was also an executive producer of 9/11, a CBS documentary about the September 11 attacks, which won both an Emmy and a Peabody Award. In 2019, he co-launched the newsletter Air Mail with Alessandra Stanley, targeting a global readership.
Beyond journalism, Carter has been involved in the restaurant business, co-owning The Waverly Inn in New York and previously partnering in the historic Monkey Bar. His contributions to media and culture were recognized in 2017 when he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

Reviews

[Laurie Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I defy anyone to produce a better caricature than the one of Catherine Deneuve in this book! The celebrity musings are fun too.

To re-cap: The questionnaire started as a Parisian parlour game associated with Marcel Proust after he published his answers to it (“Salon Confidences Written by Marcel”) in 1892. This compilation of Vanity Fair’s version is not quite so dated, but it does profile some bona-fide legends (think Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr). Their responses show an astonishing range from wordy to brief and profound to glib—some of them witty, many sincere—and I disagree with Graydon Carter’s opinion regarding which is which.

A snappy few that worked for me:

What’s your favorite occupation? (Barbara Walters) “It sure wouldn’t be cooking.”

What do you value most in a friend? (Keith Richards) “That they don’t die on me.”

How about Robert Altman’s motto? “Giggle and give in.”

Well, gosh, I guess a powerful man could pull this off, but if I were to adopt it (even facetiously, as tempted), people might think me a pushover. Which just won’t do, because then, I—like David Steinberg, whom I’d never heard of before reading this book—might well have to claim as my Greatest Regret: “When I stood short and did it their way.”

(Enough sad talk about losing money! As Sue Mengers, Hollywood agent, said: “Tomorrow may not be another day.”)

Five delicious stars for Robert Risko’s caricatures!



Reviewed February 20, 2018

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting questions and answers. Insightful and fun. The questions are listed at the end for use by the reader. No more boring dinner parties :)

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the exception of a few snappy and thoughtful answers, this collection is mostly a vapid exercise in ego. I'd rather read my friends answers...live in fear, m'dears! ;)

[Zahreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun and quick read.

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big surprise here: celebs and scribblers and designers are just as dull as you and me. The Proust questionnaire is really a buncha basic questions beloved by snobs because Marcel Proust answered them (did not come up with them) when he was a teenager. Hell, even the Cookie Monster answered the questionnaire for NPR, can you get any more hipster-highbrow than that?

I'd love to detail the creepy hilarity that ensues when public figures answer an introspective quiz for public consumption, but... OK here's one example. Eric Clapton:

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
"Getting sober."

Really? God? Who hath bestowed upon us "Badge" and "Layla" and "Bell-bottom Blues" and "Forever Man"? THAT'S your greatest achievement, hitching a ride on a wagon?

OK here's Jane Fonda now:

Who are your favorite writers?
"Proust, Shakespeare."

Jane, you've never read an entire book in your life, have you?

But I won't go on, some of these responses are cool. For example, Joan Fontaine declaring virginity the most overrated virtue, or Fran Lebowitz's favorite name: "Driver". Conan O'Brien, Walter Matthau, Ted Kennedy, Sandra Bernhard, Sidney Poitier, Aretha Franklin, Maureen Dowd, Harry Belafonte, Joan Fontaine, Gore Vidal, Quincy Jones -- all of them are witty, insightful, sometimes hilarious here.

And I have to say I was shocked on occasion. I learned here that Bill O'Reilly considers Graham Greene among his favorite writers, and Paul Newman among his heroes in real life. Similarly, William F. Buckley Jr. cites Murray Kempton among his favorite writers and gave this as his motto: Quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi , very un-American if you ask me.

Still, this is mostly a cavalcade of boredom: take note of how many times Nelson Mandela gets cited as a hero, for example. But I will reveal to you the one person who fails completely at the Proust Questionnaire. What is the quality he most likes in a woman? "The ability to burp on command." What is the trait he most deplores in others? "Talent." What does he consider his greatest achievement? "Discovering morning." What words does he most overuse? "Chthonic" and "miasma". What does he consider overrated virtues? "Sympathy and originality." What does he consider the lowest depth of misery? "Living in fear."

Yes, David Bowie finally reveals that he's a halfwit charlatan here in these pages, and I guess I'll give it an extra star for that.

[Chris Faraone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tradition since 1993, Vanity Fair's monthly questionnaire (and complementary Robert Risko caricatures) is perhaps the celeb-obsessed political muckraking mag's greatest tool for probing icons from Karl Lagerfeld to Karl Rove. Inspired by its namesake French novelist and a 19th-century Parisian pastime, the Proust exercise pushes humanity's most revealing buttons. Such inquiries as "What is your greatest fear?" expose more about subjects than could a fleet of gossip hounds and paparazzi.

As Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter notes in his introduction, there is little consistency among responses. Several participants agree that Nelson Mandela is superlatively admirable, but otherwise the only commonality is that most stars are incapable of masking their megalomania. The collection packs select surprises (Jimmy Buffet most admires Walter Cronkite, Bill Blass identifies with Thomas Jefferson) as well as some more obvious revelations (Hugh Hefner considers himself "Happier than anyone deserves"). An ideal gift for everyone from society brats to celeb-crazed friends who crave more than what TMZ offers.


From my Boston Phoenix write-up: http://thephoenix.com/boston/arts/939...

[Rissie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ho-hum. I was hoping that because this questionnaire was popularized by Proust, there would be some really interesting questions answered by some really intellectual and inspiring people. No such luck. Since the questionnaire was reintroduced by Vanity Fair the roster of names is made up mostly of pop-culture icons. Just because someone is famous doesn’t mean they’re interesting. In fact, for the most part they're just as boring as the rest of us.

Question: If you could give the Proust Questionnaire to anyone, who would it be?

My Answer: Madeline Schow

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great gift for anyone who likes to read what celebs have on their minds. This is a better coffee table book than something with photos or illustrations because it can be enjoyed on so many levels. I read most of it in the car on the way to NY for Thanksgiving and it's the type of book that you can read pieces of it to the driver of the car without getting him distracted which worked well. A lot of fun.

[Rob Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly quick read. It was enjoyable, and informative. Some of the interviewees provided interesting answers which illustrated a lot about their personalities. Others provided non-answers which made me want to turn the page and quit. Most of the book contains interviews of people that are well known (at least by me).

[Joanna]

I took the questionnaire on Vanity Fair's website.

I answered 95.18% like Little Richard. What? haha... But second was Jane Goodall at 75.33%
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/fea...

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

An occasionally interesting piece of fluff. There were a few interesting or funny answers but too often they were smart ass answers as if the interviewees weren't interesting in doing the questionnaire.

[missy jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

The questionnaire itself is kind of fun as a conversation starter. And there are a handful of celebrity respondents herein who are interesting and entertaining. But a lot of them are really boring! And some of them are really pretentious! And I'm not sure which is worse.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this read!!! It was great, I highly recommend it as a coctail table book because everyone will enjoy it.

[Heidi]

Rian gave this to me for our one year anniversary.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this in an hour, so I'm glad I didn't pay for it. More entertaining in small doses.

[Raquel Caballero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. I would've given it 5 stars but the illustrations suck, like really bad computer generated drawings. The interviewees all deserve 5 stars though.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big fan of Vanity Fair, and big fan of the questionnaire at the back. This compilation is fun.

[Camille Clegg-Hunter]

One of my top favorite books that I return to time and time again when I want to remember that celebrities are regular people that feel things just like every other human walking the planet.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnny Cash's was my favorite.

[t.h. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Turned out a fun, quick, and at times insightful read for the New Year.