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This Is Not My Memoir
The autobiography-of-sorts of André Gregory, an iconic figure in American theater and the star of My Dinner with André
This is Not My Memoir tells the life story of André Gregory, iconic theatre director, writer, and actor. For the first time, Gregory shares memories from a life lived for art, including stories from the making of My Dinner with André. Taking on the dizzying, wondrous nature of a fever dream, This is Not My Memoir includes fantastic and fantastical stories that take the reader from wartime Paris to golden-age Hollywood, from avant-garde theaters to monasteries in India. Along the way we meet Jerzy Grotowski, Helene Weigel, Gregory Peck, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Wallace Shawn, and many other larger-than-life personalities.
This is Not My Memoir is a collaboration between Gregory and Todd London who together create a portrait of an artist confronting his later years. Here, too, are the reflections of a man who only recently learned how to love. What does it mean to create art in a world that often places little value on the process of creating it? And what does it mean to confront the process of aging when your greatest work of art may well be your own life?
This is Not My Memoir tells the life story of André Gregory, iconic theatre director, writer, and actor. For the first time, Gregory shares memories from a life lived for art, including stories from the making of My Dinner with André. Taking on the dizzying, wondrous nature of a fever dream, This is Not My Memoir includes fantastic and fantastical stories that take the reader from wartime Paris to golden-age Hollywood, from avant-garde theaters to monasteries in India. Along the way we meet Jerzy Grotowski, Helene Weigel, Gregory Peck, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Wallace Shawn, and many other larger-than-life personalities.
This is Not My Memoir is a collaboration between Gregory and Todd London who together create a portrait of an artist confronting his later years. Here, too, are the reflections of a man who only recently learned how to love. What does it mean to create art in a world that often places little value on the process of creating it? And what does it mean to confront the process of aging when your greatest work of art may well be your own life?
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
February 18, 2023
I WAS THIRTY-THREE and couldn’t get a job as a dogcatcher. As if flaming out of three theaters and provoking Gregory Peck to slug me weren’t bad enough, I had accepted a job to direct a play about bestiality on Broadway. Leda Had a Little Swan was, to my knowledge, the first play in Broadway history to close the night before it opened. It also sealed my reputation as a lunatic.
This Is Not My Memoir ~~ André Gregory
KIRKUS summed up this book perfectly by calling it A witty trip through a unique life in the theater.
Andre Gregory's look back on his life ~~ and it is just that, even though the title claims otherwise ~~ is the perfect quick read ~~ the chapters are short, episodic and engaging ~~ some will leave you scratching your head, other will leave laughing out loud, and some will leave you shocked and saddened.
It doesn't matter if you don't know who Gregory is. You will find him to be a fascinating man ~~ a theater director, actor, writer and artist has led a fascinating life: He was born in Paris in 1934 to well-to-do Jewish parents who had fled Russia for Germany; later they fled Germany for Paris, only to flee again, from Paris to America, when France was invaded. Once in America, his parents wined and dined with the rich and famous ~~ his mother even could be could counted among Errol Flynn's lovers.
Gregory is best known for My Dinner With Andre. His non-memoir, memoir is delivered in much the same style as his performance in the film ~~ breathless, no-holds-barred, passionate. The book is confusing at times, but more than anything, it is riveting; he openly writes about everything he's experienced in his life with no judgement and no shame other than his regrets over his first marriage to Chiquita.
Like most male artists of his generation, he thought little about his wife or two children as he focused on his creative and spiritual quests. He openly admits he was a good husband or father ~~ though he certainly got better and wiser as he aged and matured ~~ he was there for Chiquita as she succumbed to cancer.
The happiest time of Gregory’s life is now, he asserts, since his second marriage. Even with a stage production of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in the works, he has taken up a new art ~~ drawing.
This Is Not My Memoir is the portrait of an experimental artist confronting his later years. What does it mean to create art in a world that often places little value in the process of creating it? And what does it mean to confront the process of aging when your greatest work of art may well be your own life?
This Is Not My Memoir ~~ André Gregory
KIRKUS summed up this book perfectly by calling it A witty trip through a unique life in the theater.
Andre Gregory's look back on his life ~~ and it is just that, even though the title claims otherwise ~~ is the perfect quick read ~~ the chapters are short, episodic and engaging ~~ some will leave you scratching your head, other will leave laughing out loud, and some will leave you shocked and saddened.
It doesn't matter if you don't know who Gregory is. You will find him to be a fascinating man ~~ a theater director, actor, writer and artist has led a fascinating life: He was born in Paris in 1934 to well-to-do Jewish parents who had fled Russia for Germany; later they fled Germany for Paris, only to flee again, from Paris to America, when France was invaded. Once in America, his parents wined and dined with the rich and famous ~~ his mother even could be could counted among Errol Flynn's lovers.
Gregory is best known for My Dinner With Andre. His non-memoir, memoir is delivered in much the same style as his performance in the film ~~ breathless, no-holds-barred, passionate. The book is confusing at times, but more than anything, it is riveting; he openly writes about everything he's experienced in his life with no judgement and no shame other than his regrets over his first marriage to Chiquita.
Like most male artists of his generation, he thought little about his wife or two children as he focused on his creative and spiritual quests. He openly admits he was a good husband or father ~~ though he certainly got better and wiser as he aged and matured ~~ he was there for Chiquita as she succumbed to cancer.
The happiest time of Gregory’s life is now, he asserts, since his second marriage. Even with a stage production of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in the works, he has taken up a new art ~~ drawing.
This Is Not My Memoir is the portrait of an experimental artist confronting his later years. What does it mean to create art in a world that often places little value in the process of creating it? And what does it mean to confront the process of aging when your greatest work of art may well be your own life?
October 6, 2020
If I ever have to compose my biography sometime, I'll pick Andre's writing style for sure, so quirky. I selected this autobiographical work as it's a very long time ago I read one in this genre. Though not much of an enthusiast of this style, I went in all blind for reading it. And I was pretty impressed. The book recounts all that he's lived through, the positives as well as the negatives, so it's not just the goody-goody stuff.
Halfway into the book, I observed that the chronology/delivery could be better because it got me puzzling co-relating all the happenings on separate occasions. The book cover could also be improved. Nonetheless, the novel is a big motivation for all the artists starting out. Andre clearly specifies that age is never a factor if it comes to starting something new. Overall, quite a pleasant and fascinating read.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC copy of this book.
Halfway into the book, I observed that the chronology/delivery could be better because it got me puzzling co-relating all the happenings on separate occasions. The book cover could also be improved. Nonetheless, the novel is a big motivation for all the artists starting out. Andre clearly specifies that age is never a factor if it comes to starting something new. Overall, quite a pleasant and fascinating read.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC copy of this book.
March 16, 2020
https://rogueliterarysociety.com/f/th...
...Theater is a metaphor for life. You get kicked onto the stage, you struggle for a few hours with your problems and those of the people playing scenes with you, and then you exit. The curtain falls and usually, the play is forgotten, just as I will be forgotten…
What a charming and interesting book. So glad Gregory took the time to get his story down, to have a chance to spread his experience and wisdom to all of us, not just artists and the like. In spite of knowing and respecting Gregory’s work in theater and film, I nonetheless was pleasantly surprised at how well the book was written and its importance to the continuing study of life and art.
...We were always terrific friends and always extremely supportive of the other’s desires and needs. We were not so much husband and wife as brother and sister. Hansel and Gretel, two terrified children desperately holding hands, alone in a frightening wood, always ready for the big bad wolf…
Gregory was genuinely appreciative of his late wife and honored her with his words. A man born of privilege, Gregory chose to live his life artistically and as fully as humanly possible. The fact that some of his rehearsals continued unabated for up to a dozen years before their premiere on stage was astounding. His relationship with Wallace Shawn was as warm and sincere as they exhibited before the camera in their seminal film My Dinner with André.
...In relationships as in art, it is not talent that matters much. It is tenacity. An artist cannot survive or grow without tenacity…
André Gregory speaks the truth. And he practiced tenacity his entire career. If nothing else, this memoir exhibits exactly the tenacity needed to succeed with no promise for desired results. But tenacity is central to every endeavor. Not just art.
...By your seventies other men stop talking about their prostates and start talking about their knees. My arthritic right knee, for instance, sometimes buckles under me. This is the time, as a friend put it, “of the body’s little betrayals.”
More truth. And as he said in this book, “The truth is not sad, it’s just the truth.” Certainly as we age, and if we live long enough, everything will be taken from us.
...If death is all around us, how should we live? How do we find hope in the darkness? I believe— and this is very, very important to emphasize—that love is all, love of others, love of self, and even, perhaps, love of the process of letting go of life…
Amen. Although the love of others is the hardest part for me now. In our country, the blind are leading the blind and it is frightening. The nightly news is no longer believed. Facts, and especially science, are ignored.
… Absolute unmixed attention is prayer.
For me, this is similar to what the poet Louis Glück describes in one of her essays on writing a poem. The immense concentration required to compose a poem of quality is the work an artist craves. Even as frustrating as it is, the concentration needed is the bulk of the reason for sitting down to write in the first place. Not in order to become famous, and certainly not to write a bestseller. It is simply to be again in the throes of such immense concentration. It is wonderful and insanely frustrating.
...America has always been a money-grubbing country. We need to admit that ours is an extremely cruel country, too, built on the genocide of Native Americans, built by slavery, by dropping atom bombs. We have to admit our own cruelty, our own evil…
Given the current state of affairs around the world with the coronavirus crisis it is important to note the timing of Gregory’s “not-memoir”. Not only was he spot-on at the very beginning of his book with his dire warnings regarding Trump as leader of our country, but the awful degradation since his election of common courtesy, civility, fairness, and a host of other concerns poised to destroy our country. The sooner we get rid of Trump and all his cronies, the better. Like the coronavirus, the Trump administration and his GOP lambs being led to their slaughter are an evil blight on the land. There isn’t enough disinfectant to rid us of their germ warfare. Bless André Gregory for speaking his truth, and thank you to the publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux for allowing him to do so under their masthead.
...Theater is a metaphor for life. You get kicked onto the stage, you struggle for a few hours with your problems and those of the people playing scenes with you, and then you exit. The curtain falls and usually, the play is forgotten, just as I will be forgotten…
What a charming and interesting book. So glad Gregory took the time to get his story down, to have a chance to spread his experience and wisdom to all of us, not just artists and the like. In spite of knowing and respecting Gregory’s work in theater and film, I nonetheless was pleasantly surprised at how well the book was written and its importance to the continuing study of life and art.
...We were always terrific friends and always extremely supportive of the other’s desires and needs. We were not so much husband and wife as brother and sister. Hansel and Gretel, two terrified children desperately holding hands, alone in a frightening wood, always ready for the big bad wolf…
Gregory was genuinely appreciative of his late wife and honored her with his words. A man born of privilege, Gregory chose to live his life artistically and as fully as humanly possible. The fact that some of his rehearsals continued unabated for up to a dozen years before their premiere on stage was astounding. His relationship with Wallace Shawn was as warm and sincere as they exhibited before the camera in their seminal film My Dinner with André.
...In relationships as in art, it is not talent that matters much. It is tenacity. An artist cannot survive or grow without tenacity…
André Gregory speaks the truth. And he practiced tenacity his entire career. If nothing else, this memoir exhibits exactly the tenacity needed to succeed with no promise for desired results. But tenacity is central to every endeavor. Not just art.
...By your seventies other men stop talking about their prostates and start talking about their knees. My arthritic right knee, for instance, sometimes buckles under me. This is the time, as a friend put it, “of the body’s little betrayals.”
More truth. And as he said in this book, “The truth is not sad, it’s just the truth.” Certainly as we age, and if we live long enough, everything will be taken from us.
...If death is all around us, how should we live? How do we find hope in the darkness? I believe— and this is very, very important to emphasize—that love is all, love of others, love of self, and even, perhaps, love of the process of letting go of life…
Amen. Although the love of others is the hardest part for me now. In our country, the blind are leading the blind and it is frightening. The nightly news is no longer believed. Facts, and especially science, are ignored.
… Absolute unmixed attention is prayer.
For me, this is similar to what the poet Louis Glück describes in one of her essays on writing a poem. The immense concentration required to compose a poem of quality is the work an artist craves. Even as frustrating as it is, the concentration needed is the bulk of the reason for sitting down to write in the first place. Not in order to become famous, and certainly not to write a bestseller. It is simply to be again in the throes of such immense concentration. It is wonderful and insanely frustrating.
...America has always been a money-grubbing country. We need to admit that ours is an extremely cruel country, too, built on the genocide of Native Americans, built by slavery, by dropping atom bombs. We have to admit our own cruelty, our own evil…
Given the current state of affairs around the world with the coronavirus crisis it is important to note the timing of Gregory’s “not-memoir”. Not only was he spot-on at the very beginning of his book with his dire warnings regarding Trump as leader of our country, but the awful degradation since his election of common courtesy, civility, fairness, and a host of other concerns poised to destroy our country. The sooner we get rid of Trump and all his cronies, the better. Like the coronavirus, the Trump administration and his GOP lambs being led to their slaughter are an evil blight on the land. There isn’t enough disinfectant to rid us of their germ warfare. Bless André Gregory for speaking his truth, and thank you to the publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux for allowing him to do so under their masthead.
November 6, 2020
A short, fascinating look into the musings of Andre Gregory, an exceptionally talented actor/director. The book is written almost as a stream of consciousness style; or at least reads that way. The narrative wanders through subjects which seem to be on Gregory’s mind at the time of writing.
There is some history that describes life for him as his family escaped the Nazi’s as well as some information regarding his reportedly unhappy childhood. There are also details about his first marriage to Chiquita which, based on the writings, seemed to be more a mutual partnership/friendship than one of deep love. After Chiquita’s death, Gregory determined he was done with love and marriage; that is until he met Cindy, his second wife. With his second wife he details having discovered love in a totally different way.
There are many short episodes in the book, like the story of his going to an Ashram and meeting a famous guru that offer insights into a life filled with exploration, creativity, and individuality. Some of the more recent stories detail Gregory’s latest endeavor of taking up painting and his unique beliefs regarding how he paints and what painting has done for the development of his soul.
As a brief history of a person’s life, this book is both interesting and engaging. Also, for anyone aging, there may be some kernels offered of how to approach that process as well as encouragement to continue opening up and allowing one’s self to be changed by new experiences. Regardless of what the reader’s approach is toward this book, there is bound to be some information or encouragement or enlightenment they find within the pages. My thanks to Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for providing me an advanced copy for review through NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
There is some history that describes life for him as his family escaped the Nazi’s as well as some information regarding his reportedly unhappy childhood. There are also details about his first marriage to Chiquita which, based on the writings, seemed to be more a mutual partnership/friendship than one of deep love. After Chiquita’s death, Gregory determined he was done with love and marriage; that is until he met Cindy, his second wife. With his second wife he details having discovered love in a totally different way.
There are many short episodes in the book, like the story of his going to an Ashram and meeting a famous guru that offer insights into a life filled with exploration, creativity, and individuality. Some of the more recent stories detail Gregory’s latest endeavor of taking up painting and his unique beliefs regarding how he paints and what painting has done for the development of his soul.
As a brief history of a person’s life, this book is both interesting and engaging. Also, for anyone aging, there may be some kernels offered of how to approach that process as well as encouragement to continue opening up and allowing one’s self to be changed by new experiences. Regardless of what the reader’s approach is toward this book, there is bound to be some information or encouragement or enlightenment they find within the pages. My thanks to Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for providing me an advanced copy for review through NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
January 1, 2025
Fascinating, a delight from beginning to end, although in describing his nightmare of a childhood, "delight" is clearly not the right word. And yet, for me, it is.
I loved every minute of Gregory's ride through his past, his dreams, his successes and his failures. Ruthlessly honest and relentlessly vulnerable, I read it in two sittings (sadly interrupted by a party--which was fun but an unwelcome distraction).
Also, I was obsessed with Grotowski in the 70s. Plus I adore Wallace Shawn, both as an actor and as a writer. And I love the filme, My Dinner With André. I was inspired to read this book after watching Vanya on 42nd Street for the second time in three days.
I'm going to read this one again. Soon.
I loved every minute of Gregory's ride through his past, his dreams, his successes and his failures. Ruthlessly honest and relentlessly vulnerable, I read it in two sittings (sadly interrupted by a party--which was fun but an unwelcome distraction).
Also, I was obsessed with Grotowski in the 70s. Plus I adore Wallace Shawn, both as an actor and as a writer. And I love the filme, My Dinner With André. I was inspired to read this book after watching Vanya on 42nd Street for the second time in three days.
I'm going to read this one again. Soon.
March 13, 2023
I so deeply wanted to dislike this book because this man is obviously the hoitiest of the toitiest and a “starving artist” who was never actually starving because he was bankrolled by his immaculately wealthy father. But I was seduced by his obscure art, shocking self-awareness, and fantastic writing. I am perhaps too uncultured to have properly appreciated this book, because I’m really not all that familiar with theater or how famous this man actually is, but I begrudgingly enjoyed it nonetheless.
October 13, 2020
Start with a funny story about the stripper that you worked for in Boston, and I'll gladly follow you for 224 pages.
Now that the pandemic has made it more difficult to buy more books than I can read, I now download more books than I can read instead. One day recently, even though I have a pile of unread books (both paper and electronic), I downloaded free advance review copies of this and two other new books from Netgalley as well as a classic of 20th Century literature from the library. I started all four, and this is the one that grabbed me and said: “Abandon all other books and read me! Neglect all others! Have fun! Enjoy yourself! Read the reflections of a completely charming and articulate self-centered lunatic!”
That's the sort of book you need mid-pandemic. I tore through it in three days.
But I was sorry that the stripper and her burlesque club had long disappeared by the time I appeared in Boston in the late 1970s. I would really have loved to see what she did with those blackbirds.
Reading Andre Gregory is like spending time with a particularly crazy and undisciplined friend. In some ways, though, reading Andre Gregory is superior, since real-life crazy and undisciplined friends often ask for loans and/or engage in unsightly personal drama in your presense.
If you've seen the movie My Dinner with Andre, it is very easy to hear Gregory's voice coming off of the page of this book as he narrates events. That's good – he has a pleasant voice. Some of the events are slight variants on the tales told in Andre, and some are completely different, if not surprising, because they often consist (like his narrative in the movie) of his going off in some unlikely direction, based on a momentary whim or inexplicable impulse: “I am an intuitive animal, and I don't ever really know what I am doing” (Kindle location 2310).
I enjoy people like Gregory, but if you are the type of reader who wants to read about people who are relentlessly admirable, calm, and reasonable, then perhaps this book is not for you. For example, he seems to have rather harsh words for his parents, who after all got the Gregory family out of Europe one step ahead of Hitler and then indulgently funded Gregory's global travels, Manhattan apartment, and even sometimes artistic projects.
He also tends to put himself unduly at the enter of things. For example, there is a longish and interesting story about a time long ago when Gregory Peck hired Andre Gregory to do some theater directing in Los Angeles. I won't attempt to explain the details, but the story ends with some speculation that this episode led eventually to election of Donald Trump. “I should rot in hell,” Gregory concludes (location 783).
Similarly, toward the end, the book contains the text of a letter that Andre Gregory wrote to his friend the photographer Richard Avedon, who had died years before, after the two had quarrelled. I guess a person of more mundane sentimental sensibilities (like self) might have written something like “O friend, I miss you so much now that you are gone, I shouldn't have quarrelled with you, please forgive me.” Gregory, however, writes a letter that says: “I miss you, but I was right all long.”
Gregory has what I am pleased to call “retrospective reasonableness”. He accurately describes past behavior in his life as unreasonable, self-indulgent, etc., but when a new opportunity to presents itself, he seems to lack the ability to learn from his mistakes and say, for example, “In the past, I abandoned my long-suffering life and vulnerable children for months on end, and then felt bad about it. Maybe this time I'll just stay in Manhattan and find some classic play to present in a new and audience-alienating manner.”
As mentioned above, this may be why reading Gregory's memoir might be a superior and more stability-making experience than, say, being a member of his immediate family or intimate friend. But I must admit, Gregory seems like someone who would be fun to spend a little time with and this is a basic requirement for a compelling book of recollections.
Now that the pandemic has made it more difficult to buy more books than I can read, I now download more books than I can read instead. One day recently, even though I have a pile of unread books (both paper and electronic), I downloaded free advance review copies of this and two other new books from Netgalley as well as a classic of 20th Century literature from the library. I started all four, and this is the one that grabbed me and said: “Abandon all other books and read me! Neglect all others! Have fun! Enjoy yourself! Read the reflections of a completely charming and articulate self-centered lunatic!”
That's the sort of book you need mid-pandemic. I tore through it in three days.
But I was sorry that the stripper and her burlesque club had long disappeared by the time I appeared in Boston in the late 1970s. I would really have loved to see what she did with those blackbirds.
Reading Andre Gregory is like spending time with a particularly crazy and undisciplined friend. In some ways, though, reading Andre Gregory is superior, since real-life crazy and undisciplined friends often ask for loans and/or engage in unsightly personal drama in your presense.
If you've seen the movie My Dinner with Andre, it is very easy to hear Gregory's voice coming off of the page of this book as he narrates events. That's good – he has a pleasant voice. Some of the events are slight variants on the tales told in Andre, and some are completely different, if not surprising, because they often consist (like his narrative in the movie) of his going off in some unlikely direction, based on a momentary whim or inexplicable impulse: “I am an intuitive animal, and I don't ever really know what I am doing” (Kindle location 2310).
I enjoy people like Gregory, but if you are the type of reader who wants to read about people who are relentlessly admirable, calm, and reasonable, then perhaps this book is not for you. For example, he seems to have rather harsh words for his parents, who after all got the Gregory family out of Europe one step ahead of Hitler and then indulgently funded Gregory's global travels, Manhattan apartment, and even sometimes artistic projects.
He also tends to put himself unduly at the enter of things. For example, there is a longish and interesting story about a time long ago when Gregory Peck hired Andre Gregory to do some theater directing in Los Angeles. I won't attempt to explain the details, but the story ends with some speculation that this episode led eventually to election of Donald Trump. “I should rot in hell,” Gregory concludes (location 783).
Similarly, toward the end, the book contains the text of a letter that Andre Gregory wrote to his friend the photographer Richard Avedon, who had died years before, after the two had quarrelled. I guess a person of more mundane sentimental sensibilities (like self) might have written something like “O friend, I miss you so much now that you are gone, I shouldn't have quarrelled with you, please forgive me.” Gregory, however, writes a letter that says: “I miss you, but I was right all long.”
Gregory has what I am pleased to call “retrospective reasonableness”. He accurately describes past behavior in his life as unreasonable, self-indulgent, etc., but when a new opportunity to presents itself, he seems to lack the ability to learn from his mistakes and say, for example, “In the past, I abandoned my long-suffering life and vulnerable children for months on end, and then felt bad about it. Maybe this time I'll just stay in Manhattan and find some classic play to present in a new and audience-alienating manner.”
As mentioned above, this may be why reading Gregory's memoir might be a superior and more stability-making experience than, say, being a member of his immediate family or intimate friend. But I must admit, Gregory seems like someone who would be fun to spend a little time with and this is a basic requirement for a compelling book of recollections.
May 9, 2022
This memoir is succinct, selective and a fascinating piece of history, especially for fans of the conversations in My Dinner with Andre or of theater history. That film is just a piece of his life story, of course. He is a great reader in the Audible audio version.
Gregory muses on late-life obsessions with enthusiasm and resignation. He never claims to be an angel but he is a man of great imagination, erudition, and intellect with a deep love of life.
I am an admirer of his work and loved this book.
Gregory muses on late-life obsessions with enthusiasm and resignation. He never claims to be an angel but he is a man of great imagination, erudition, and intellect with a deep love of life.
I am an admirer of his work and loved this book.
December 8, 2020
This is one of those books where's it's hard to put into words just how much I loved it! No one who has seen My Dinner with André will be surprised to hear that he is a masterful storyteller. But not only does he have the skills and the personality, he's led an amazing, story-filled life! His Jewish parents escaped Stalin and Hitler, eventually settling in Hollywood and assimilating as wealthy WASPS. Despite his parents not being remotely artsy, a Who's Who of Golden Age Hollywood hung out at his childhood home. His mother had an affair with Erroll Flynn! Oddly, it wasn't just him. His Belgian wife had equally crazy stories from her childhood. Her mother was friends with Carmen Miranda. And the Adolph Hitler anecdote is a jaw dropper! It felt like every major figure of the last century made a cameo appearance in this book, inevitably when you'd least expect them.
Gregory speaks in detail about the major artistic pursuits of his life, and this rich background on projects familiar and unfamiliar was simply incredible. For someone like me, with a true passion for the arts, who has worked professionally in that world (if not on that level), it really connected with something at the core of who I am and what I value. Honestly, I could cry that there are strange artists, pursuing their unique visions, creating idiosyncratic works of brilliance. And sometimes complete failures. (And sometimes both.)
This non-memoir explores many aspects of his life beyond the art: friendships, marriage, children, faith, politics, aging, and more. Most of the book was written before Covid, but the final chapter was post lock-down. For a very privileged straight, white man in his eighties, he expresses progressive ideas throughout the book. He comments a few times explicitly on the family wealth that allowed him to have the career he's had. And he takes several pot shots at Donald Trump. In short, it's very hard not to love the guy.
My final surprise was in the acknowledgements. It turns out the book was edited by an acquaintance of mine. I wouldn't presume to call him a friend, but he's someone I like very much. Every year, I fail to send him the requested year-end list of my favorite books. Well, he's getting it this year, because there's no question that this book will be on it! For those who are interested in the arts, or who just love a good story, I can't recommended this highly enough!
Gregory speaks in detail about the major artistic pursuits of his life, and this rich background on projects familiar and unfamiliar was simply incredible. For someone like me, with a true passion for the arts, who has worked professionally in that world (if not on that level), it really connected with something at the core of who I am and what I value. Honestly, I could cry that there are strange artists, pursuing their unique visions, creating idiosyncratic works of brilliance. And sometimes complete failures. (And sometimes both.)
This non-memoir explores many aspects of his life beyond the art: friendships, marriage, children, faith, politics, aging, and more. Most of the book was written before Covid, but the final chapter was post lock-down. For a very privileged straight, white man in his eighties, he expresses progressive ideas throughout the book. He comments a few times explicitly on the family wealth that allowed him to have the career he's had. And he takes several pot shots at Donald Trump. In short, it's very hard not to love the guy.
My final surprise was in the acknowledgements. It turns out the book was edited by an acquaintance of mine. I wouldn't presume to call him a friend, but he's someone I like very much. Every year, I fail to send him the requested year-end list of my favorite books. Well, he's getting it this year, because there's no question that this book will be on it! For those who are interested in the arts, or who just love a good story, I can't recommended this highly enough!
April 5, 2021
André Gregory is probably the closest thing I have to a guru. To hear him at 85 talking of his life, art, and current happiness in short, sweet bursts is a total gift. Like his other work, I'll be returning to this one often.
September 1, 2024
Exactly what I was hoping for; an intimate account of Andre Gregory’s strange and fascinating life. I brought this book along with me for a weekend trip and figured I’d peck at it. Instead I fell in love at once and couldn’t put it down. Reading is SO BACK.
May 9, 2021
Summery: He whines about his childhood, and wrings his hands about the nazi Trump.
January 1, 2021
This memoir was different for two reasons: (1) André Gregory is like 86 and all of the others memoirs I have read were from people in their 30s. (2) I literally had no idea who he was or why he was a celebrity. I saw Ali Wong read this in an Instagram post and decided to check it out. Here are my thoughts:
1. André admits, acknowledges, and talks about coming from wealth, having a very privileged life, and not being a fantastic parent. But he does not spend an excessive about of time feeling guilty about it, which I appreciated. He believes that different people and different places have different meanings that all come together to give you a colorful life.
2. The anecdotes are pretty good. And although there's not more flow, I was healthily amused. I feel like I would have gotten more if I knew more about theater. I came to appreciate theater more as I had never been a huge fan before. He is truly an artist. There are so many bits of wisdom sprinkled throughout that don't seem cheap to me for some reason. I have not seen "My Dinner with André" and I plan to watch it soon.
3. I loved that he talks about aging. Puts things in perspective. I don't know many elderly men. I don't think I know any. I also thought it was interesting that he views the Trump presidency as one of the darkest things in his life. He doesn't talk about it much but no other big events are mentioned in this book.
Overall, this book reminds me a lot of "Maker of Patterns." An old white guy who's pretty interesting and humble and has done a million things. An introspective, good writer. And while I didn't find anything life-changing, I enjoyed going along for the ride.
1. André admits, acknowledges, and talks about coming from wealth, having a very privileged life, and not being a fantastic parent. But he does not spend an excessive about of time feeling guilty about it, which I appreciated. He believes that different people and different places have different meanings that all come together to give you a colorful life.
2. The anecdotes are pretty good. And although there's not more flow, I was healthily amused. I feel like I would have gotten more if I knew more about theater. I came to appreciate theater more as I had never been a huge fan before. He is truly an artist. There are so many bits of wisdom sprinkled throughout that don't seem cheap to me for some reason. I have not seen "My Dinner with André" and I plan to watch it soon.
3. I loved that he talks about aging. Puts things in perspective. I don't know many elderly men. I don't think I know any. I also thought it was interesting that he views the Trump presidency as one of the darkest things in his life. He doesn't talk about it much but no other big events are mentioned in this book.
Overall, this book reminds me a lot of "Maker of Patterns." An old white guy who's pretty interesting and humble and has done a million things. An introspective, good writer. And while I didn't find anything life-changing, I enjoyed going along for the ride.
October 30, 2020
One reads a memoir the reader has to have a clear understanding of what the author leaves out and puts into the memoir. In other words how is the memoir itself structured and does the reading of the memoir offer any type of entertaining value after the memoir has itself been given a thorough going over.
Not My Memoir is best described as a ennui. A sense of boredom that occurs upon each and every single page. This comes apparent not by the sheer volume as the book is only 181 pages long. For a person who has lived a long life condensing ones life leads to wonder if the author did leave something out.
The only other reason which there is this sense of boredom hanging over each page is the trials that the author himself went through. The mother whom says on her death bed that she would've been better off if she didn't have any children. And yet is seen in the pages as having affairs with other men which seems to be what the father is also doing. Then there is the wife Chiquita who hates everything. Then the plays which consistently gets closed down in city after city as the author rubs important people the wrong way. Gregory Peck, Tennessee Williams.
Is all this the fault of the author who failed to entertain his readers or is it the fault of the reader whom believes that those in the art of entertainment never had to struggle like they had to.
Thanks to Farrar Strauss &Giroux and to NetGalley for this ARC.
Not My Memoir is best described as a ennui. A sense of boredom that occurs upon each and every single page. This comes apparent not by the sheer volume as the book is only 181 pages long. For a person who has lived a long life condensing ones life leads to wonder if the author did leave something out.
The only other reason which there is this sense of boredom hanging over each page is the trials that the author himself went through. The mother whom says on her death bed that she would've been better off if she didn't have any children. And yet is seen in the pages as having affairs with other men which seems to be what the father is also doing. Then there is the wife Chiquita who hates everything. Then the plays which consistently gets closed down in city after city as the author rubs important people the wrong way. Gregory Peck, Tennessee Williams.
Is all this the fault of the author who failed to entertain his readers or is it the fault of the reader whom believes that those in the art of entertainment never had to struggle like they had to.
Thanks to Farrar Strauss &Giroux and to NetGalley for this ARC.
July 5, 2022
My Memoir with André
Anyone who was captivated by Gregory's charismatic ramblings in My Dinner should check this out. It's full of wonderful stories and anecdotes (including one about getting punched by Gregory Peck!) and starts out hilariously with Gregory discussing his employment by a stripper named "Princess Totempole". Covers his theater training and directing, his friendship with Wallace Shawn, his marriage, aging. Lots of wonderful tidbits in here, and all written in a charming conversational style that makes you feel as if you're the one in the restaurant and Gregory is talking to you.
Anyone who was captivated by Gregory's charismatic ramblings in My Dinner should check this out. It's full of wonderful stories and anecdotes (including one about getting punched by Gregory Peck!) and starts out hilariously with Gregory discussing his employment by a stripper named "Princess Totempole". Covers his theater training and directing, his friendship with Wallace Shawn, his marriage, aging. Lots of wonderful tidbits in here, and all written in a charming conversational style that makes you feel as if you're the one in the restaurant and Gregory is talking to you.
December 19, 2020
Andre Gregory is an theater director and actor known for his strong personality and manic dialogues. His most famous role was in the film My Dinner with Andre starring his friend Wallace Shawn. This book describes his childhood in a Russian Jewish immigrant family, his father's successful real estate career in Los Angeles, and his struggling career as a theater director. He was fired often and once had a physical altercation with Gregory Peck. There many that Gregory is not, but an telling enthralling tales is his strong suit.
December 17, 2021
A great look into a creative life. Loved this book.
March 15, 2021
SPOILER ALERT:
André Gregory is a legendary theatre director whose work in the 1960s and 70s was cutting-edge, experimental, confrontational. Most people might also recognize him as the "André" from the film, My Dinner with André. He's known for exceptionally long rehearsal periods that are measured in years.
This memoir is full of crazy stories from Gregory's life and career: from being repeatedly fired from directing jobs because his work was way too "out there", to being abducted and buried alive as part of an "art experience". Gregory helped Billie Holiday stand up during her last public performance before her death and he was once punched by Gregory Peck. Many other outlandish stories are revealed here. Some of these stories you will recognize from My Dinner....
As a theatre director myself, Gregory's tales are fascinating and inspiring, though he comes across as a contradictory person, and he knows it. Early in his career he was a stubborn visionary, unyielding in his artistic work, often to his dismay; the quintessential misunderstood artist. At times he sounds selfish and aloof, especially when speaking about his impulsive pursuit of any artistic opportunity that came his way. He recognizes how his own parents were largely unavailable in his childhood and Gregory realizes, perhaps too late, that he's repeating their mistakes on his own children. Sometimes he seems like a gentle and deeply empathetic person who wants to change the world and show the inequities in society for what they are. Interesting guy.
The later chapters show that Gregory has mellowed in his retirement, talking at length about his new avocation, painting. He claims to still be directing, working on a production of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler which might actually be performed before he reaches his 90s. We don't know.
André Gregory is a legendary theatre director whose work in the 1960s and 70s was cutting-edge, experimental, confrontational. Most people might also recognize him as the "André" from the film, My Dinner with André. He's known for exceptionally long rehearsal periods that are measured in years.
This memoir is full of crazy stories from Gregory's life and career: from being repeatedly fired from directing jobs because his work was way too "out there", to being abducted and buried alive as part of an "art experience". Gregory helped Billie Holiday stand up during her last public performance before her death and he was once punched by Gregory Peck. Many other outlandish stories are revealed here. Some of these stories you will recognize from My Dinner....
As a theatre director myself, Gregory's tales are fascinating and inspiring, though he comes across as a contradictory person, and he knows it. Early in his career he was a stubborn visionary, unyielding in his artistic work, often to his dismay; the quintessential misunderstood artist. At times he sounds selfish and aloof, especially when speaking about his impulsive pursuit of any artistic opportunity that came his way. He recognizes how his own parents were largely unavailable in his childhood and Gregory realizes, perhaps too late, that he's repeating their mistakes on his own children. Sometimes he seems like a gentle and deeply empathetic person who wants to change the world and show the inequities in society for what they are. Interesting guy.
The later chapters show that Gregory has mellowed in his retirement, talking at length about his new avocation, painting. He claims to still be directing, working on a production of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler which might actually be performed before he reaches his 90s. We don't know.
January 18, 2021
My rating is a bit higher than my actual feeling for the book, but it reads pretty well, starts with interesting things about his family background and ends on a compelling note with thoughtful comments on aging. His discussion of his relationship with his second wife is romantic and touching.
I appreciate Gregory's honesty, and he is a skilled story teller. Those are pluses.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of minuses. The flow is quirky, and I did not have a comfortable sense of chronology. The middle is bit tedious. I love the theater (and grew up in NYC on the edge of that endeavor), bit I just could not get into the lengthy discussions of how productions were created. I also could not respond much to the endless discussions of therapy, gurus, and things like I Ching. It is also difficulty to connect his discussions of all that was difficult about his first wife with the overwhelming sadness he feels at her death.
Finally, I was not convinced by Gregory's writing about his posh upbringing that "I'm not proud to have been part of that world." For someone who hobnobs with the famous, and spends a lot of time on Cape Cod and the Hamptons, he does not seem really to have moved beyond his privileged roots.
This book probably has particular appeal for people like me who share some of Gregory's background. I had a similar education including private schools in New York City and a big-name university, and knew perhaps half a dozen of the people he mentions, one of whom was among my closest friends in elementary school. So, perhaps this is a book for New Yorkers (and those like me who have left it far behind). I wonder how well it connects with people lacking this background.
I appreciate Gregory's honesty, and he is a skilled story teller. Those are pluses.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of minuses. The flow is quirky, and I did not have a comfortable sense of chronology. The middle is bit tedious. I love the theater (and grew up in NYC on the edge of that endeavor), bit I just could not get into the lengthy discussions of how productions were created. I also could not respond much to the endless discussions of therapy, gurus, and things like I Ching. It is also difficulty to connect his discussions of all that was difficult about his first wife with the overwhelming sadness he feels at her death.
Finally, I was not convinced by Gregory's writing about his posh upbringing that "I'm not proud to have been part of that world." For someone who hobnobs with the famous, and spends a lot of time on Cape Cod and the Hamptons, he does not seem really to have moved beyond his privileged roots.
This book probably has particular appeal for people like me who share some of Gregory's background. I had a similar education including private schools in New York City and a big-name university, and knew perhaps half a dozen of the people he mentions, one of whom was among my closest friends in elementary school. So, perhaps this is a book for New Yorkers (and those like me who have left it far behind). I wonder how well it connects with people lacking this background.
January 13, 2021
"My...brother Peter, says there are three stages in a life: Youth, Middle Age, and You're-looking-great! I've reached the age of You're-looking-great, and it's all a mystery. Gloria Steinem cites a Native American saying that old age is, like childhood, a time of wonder, because both are near to the unknown. And what a wonder my life has been."
I think of Andre Gregory as one of my "gurus;" I was 20 when the film he made with Wallace Shawn called My Dinner With Andre (directed by Louis Malle) came out in 1981, and it had an enormous impact on my life view and career plans. While Wallace's character values his comforts and routines, Andre's character seeks a life filled with magic, wonder and possibility, and values above all, a life devoted to art. Their conversation feels a bit like the archetypal Angel and Devil on one's shoulders, and is akin to Plato and Socrates debating what it means to live a good life.
In This Is Not My Memoir, Andre talks about the making of the film, and his years preceding and following it as he navigates his career as an actor, director and artist. For the first time, Andre expresses regret that he was so self-involved and so damaged by his loveless parents that he neglected his own children, and that he didn't even know how to love until he (as a widower) married his second wife later in life. He also admits that his inherited wealth made his explorations into experimental theater, possible. But his book is nonetheless filled with his unique wisdom, his admonitions to wake up and act, to live a creative and imaginative life, and to keep growing and learning as we age.
"IT WOULD TAKE FOREVER to become a lighthouse, illuminated from within, as the great actor Erland Josephson once confessed to me. It wouldn’t be easy, and the world with its darkness would try to kill your light. But you keep trying. You keep learning. Maybe you get lucky and meet the love of your life in your sixties. Maybe you take up painting at seventy. Maybe, at eighty-two, you begin rehearsing Hedda Gabler with no promise you’ll ever finish."
I recommend the audiobook as it is wonderful to hear his animated yet soothing voice telling his fascinating story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 on our Ripe Reads group on GoodReads. Hardcover 224 pages, Audiobook 6 hours 49 minutes.
I think of Andre Gregory as one of my "gurus;" I was 20 when the film he made with Wallace Shawn called My Dinner With Andre (directed by Louis Malle) came out in 1981, and it had an enormous impact on my life view and career plans. While Wallace's character values his comforts and routines, Andre's character seeks a life filled with magic, wonder and possibility, and values above all, a life devoted to art. Their conversation feels a bit like the archetypal Angel and Devil on one's shoulders, and is akin to Plato and Socrates debating what it means to live a good life.
In This Is Not My Memoir, Andre talks about the making of the film, and his years preceding and following it as he navigates his career as an actor, director and artist. For the first time, Andre expresses regret that he was so self-involved and so damaged by his loveless parents that he neglected his own children, and that he didn't even know how to love until he (as a widower) married his second wife later in life. He also admits that his inherited wealth made his explorations into experimental theater, possible. But his book is nonetheless filled with his unique wisdom, his admonitions to wake up and act, to live a creative and imaginative life, and to keep growing and learning as we age.
"IT WOULD TAKE FOREVER to become a lighthouse, illuminated from within, as the great actor Erland Josephson once confessed to me. It wouldn’t be easy, and the world with its darkness would try to kill your light. But you keep trying. You keep learning. Maybe you get lucky and meet the love of your life in your sixties. Maybe you take up painting at seventy. Maybe, at eighty-two, you begin rehearsing Hedda Gabler with no promise you’ll ever finish."
I recommend the audiobook as it is wonderful to hear his animated yet soothing voice telling his fascinating story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 on our Ripe Reads group on GoodReads. Hardcover 224 pages, Audiobook 6 hours 49 minutes.
April 4, 2022
I was excited to read this book because My Dinner with Andre (1981) was one of the most important and influential movies for my younger self. A lot of people don’t get that movie, not realizing it’s a dramatic work, and it’s an unusual one. There are some illuminating accounts of making it in this book. That movie is not as dated as you’d think for something 40 years old; some of their fairly dire predictions were not dire enough. Still, it’s always been both inspiring and comforting to me, as have the existence and work of both André Gregory and Wallace Shawn. This book has a lot of stories about Gregory’s rather bizarre childhood—some of them a bit harrowing. The accounts of his work in the theatre over the years are like an extension of his stories in My Dinner with Andre—much of it too strange and extreme for someone to make up. If you feel like art—art in general, though primarily mainstream art—has gotten increasingly conservative and bland—or if you feel like what you do artistically is too weird—this may be an inspirational book for you. Also inspiring is the affirmation of the importance of art in general. One example is an account of a conversation with Howard Zinn. André asked him how to deal with all the terrible shit going on in the country, and his answer was: “Of course, you also have to do the usual things. Protest. Demonstrate. Call your representative. E-mail Washington. But most of all, make your art. Art brings light into the darkness.” Also, I should add, André Gregory has a good sense of humor, and a lot of stuff in this book is just plain funny.
March 6, 2020
It's really hard to type something out that accurately describes this book. Gregory's life is unbelievable, filled with incredible tragedy and regret, but also filled to the brim with absolutely incredible events: Would you believe that he has a pretty substantial argument for being an unintentional cause of the Trump presidency? How about literally holding Billie Holiday up as she gives her final concert? Watching his mother drag a drunken Errol Flynn over to sign an autograph so that young Andre can save face at school? I've merely touched the surface. I could list stories for another ten minutes and fail to cover what you'd read about.
Gregory is one of our best (famous to the regular joe from MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, but cannot let that role in DEMOLITION MAN go unnoticed, just like Gregory), and here he proves how masterful of a storyteller he is. The book is a bonafide page-turner, and it's fantastic that he's chosen to share the stories of his life with us. I found myself giggling through one tale, saturated in poignancy the next, riddled with heartbreak at the one after, so on and so forth.
Lest this be confined to a traditional structure of an autobiography, a small but impactful change emerges in that he breaks many stories up, popping in for some not-quite-non-sequiturs.
Can't give it enough praise. It's what I wanted and more.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, & Giroux for the advance read.
Gregory is one of our best (famous to the regular joe from MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, but cannot let that role in DEMOLITION MAN go unnoticed, just like Gregory), and here he proves how masterful of a storyteller he is. The book is a bonafide page-turner, and it's fantastic that he's chosen to share the stories of his life with us. I found myself giggling through one tale, saturated in poignancy the next, riddled with heartbreak at the one after, so on and so forth.
Lest this be confined to a traditional structure of an autobiography, a small but impactful change emerges in that he breaks many stories up, popping in for some not-quite-non-sequiturs.
Can't give it enough praise. It's what I wanted and more.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, & Giroux for the advance read.
August 18, 2021
I’m not sure what to do with this book. It’s pithy. It has not much of what I was looking for but who am I? Definitely at this stage in my life more Mr. X than Mr. Van Gogh. All the best and wildest parts of My Dinner With Andre are left out of this book. I’m a bit disappointed that’s for sure. It almost feels deliberate. He’s got a lot to say about how we are all headed for doom though and we’ve got to ‘wake up!’ I spent years after watching his movie trying to wake up, an angry young man just like him and yes it got me nowhere. What do I do? I’m still not sure I’ve ever seen a UFO. This book doesn’t even mention Findhorn! Was all that made up?! I am left thinking this guy is a jerk, who now gets to tell us all how wrong we are about everything. But what does it matter? We all refuse to wake up so doomed by Trump, greenhouse gas, etc. A mighty dangerous space that etcetera. The doomsayers ball I would call this book. A vigorous exercise in narcissism. It left me sad and depressed that I’m such a fan of that movie of his. A subtle manipulation to draw me in with promises of a tell all expose on My Dinner With Andre! Oh wait. Yes I suppose he never promised that. Still I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who isn’t a rich dilettante looking for a pat on the back about how right you are about the universe.
August 27, 2020
I won this book on Goodreads. I am not of an age where I knew who Andre Gregory is (although I do know who his best buddy is - Wallace Shawn) But those are generally the kinds of books I like to read anyway to learn about people. He is the man the movie "Dinner with Andre' is about - again, I have not seen it, but I have heard of it, will look it up now. The booked moved very quickly in the beginning and the end, bogged a bit in the middle, but I think his life bogged a bit in the middle and he hasn't sorted that out yet. His upbringing is pretty unreal, his mother was a character - Errol Flynn plays a part. He has had a fascinating life as an artist, sometimes a dark one that struggled with his creativity. Sounds like he has enjoyed most of his life, treasures those around him and is well respected in his circle of contemporaries and friends. He also sounds like a fascinating person, one who would be enjoyable to know. Worth the read and entertaining, it reads pretty quickly for the most part.
May 22, 2022
Like most readers of this book, I was drawn by love for “My Dinner With Andre”. Gregory says he played an exaggerated version of himself in that film, although my assessment is that the exaggeration is minimal. Gregory comes across as a consummate storyteller …and a rather quirky one. Gregory’s family narrowly escaped the Nazis in Germany and so Andre grew up in America not even knowing he was Jewish. His upbringing was a bit problematic, with distant parents, and numerous celebrity cameos. Gregory narrates his life, career, and setbacks up to current day. I will say when when Gregory gets into politics, I find the book quite goofy. He compares American under modern “Corporate Totalitarianism” to 1930s Germany & the USSR (personally, I see rather considerable differences between Stalin and Tim Cook). Personally, I think this memoir is at its best when Gregory discusses his interactions with Grotowski and Wallace Shawn & also when he discusses his late career - hearing someone like Gregory discuss like in their 80s is quite fascinating.
September 17, 2022
I don't remember any discussion in this book about how one would label any book about oneself as a memoir or determine it was not. Other reviewers mention stream-of-consciousness as the book's structure therefore labeled "This is not a Memoir". None of that concerns me. I knew nothing about Andre Gregory when I began the book and now know that he grew up not having to think about earning a living most of his life because his father had come to the US as a Russian Jew and made money.
It felt like I was getting into the mind of a dilettante who did what he pleased while his wife had and raised the kids virtually alone. Then she began to get a life of her own making films and perhaps fulfilled herself as she distanced from his neglect. BUT then she got cancer, and he began to realize her importance and how neglectful he had been. The last chapter or so are musings towards wisdom that many people have as they get into their 80's.
It felt like I was getting into the mind of a dilettante who did what he pleased while his wife had and raised the kids virtually alone. Then she began to get a life of her own making films and perhaps fulfilled herself as she distanced from his neglect. BUT then she got cancer, and he began to realize her importance and how neglectful he had been. The last chapter or so are musings towards wisdom that many people have as they get into their 80's.
December 4, 2020
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. My copy did not have the illustrations that the finished book promised. I had no real clue who Andre Gregory was when I started the book. I'm still not sure I do, but I know a lot about his inner thoughts! Andre takes us on a meandering journey through a life that seems to have been both blessed and cursed simultaneously. He has the privilege, it seems, of not really needing to work to make a living, and the ability to take off at any moment for a spontaneous trip across the globe. On the other hand, he has a lot of very real struggles with his past, present, and future. There were a lot of times where he got himself into situations that were so far out there I really couldn't relate. But then he brought it right back around and punched me in the gut with some deep philosophical truth about life.
June 16, 2020
I've never read a story about the apasianized and busy being a director in the film industry..
This man's life was certainly marked with the highs and lows.
His creative problems, his differences with his colleagues, his duties as a father, his wife's cancer, going through grief and having to go beyond conflicts so he can continue to do what most passionate about him with all his high and risky price.
absolutely is the kind of director/writer behind a big stardom in film. We need to look for the same or better initiatives when it comes to amplifying voices or stories turned into gold to stay in the story
Thanks Netgalley for this (again)
This man's life was certainly marked with the highs and lows.
His creative problems, his differences with his colleagues, his duties as a father, his wife's cancer, going through grief and having to go beyond conflicts so he can continue to do what most passionate about him with all his high and risky price.
absolutely is the kind of director/writer behind a big stardom in film. We need to look for the same or better initiatives when it comes to amplifying voices or stories turned into gold to stay in the story
Thanks Netgalley for this (again)
January 15, 2021
This autobiography is as striking as its author. The chronology of the book is at times unclear but the portrait of Gregory's life richly painted. This book is funny while also being shockingly open about his own personal and emotional deficiencies. Gregory, who at the time of writing is 86, reflects deeply on the long arch of his life, and I find the stark emotion of retelling his own personal faults rather touching. I think if you have a passing interest in any of Gregory's work this is certainly worth your time. If you do not know Gregory yet, I invite you to pick up this slim volume and look at the colorful tapestry of a life spent growing.
February 5, 2021
Seeing My Dinner with Andre shaped the internal struggle of my life when it was released. To be a seeker and lean into discomfort or to pull the covers up as Wally had described? To read about this life and its evolution alongside major events in the world is a treat, and makes me want to revisit many of the works listed. There is an exploration to what deep learning takes, in the repetition and revisiting of scripts, stories, relationships. I love the messages of all the gurus/teachers in this book, the humility of Gregory to take them in, and in the generative task of development, to share graciously.
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