The World Broke in Two

Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, D. H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster and the Year That Changed Literature

De: Bill Goldstein

Narrado por: Bill Goldstein

A revelatory narrative of the intersecting lives and works of revered authors Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, E. M. Forster, and D. H. Lawrence during 1922, the birth year of modernism.

The World Broke in Two tells the fascinating story of the intellectual and personal journeys four legendary writers - Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, E. M. Forster, and D. H. Lawrence - make over the course of one pivotal year. As 1922 begins, all four are literally at a loss for words, confronting an uncertain creative future despite success in the past. The literary ground is shifting, as Ulysses is published in February and Proust's In Search of Lost Time begins to be published in England in the autumn. Yet, dismal as their prospects seemed in January, by the end of the year Woolf has started Mrs. Dalloway, Forster has, for the first time in nearly a decade, returned to work on the novel that will become A Passage to India, Lawrence has written Kangaroo, his unjustly neglected and most autobiographical novel, and Eliot has finished - and published to acclaim - "The Waste Land".

As Willa Cather put it, "The world broke in two in 1922 or thereabouts", and what these writers were struggling with that year was in fact the invention of modernism. Based on original research, Bill Goldstein's The World Broke in Two captures both the literary breakthroughs and the intense personal dramas of these beloved writers as they strive for greatness.

©2017 Bill Goldstein (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

To much navel gazing

An important point in time. 4 authors looking for expression. Good premise but wrong focus too much about writing the stories not enough about the world sweeping around them.

An enjoyable listen

A great listen...story and reader, both. Gave the feel of the era and the authors.

best for those true fans of writers&,poets

This is not a production for the average reader. It worked for me because as a struggeling poet and writer I could relate and appreciate the biographical details of thier lives and times.

Loved this book

A great book about 4 great early 20th century authors, struggling with writer's block (as all author's do) in the aftermath of the largest industrialized war (WWI) in world history. Listeners who haven't read something by all of them or any of them can still find enjoyment in the learning. And in the directing to the period writings. I plan to go back to TS Eliot's which I read when still wet-behind-the ears in high school, I am sure I understood zero back then. I was familiar with Virginia Woolf, the life and the work from 1922, Mrs Dalloway, and also with EM Forster, and with DH Lawrence (if mainly through the movie version of Women in Love). This book will add to my reading list. The book has great pacing, you will not be bored or tempted to drop midway. The narration, by the author, is perfect. I wish he'd written something else I could follow with.

The best non-fiction Audible book I've heard

What made the experience of listening to The World Broke in Two the most enjoyable?

Bill Goldstein has certainly studied well how novelists write, because he brings a novelist's sensibility to this book. The characters he describes are vibrant, there is a great arc to the narrative as it weaves these four lives together, and he ends each chapter as a cliffhanger, making you want to read on and on to find out what happens. I had to keep checking Wikipedia to be sure that "The Waste Land" was indeed published in "The Dial" because it seemed so uncertain throughout the book that it would be.

Who was your favorite character and why?

If found Virginia Woolf the most sympathetic and complicated character. She seems to have spoken most freely in her diary and therefore it was easiest to find out about her ambitions, and her insecurities. She came across as the most human. I never realized how all four of the characters interacted with each other so regularly. It was fascinating to learn that about them.

What about Bill Goldstein’s performance did you like?

He was clear and concise and easy to follow.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

This is the best non-fiction book I have listened to on Audible so far. Mr Goldstein's account is incredibly detailed and erudite, but laid out in such a straightforward way that even a lay person without much knowledge of the key players can follow along and learn. The depth and breadth of research that went into this book is simply astounding. I don't know how he managed to synthesize all of that information into a coherent narrative. He found so many sources and little scraps of information that he then masterfully wove into a coherent and even exciting narrative. As I mentioned above, each chapter ended with a cliffhanger -- something his subjects would have been proud of. In some ways, he accomplished what Joyce and Woolf had set out to do - he was able to tell a story from completely inside one person's head -- his research was so meticulous and complete that it allowed us to almost know and feel exactly what these great authors thought and felt. That is a remarkable achievement. This is a great selection for anyone who has an interest in history or literature. Bravo, Mr. Goldstein

Excellent Read!

This was a fascinating insight into how these authors developed as people and in their own styles of literature during a specific time period. I loved hearing what they did to generate ideas and how they interacted with their peers to review and vet ideas.

Wonderful Book

I started reading this on the page and got so hooked, I downloaded the audio version for a long road trip. I thought I knew a lot about these writers, but Goldstein's book, with its focus on 1922, brought to life many elements of their personal and private lives that I didn't know. Somehow, by weaving together the lives of these four, Goldstein makes the book gripping. You develop an inside look at their creative processes. I didn't want to put it down. I was happy to have listened to some of this book. Goldstein's voice is fantastic - warm, expressive, intimate, and very clear. I'd happily listen to anything else he reads and will happily read anything else he writes!

Anecdotes and struggles of four great writers

Turning points, watershed moments and other ways of saying an ending of one era in favor of another … this books outlines this notion through the lives of four writers. And it does more. It reveals the struggles which were not always known to me concerning these writers and in so doing expanded on the idea that writing is more than a shedding of skins. It is an often a struggle against not just the technical aspects of the pen and paper but the inward wrestling of forces that give way to truths and in that way blossoms forth the fruit of each author. These struggles, circumstances and challenges are laid out and kudos to the author for mining these anecdotes. I learned so much.