Memoirs

By: Tennessee Williams

Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan

When Memoirs was first published in 1975, it created quite a bit of turbulence in the media - though long self-identified as a gay man, Williams' candor about his love life, sexual encounters, and drug use was found shocking in and of itself, and such revelations by America's greatest living playwright were called "a raw display of private life" by the New York Times Book Review. As it turns out, Williams' look back at his life is not quite so scandalous as it once seemed; he recalls his childhood in Mississippi and St. Louis, his prolonged struggle as a "starving artist", the "overnight" success of The Glass Menagerie in 1945, the death of his long-time companion Frank Merlo in 1962, and his confinement to a psychiatric ward in 1969 and subsequent recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, all with the same directness, compassion, and insight that epitomize his plays.

And, of course, Memoirs is filled with Williams' amazing friends from the worlds of stage, screen, and literature as he often hilariously, sometimes fondly - sometimes not - remembers them: Laurette Taylor, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, Elia Kazan, Marlon Brando, Vivian Leigh, Carson McCullers, Anna Magnani, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, and Tallulah Bankhead, to name a few.

Contains mature themes.

©1972, 1975 The University of the South (P)2019 Tantor

Great book of history

He had so many sex partners even sleeping with adolescent boys something he’d be jailed for today.

the bareator hit the right tone.

wish it had been more'about his career than the lovers he had. However he is still brilliant.

Loved it

It was like getting all the tea from your gay Besty about all the 1930s 40s 50s and 60s actors and actresses… Will be purchasing this book so I can read it… And a couple extras to give to my friends…

Informative and fun

Not only is Memoirs a witty and delightful recounting of Tennessee Williams' life, but it also provides a glimpse into what it was like for a gay man to come to terms with his sexuality in the thirties and forties when homosexuality was criminal and classified as a mental illness. Williams didn't hold back.

Insanely entertaining, informative.

I can't say how much I loved this memoir. First, with Tennessee Williams, you've already got great fodder. But, this is his writing at his best and about HIM. The narrator was so great, deadpan, you might have thought it was Tennessee himself. I was laughing out loud so many times. But, it also was moving and had some sadness with this great talent and some demons that haunted him through life. He seemed to always come out on the other side with the same wit and sarcasm and observations of people. Highly recommend.

A gentle-man

This may truly be the finest book I have listened to in my 500 book library. Narration was perfect. Peeking into the mind of a writer of this caliber as well as his literary associates (McCullers, Hemingway, O’Neil, Maugham, Kazan…) was fascinating. The fact anything was written and produced by such dysfunctionality is beyond belief. Yet writers are compelled to write. Fascinating homosexual time. And there is a lot of humor. I highly recommend this book.

Surprising

He was more candid than I expected.

I am however disappointed in Audible's 15 word minimum word limit. As a writer, decades of experience has taught me to stop writing once I have said what is necessary.

Fabulous Narration Carried The Book

Although I am no fan of William's plays, his memoir was witty and somewhat interesting.

A well spent life

An interesting autobiography that covers the bits of life the author deemed relevant. As such it spends time on eras unknown, and skips over parts of which readers might wish to know more.
This covers a lot about his family life as a youngster and his younger sister Rose. He politely leaves anonymous partners and companions that did not want to be named, a gracious touch often lacking in modern writing.

Intriguingly Superb

Tennessee Williams was a genius; unrelenting in his willingness to provide a transparent account of journeys, misadventures, and triumphs in his prime and beyond. His use of the English language to describe eclectic characters, observations, and experiences educated and kept me glued to my device. The narrator was brilliant. I LOVE southern writers, poets, and playwrights, among others. Tennessee is my favorite. Fascinating, exciting, saddening, enlightening. I giggled and howled, felt his disappointments. Brutally open in every way, Tennessee was ahead of his era, his offering is fitting for today. Bravo!