Palimpsest

A Memoir

By: Gore Vidal

Narrated by: Jeff Cummings

This explosively entertaining memoir abounds in gossip, satire, historical apercus, and trenchant observations. Vidal’s compelling narrative weaves back and forth in time, providing a whole view of the author’s celebrated life, from his birth in 1925 to today, and features a cast of memorable characters - including the Kennedy family, Marlon Brando, Anais Nin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

©1995 Literary Creation Enterprises, Inc. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Excerpts from The Diary of Artois Nin 1944-1947 © 1971 by Audis Nin. Reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company. Excerpts from The Letters of William S. Burroughs 1945-1959, edited by Oliver Harris. © 1993 by William S. Burroughs. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.

Fascinating!

The story is pulpy and the narrator brilliantly grasps every nuance with authority, humor and depth.

Acid Malice, Slander, Half Truths, Backstabbing,

First I will say Jeff Cummings the narrator, is brilliant. How Jeff Cummings captured the self-importance, arrogance, narcissism, hate and ill will of Gore Vidal is truly a marvel. I've watched Gore Vidal in film clips and the impersonation is a miracle. Jeff Cummings narration made the book palatable and humorous. If I had been dry reading a hard copy of the book I would have thrown it in the trash after two chapters. If there is ever an oscar for narration, one should go to Jeff Cummings. If you love to hate, as apparently Gore Vidal did, this book will be a guilty pleasure for you. If you want tips on writing, this is a good book to read. He did have good communication and writing skills. Parts of the book are hilarious. Name-dropping and pedigree asserting entirely fuel the read. Gore tosses out the names to keep you following his complaints of everyone's unworthiness. Of course, anything anyone has ever done, Gore could have done better. He implies nobody he has ever met has done anything of any value but himself. His self-importance is exhausting. All applause for himself. He repeats gossip from other tired sources that have never met a witness. He implies crimes have been committed, but crimes of others, never to reveal any of his in fact, painting himself as entirely virtuous against a sea of immoral entities. The book is one long gossip column and only three mentioned were not executed with slander. The book was free to me on Audible. If it is still free it's a good deal.

Intelligent, Amusing

Gore Vidal has lived a fascinating life. From the age of six, he spent the next 80 years in the halls of power: government, Hollywood, Broadway, publishing, television. He is perhaps the most well-informed person of the 20th century and he relates his experiences with the sharpest wit. His memoirs are an education. It's not a tell-all (he has no patience for such things). It's simply a first-hand account of what it is to be in the room with the most powerful people at the height of their fame and careers.

A truly exceptional read.

It reads like time travel, with a witty and erudite guide, to a past we have only heard about, and can now experience first hand.