Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Art and Madness by Anne Roiphe GIVEAWAY

Art and Madness: A Memoir of Lust Without Reason 

Luminous and intensely personal, Art and Madness recounts the lost years of Anne Roiphe’s twenties, when the soon-to-be-critically-acclaimed author put her dreams of becoming a writer on hold to devote herself to the magnetic but coercive male artists of the period. 
 
Coming of age in the 1950s, Roiphe, the granddaughter of Jewish immigrants, grew up on Park Avenue and had an adolescence defined by privilege, petticoats, and social rules. At Smith College her classmates wore fraternity pins on their cashmere sweaters and knit argyle socks for their boyfriends during lectures. Young women were expected to give up personal freedom for devotion to home and children. Instead, Roiphe chose Beckett, Proust, Sartre, and Mann as her heroes and sought out the chaos of New York’s White Horse Tavern and West End Bar. 
 
She was unmoored and uncertain, “waiting for a wisp of truth, a feather’s brush of beauty, a moment of insight.” Salvation came in the form of a brilliant playwright whom she married and worked to support, even after he left her alone on their honeymoon and later pawned her family silver, china, and pearls. Her near-religious belief in the power of art induced her to overlook his infidelity and alcoholism, and to dutifully type his manuscripts in place of writing her own. 
 
During an era that idolized its male writers, she became, sometimes with her young child in tow, one of the girls draped across the sofa at parties with George Plimpton, Terry Southern, Doc Humes, Norman Mailer, Peter Matthiessen, and William Styron. In the Hamptons she socialized with Larry Rivers, Jack Gelber and other painters and sculptors. “Moderation for most of us is a most unnatural condition . . . . I preferred to burn out like a brilliant firecracker.” But while she was playing the muse reality beckoned, forcing her to confront the notion that any sacrifice was worth making for art.
 
Art and Madness recounts the fascinating evolution of a time when art and alcohol and rebellion caused collateral damage and sometimes produced extraordinary work. In clear-sighted, perceptive, and unabashed prose, Roiphe shares with astonishing honesty the tumultuous adventure of self-discovery that finally led to her redemption.

Thanks to Doubleday, I have two copies up for grabs.  Leave me a comment with email address written in a form spammers can't follow - nancyisweird at gmail dot com.

U.S. only
Ends April 15th 
Happy Tax Day!

31 comments:

Qandthebooks said...

Thanks for the great giveaway (:

blissfulrains(at)yahoo(dot)com

Amy (ArtsyBookishGal) said...

Things sounds like a crazy good book!

Amy // artsyrockerchick at aim dot com

jess said...

Thanks for the giveaway!

jessica b
jecca.0104[at]gmail[dot]com

Margie said...

Sounds fascinating. Thanks for the giveaway.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

friday2965 said...

friday2965@yahoo.com

great reviews!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

Patricia N said...

Thanks for the giveaway! I'm a faithful subscriber -
PMNSL95 at triad dot rr dot com

vampireprincess said...

vampireprincess2468@yahoo.com
Sounds great

dancealertreads.blogspot.com said...

I would love to be able to read this book. Thank you for the giveaway, I know they are time consuming.

dancealert at aol dot com

Ivy said...

Art and Madness sounds amazing. Thanks for the opportunity!

ivydtruitt (at) gmail (dot) com

Kimberly Sue said...

Looks great!

kimbers10[at]yahoo[dot]com

Michelle Stockard Miller said...

This sounds like a really interesting read! Thanks for the chance!

truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom

Vivien said...

This sounds epic!

Vivien
deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

kallosmango123 said...

Thanks for another giveaways

kallosmango123 @ hotmail . com

Bookluvr Mindy said...

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Diana D said...

Would love to read this. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway

dianad8008 AT gmail DOT com

Andra Lyn said...

Sounds like a good book :D

hense1kk AT cmich DOT edu

karenk said...

thanks for the opportunity to read this fabulous novel :)

karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

This book sounds fascinating. I've read some articles by & about the author and would love to win this copy.

Thanks for this great giveaway!

Aimala127(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I would love to read Art and Madness :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

Mary @SweepingMe said...

Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway.

mary_reiss @ hotmail.com

Katie said...

thanks for the giveaway!

katie_tp@yahoo(dot)com

nfmgirl said...

I'd love a shot! Thanks so much!

nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

dogwood said...

Sounds like a fantastic read!

dogwoodlane at suddenlink dot net

Melanie Montgomery said...

Thanks for the giveaway!



clarkmurdock@yahoo.com

missreneer said...

This is my first time hearing about this book. Thanks for the great giveaway!!

mrsjohnson1982 at yahoo dot com

Nancye said...

This sounds like an interesting book! Thanks for the chance.

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

pmj said...

Great review-can't wait to read the book!
pjames330 at aol dot com

Julie said...

Please oh please pick me. I'm your favorite.

Julie said...

I'm your favorite, I didn't say I was the smartest.
Email;

juland22 at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

Thanks lisapeters at yahoo dot com