Louis Begley was fifty-seven when he published his first novel, Wartime Lies, in 1991, four decades after the wartime experiences that he shaped into fiction. Begley had arrived in the United States ...
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In the following review, Malcolm examines the nature of survival in Wartime Lies, pondering the effects on the young protagonist produced by random and indifferent deaths.
Early in this chilling no...
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In the following review, Cheyette examines the protagonist's loss of identity in Wartime Lies, contending that the story is well written, but that Begley's ease with the language denotes...
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In the following review, Duplain applauds Begley's precise descriptions of places in The Man Who Was Late.
Two years ago Louis Begley published his first novel, Wartime Lies, the story of a ...
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In the following review, Mars-Jones questions Begley's ability to successfully balance the dispassion of the wealthy with the façade of sophistication that the protagonist in The Man Who...
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In the following review, Kessler focuses on the psychological state of Ben, the protagonist in The Man Who Was Late, and probes Ben's relationship with Jack, the narrator.
Ghosts hover over ...
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In the following review, Annan explores overt and subtle references to such classic authors as Rainer Maria Rilke, and Marcel Proust in The Man Who Was Late, praising Begley's structure and ton...
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In the following review, Jones-Davis lauds Begley's understated writing style in As Max Saw It and analyzes the dynamics of the relationships between Max, his friend Charlie, and Charlie'...
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In the following interview, Begley discusses his career as a lawyer, his decision to write his first novel, and his opinions on illness and dying—further illuminating the portrayal of Toby�...
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In the following review, Hines believes that although About Schmidt has an illogical and somewhat confusing ending, readers are not disappointed due to Begley's masterful storytelling.
For m...
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In the following review of About Schmidt, Prose lauds Begley's depiction of an unsympathetic and unapologetic anti-hero, holding that the author's refusal to create a likeable character ...
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In the following review, Edwards discusses Begley's first three novels, asserting that About Schmidt is second in quality only to Wartime Lies.
The burden of Louis Begley's first nov...
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In the following essay, Alexander considers the use of irony in Begley's novels, asserting that the most sympathetic characters undergo difficult and painful experiences, but that Schmidt, Begl...
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In the following essay, Hepburn discusses The Man Who Was Late within a psychoanalytic context and in relation to postmodern literary thought.
After graduating from Harvard with a degree in English...
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In the following review, McAlpin provides a mixed assessment of Begley's Mistler's Exit.
When Thomas Mistler, the anti-hero of Louis Begley's fifth novel [Mistler's Exit...
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In the following excerpt, Annan proposes that in Mistler's Exit the ennui and dispassion in the narrative voice makes readers less interested in the protagonist's impending death.
The...
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In the following excerpt, Pritchard provides a positive review of Mistler's Exit, asserting that Begley incorporates strong narrative skills within a compelling tale.
I have it on reliable a...
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In the following essay, Kellman explores the lies and pretense that Begley's protagonists use to cover their respective pasts and to rewrite their respective futures.
For nine-year-old Macie...
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In the following review, See applauds Begley's characterizations and asserts that in Schmidt Delivered readers experience conflicting feelings regarding the protagonist.
The only thing worse...
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In the following review, Filkins traces Schmidt's trials, epiphanies of thought, and subsequent redemption in Schmidt Delivered.
With the publication of Wartime Lies in 1991, Louis Begley st...
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In the following interview, Begley discusses the difference between autobiography and fictionalization in his novels, lists his favorite authors and works of literature, and defends his protagonists a...
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In the following review, the critic argues that the narrative in Shipwreck is both “rambling” and “overworked to the point of caricature.”
[Shipwreck is a] precious acco...
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The power of Louis Begley’s Matters of Honor sneaks up on the reader softly. The story is told with a quiet control that deepens into silence, which is to say that it is as much constructed f...
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Picture a character like Entourage’s Ari Gold or Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko. He’s high-powered, hard-driving, arrogant, misanthropic and politically incorrect. He has a knack for ...
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Picture a character like Entourage’s Ari Gold or Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko. He’s high-powered, hard-driving, arrogant, misanthropic and politically incorrect. He has a knack for ...
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Here's a bit from In the Shadow of the Law, the debut novel from Kermit Roosevelt, great-great-grandson of Teddy:"Katja had never come just from sex, just from a man inside her; not once, let alone...
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All those so-called hipsters fervently awaiting Wes Anderson's follow-up to The Life Aquatic don't need to obsessively check IMDb; starting next week, they just have to turn on the TV. Mr. Anderson...
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Back when summer actually meant a few months of relaxing and down time to New Yorkers, one of the most treasured rituals was the weekly trip to the neighborhood bookstore, to choose a new book (or ...
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Back when summer actually meant a few months of relaxing and down time to New Yorkers, one of the most treasured rituals was the weekly trip to the neighborhood bookstore, to choose a new book (or ...
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Louis Begley
Critical Review by Janet Malcolm
Reborn in Harvard Yard, Three Pals Disown the Past
