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| Plot Summary of Little Wilson and Big God |
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"In the first of two autobiographical volumes, Burgess details his life pretty much up to the point where he became a writer -- well into adulthood, and only because a doctor had given him a short time to live and he wanted to make some quick money to support his wife. (He sure made up for it after failing to die, though.) The title refers to the author himself, who was born John Burgess Wilson. Most of his adult adventures in this book -- in England, Gibraltar, India, and Malaysia -- are with the military, and involve lots of bemused couplings, not least because his wife saw no reason for them to be sexually monogamous. There's plenty of erudition and linguistic humor (Burgess and Borges bamboozling secret service men by quoting Caedmon in Latin back and forth between them; his 10-year-old gloss on the "Gloria" prayer is priceless), but there are also scenes of basic human folly (two brothers fight over Burgess's wife in front of him) and bracing honesty (Burgess compares the sexual style of Malay and Chinese women to Westerners; he witnesses several autopsies, and a Liverpool physician discusses Shoenberg with our hero while cutting up aborted fetuses -- in the 1940s!). Quite a story, heckuva a man."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Little Wilson and Big God |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Romance
Yes
Kind of romance:
- in love with mixedup person
- love triangle/polygon
- seduction (yum!)
- boatload of casual sex without love
job/profession:
- writer
Ethnic/Relig. of subject (inside)
- British
Job/profession/poverty story
Yes
If this is a culture clash:
- visiting a different culture
- minority culture living in majority area
Ethnic/regional/gender
Yes
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Biography of famous person?
Yes
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other people
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
- Spain
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- India
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
Century:
- 1930's-1950's
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Book makes you feel?
- encouraged
Is book humorous?
Yes
If humorous, kind of humor
- eccentric personalities
- Dry-cynical
- sarcastic/sardonic
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- actual description of hetero sex
Commentary on society?
Yes
Commentary on
- race
- love/sex
- decency
- selfishness
- religion
Writer's slant towards subject:
- very favorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
Autobiography?
Yes
How much dialogue in bio?
- little dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life?
- 0-25% of book
How much is philosophy rather than life story?
- 0-25% of book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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