Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
Steve Manacek ·
August 1, 2012 at 4:18pm
The news comes this morning that Gore Vidal has died. He was an execrable human being in so many ways, but what strikes me in reviewing his life is that he must have been one of the most profoundly unhappy people who ever lived. So much bile, so much contempt.... So do what he could not, and pray for his immortal soul -- I suspect it is going to need all the help it can get.
He is reported to have said that the happiest words in the English language were "I told you so." It may be a pardonable indulgence to feel some satisfaction in the thought that the shade of Bill Buckley may be in a position to speak those words to the shade of Gore Vidal at this very moment.
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Comments:
Apr '12
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
May he be at peace.
Jun '10
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
I think he grew up in Washington DC. When you look for what formed his "charming" personality, that helps explain it.
May '12
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
I managed to get through one of his books. I forget which one. It was not memorable.
Still, for a self-loathing mediocre writer, he knew how to make himself memorable. When a lot of good writers with healthy egos and a justifiable sense of self-respect have not.
That is an accomplishment.
Feb '11
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
Here he is with Buckley.
Remember Vidal in GATTACA? Great film. And he gets to play a murderer.
Oct '10
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
"...the shade of Bill Buckley may be in a position to speak those words to the shade of Gore Vidal at this very moment."
That assumes they share a common address.
Aug '10
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
Didnt he boast of being related to Aaron Burr and Al Gore ?
What a crew. Adios Eugene.
Jul '11
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
The 'crypto-Nazi' thing was bizarre. Did Buckley ever spontaneously combust like that in public, ever?
I read one of his books once, about a dude that turns into a woman. I found it so turgid and unmemorable, I can't even remember the title without Googling it.
Aug '10
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
His script for Caligula was actually pretty good.
Shame the movie was produced by Bob Guccione...
Aug '11
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
I'm sorry to hear he died. I think I saw something about that on Twitter very early this morning. I had a period when I really enjoyed his essays-- both the prose and the content. At one point in time my liberalism was greatly influenced by Vidal and Chomsky. I don't really agree with Gore Vidal's politics, at all. but I still enjoy his writing. He is one of the best stylists I've read in a long, long time. His memoir "Palimpest" was and is quite phenomenal, and contains some of the best sentences I've ever read!
He's dead, so I will leave it at that.
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
Beautifully stated, Steve. And welcome back to Ricochet. More! More!
Nov '11
Re: Gore Vidal, R. I. P.
Not sure he'd welcome prayers, but he has mine in any case...