http://newcritics.disqus.com/the best in web criticismenFri, 20 Feb 2009 14:22:56 -0000http://newcritics.com/blog1/2007/05/29/diaries/#comment-6437566wonderful book. Bennett has described it very nicely in this diary a life with unwavering honesty of a dying man. every character is so real. I love this book. great work bennett as usual.cheap_textbooksFri, 20 Feb 2009 14:22:56 -0000http://newcritics.com/blog1/2007/05/29/diaries/#comment-1375141There's a whole category of writers whose diaries or letters are as good or better than their "official" stuff. I think I first thought about this when I picked up William Burroughs's "Collected Letters". I remember thinking, "This shit is fucking great! Too bad so much of his published fiction is so impossible to read." Another one is Bukowski; I love his poems and fiction, but his letters are just as brilliant. One more: Kingsley Amis. I've been a fan of his ever since I accidentally discovered "One Fat Englishman" in the library when I was about 14. He never wrote or even tried to write a "great" novel; I think the whole concept of the "great" novel kind of annoyed him, and he probably also knew his limits; but, his "Collected Letters", all 11,000 pages of it, are -- to me -- like a great novel.Dan LeoWed, 30 May 2007 00:13:35 -0000