THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS

by Gore Vidal ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 25, 1951

The analogy between the several charms of the Mount Ida beauty contestants and the three women encountered by a modern hero provide a novel which, for all its undoubted deep roots, can best be enjoyed on the superficial level of entertainment where it is most successful. Paris, in the person of Philip Warren, a Harvard Law School graduate, goes to Rome, Egypt and Paris in turn, to search for the big experience which is to burst the prison bars of an insular personality. In Rome, there is Regina, wife of a home state Congressman, who offers him political power; in Egypt, the cool, clear intellect of Sophia presents him with an ideal withdrawal from life; and at last in Paris there is warm, lovely Anna, who promises- only promises- but in whose arms he learns the difference between night and day. And on this voyage Philip is surrounded by a diverting group of outrageous people;- two serene homosexuals; a predatory international hostess; a sad, obese man; a humorless woman writer; and of course the tourists and those who cope with them... Lots of willowy chatter, ingenious buffoonery, and scholarly asides for an amusing few hours. (Public Libraries may want to bypass this.)

Pub Date: Feb. 25, 1951

ISBN: 0786719923

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1951

Categories: FICTION