Blindfold Games was the first volume of Alan Ross's
autobiography. He was a most attractive man. William Boyd has
eloquently described his appeal, 'There was a sophisticated
raffishness and glamour about him . . . nothing seedy or earnest.
He owned racehorses. He loved women and travel. . . He was a poet
and a brilliant writer on cricket.' He was also one of the great
literary editors, running the London Magazine in its heyday.
This volume begins in Bengal, where he was born, and ends in
Germany in 1946 when the author was twenty-four. It takes in his
childhood in India, his schooldays in England, his time at Oxford,
and, most hauntingly, his experiences on the Arctic convoys during
the Second World War. He survived: very many of his friends were
killed.
To give it a less humdrum description one can turn to the
author's own words. 'War, India, cricket: these were my first
subjects as a writer and they remain the preoccupations of this
book. In due course, the playing of games was replaced by writing
about them, and it was to the belief that the best characteristics
of each derive from the same source that I nailed my colours. The
searching for 'suitable similes' . . . whether for Hammond's
off-drive, Stanley Matthews' mesmeric dribbling, or a racehorse's
action, was as good a way as I could imagine of relating techniques
to aesthetics. . .
Perhaps, as much as anything, writing this book has been an
attempt to reconcile differing definitions of style and to trace
the manner in which a single-minded devotion to sport developed
into a passion for poetry.'
'An exceptional autobiography, beautifully written' John
Carey
'A beautifully composed book' Raleigh Trevelyan
'A Delightful account of the first part of his life, which, I
shall lay odds, is likely to become a classic' Allan Massie,
Listener
'A brilliant performance' Anthony Curtis
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!