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Nom De Plume: A (Secret) History Of Pseudonyms (2011)

by Carmela Ciuraru(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0061735264 (ISBN13: 9780061735264)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Harper

review 1: Instead of an in-depth exploration of one author, this books provides a bit of detail on many, focusing on those that used pseudonyms--why they chose to do so, how they picked a pen name, how they reacted if they were exposed, and so on. It links together the various reasons a writer chooses to use another identity, or even more than one, and how well each brought together these two (or more) disparate selves.Though each chapter is far briefer than a biography, each provides an overview from life to death, with interesting details scattered along the way. However, this is hardly a cheerful book, many of the stories full of woe and loss--perhaps an unfortunate fact of many writer's lives. Recommended for readers interested in a variety of authors, pen names, and how we pres... moreent masks to the world.
review 2: Some of the stories were interesting. I didn't know a lot of the authors. It is kind of like reading a bunch of mini biographies, so if you are into that you would probably enjoy it. There was nothing really connecting the stories together (besides the fact that they all used pseudonyms). I found the intro kind of dull and scattered and there wasn't even a conclusion section. I would have liked more coherent discussion about why people choose pseudonyms and how that compares to today's information age where it may be harder to hide. The themes for using pseudonyms were more interesting to me than all of the biographical elements.At one point in Plath's story the author said something like "and we all know how she felt about her father. And if you didn't, go read her poem Daddy." Um, no, how about you take a sentence or less to tell me instead of assuming I know everything you do? less

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