5 Great Books by Christopher Isherwood

Christopher Isherwood was born in the early 1900s in England. He lived through both World Wars. He not only lived through the wars, but he also befriended a bunch of great people in Hollywood. Christopher Isherwood was friends with the likes of W.H Auden and Truman Capote. He wrote a ton of great books and the more I read Christopher Isherwood, the more I have come to appreciate the writing style of his place and time.

If you did not know much about Christopher Isherwood, he was not only a Hindu, but he was also homosexual. Neither of those things are particularly important, but I think that when you read his books, especially books like "The Memorial" and "Meeting by the River" you can really understand how he put some of himself into them. The utter brilliance of the complexity of human nature that Christopher Isherwood was able to write came from his own personal experiences in some degree. But there was a good amount of imaginative writing in there too. I think that's why it is important.

His biggest and most famous works include novels like "Goodbye to Berlin" which was adapted into a musical starring Liza Minnelli called "Cabaret". Another book that he is very famous for is "A Single Man" which was made into a film starring Colin Firth of the same name. Christopher Isherwood was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1980s and then died from it at the age of 81 in 1986. He was surely one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, having a career that spanned almost the entirety of that century.

What we're going to do is take a look at some of the greatest books I have read by Christopher Isherwood and let me tell you, I have read many, many books by Christopher Isherwood. There is so much complexity about human relationships that you can learn from his books. But be aware that what I think are my favourite may not be yours. This is purely opinion.

They are in no particular order but the year in which they were published.

5 Great Books by Christopher Isherwood

The Memorial (1932)

I think this one is great for not only exploring human relationships, but also exploring why some people are more open to new experiences than others. The uncle is far better at exploring the new life of Berlin than his nephew is and so, this becomes one of the main themes of the book. It is a brilliant early work by Isherwood, sometimes referred to as 'flawed', but I don't think it's flawed at all.

“His boredom was like a nostalgia for the whole world. He was homesick for everywhere but here.”

Mr. Norris Changes Trains (1935)

Another novel os human complexities, there is a strange man on the train that captures the attention of the narrator. The language and the way in which wealth is talked about in this book reminded me of my favourite book of all time and honestly, I have to say that it was one of my favourite Christopher Isherwood books ever.

“Sometimes Arthur talked about his childhood. As a boy he was delicate and had never been sent to school. An only son, he lived alone with his widowed mother, whom me adored. Together they studied literature and art; together they visted Paris, Baden-Baden, Rome, moving always in the best society, from Schloss to château, from château to palace, gentle, charming, appreciative; in a state of perpeutal tender anxiety about each other's health.”

Prater Violet (1945)

More of an autobiographical novel, there is something about this book that makes it highly underrated amongst the bibliography of Christopher Isherwood. I love the language of this book, it always seems like there is a moment of peace, but underneath it is this underlying tension that never ever ends.

“Beneath outer consciousness, two other beings, anonymous, impersonal, without labels, had met and recognized each other and clasped hands.”

A Single Man (1964)

It was adapted into a film starring Colin Firth, but by all means the book is just as good, if not better. The language of this book, again, is the one of the things I loved about this novel. It would cover complex human subjects: love, fear, happiness, loneliness, depression and death. These themes explored alongside the storyline is honestly one of the best modern classic novels I have read in a long time. There is something about the articulation of Christopher Isherwood that makes him utterly brilliant.

“Fear, after all, is our real enemy. Fear is taking over our world. Fear is being used as a tool of manipulation in our society. Itʼs how politicians peddle policy and how Madison Avenue sells us things that we donʼt need. Think about it. Fear that weʼre going to be attacked, fear that there are communists lurking around every corner, fear that some little Caribbean country that doesnʼt believe in our way of life poses a threat to us. Fear that black culture may take over the world. Fear of Elvis Presleyʼs hips. Well, maybe that one is a real fear. Fear that our bad breath might ruin our friendships… Fear of growing old and being alone.”

A Meeting by the River (1967)

The relations between two brothers and their very different lifestyles - one is a Hindu Monk and the other is a man who wants to explore every aspect of Hedonism. There is something incredible about this book and honestly, I love the way Christopher Isherwood is able to write dialogue of two very different characters so fluently. I think that this might be the best of his efforts in all of his novels, though all five of these are quite brilliant.

“I mean, I'm not naive enough to imagine that anyone can be satisfied indefinitely by memories, especially if he's young and full of life, like you. I did my best to help you build up a reserve to keep going on.”