The Life and Work of Harold Pinter by Michael Billington (review)

Book Reviews 423 these plays geographically is for the most part effective, these analyses are muddied by her attempt to connect each play to the culture from which it comes. A cultural analysis of these plays, the most interesting aspect of this study, is not given enough background to be fully effective. Part Two, the more "theoretical" of the two, includes analyses of still more plays such as Fuck Nam, Pinkerville, and the Rabe trilogy. Here, utilizing a clear theoretical base, Alter's study gains focus. Using Trinh T. Minh-ha's definition of "otherness' and describing various forms of "de-humanization," Alter finds the "teeth" in these plays. Trinh's work could serve as a focal point in Part One of Alter's analysis. Finally, the most interesting aspects of this study are found in its conclusion and epilogue. The conclusion, entitled "Re-Acting to the Television War," opens a dialogue about the coexistence among three important elements of contemporary society: television, theatre, and current events. How the three intertwine has yet to be studied, and Alter uses her analysis of these plays to open a door to such research. The epilogue, though only twelve pages long, contains much fascinating information. Entitled "Antimedia: Vietnamese Theatre as Pacific Resistance," it concerns itself with the Vietnamese perspective on the war, particularly that of the Viet Cong, as well as the theatre which arises from this perspective. Again, however, not enough space is given to describe or analyze this material fully. In conclusion, Nora M. Alter attempts many things in this book. What she most notably achieves is a whetting of our appetites for more information and more analysis on this topic. This, it seems, is her purpose. She states: "A more specific remark about methodology. Just as the reader should not expect an exhaustive discussion of all the relevant Vietnam Protest Plays, nor should she or he expect a detailed close analysis ofeach play I do consider"; "I would hope that my understated use of theory, my principle of selecting texts, and my critical method will help us to be critical of this perhaps inevitable leap to culture from other social determinations as it occurs on the Vie~nam protest stage in several theatrical forms and national languages" (xxii). DANIEL-RAYMOND NADON, KENT STATE UNIVERSITY-TRUMBULL CAMPUS MICHAEL BILLINGTON. The Lifeand Work o/HaroldPinter. London: Faberand Faber 1996. Pp. 414· $39·99 Michael Billington's The Life and Work o/Harold Pinter is the first authorized biographical study of the dramatist. This makes the publication both welcome and significant for a numberofreasons: Pinter's work is for the first time critiqued in the context of both the personal and professional development of the drama- BOOK REVIEWS tist; and stage works are examined alongside his one work of fiction, his poetry, his radio and television drama, and his screenplays (including an insightful analysis of the unproduced screen adaptation of Proust's A10 recherche du temps perdu), forging useful comparisons between Pinter's dramaturgical strategies for the stage and for other media. Billington has not only made profitable use of the Pinter Archive at the British Library; interviews with Pinter, his wife Antonia Fraser, friends, and colleagues critically inform the approach. When the book was launched in England , media attention was focused rather overtly on the revelation that during the 1960s, while still married to the actress Vivien Merchant, Pinter was engaged in a concealed love affair with Joan Bakewell, a well-known television religious affairs presenter. Bakeweil's husband was also a friend of Pinter's. Bakewell recounts how episodes in the relationship are directly transported into the text of Betrayal, Pinter's triangular memory play. Billington notes a host of autobiographical events as significant inspirations for numerous works: from being an actor on tour in Eastbourne seeking a roof for the night (The Birthday Party) to being in rehearsal for No Man's Land and receiving news that his mother was dying (Moonlight). It is not only Billing!on but Pinter, his friends, and colleagues who forge these connections. The argument is persuasive , not as an example of"art reflecting life" but in its interconnectedness with Pinter's dramatic contemplation on...