Product Description

When Quentin Tarantino was eight years old, and all the regular kids were lining up to see the latest from Disney, Tarantino’s mother took him to see Carnal Knowledge. Sound about right?

A high-school dropout who never attended film school, Tarantino got all the education he needed while working the register at Los Angeles’s fabled Video Archives. His enthusiasms — for pop culture (foreign and domestic), eye-popping aesthetics, and genre films — would become notorious and infectious. The outrageous success of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction essentially killed off Tarantino the man, and gave birth to Tarantino the myth.

Here, from legendary novelist and historian Jerome Charyn, is a portrait of both the man AND the myth — and the mind behind them both. More than a biography, more than a critical study, Raised by Wolves is a feisty and astute reckoning with Tarantino en toto.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #221394 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781560258582
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Charyn's been busy in recent months, publishing a biographical study of Isaac Babel (Savage Shorthand) and editing an anthology of Jewish-American literature (Inside the Hornet's Head). But that doesn't excuse the rushed quality of this cut-and-paste rehash. It's an ill-timed release, considering Tarantino's two Kill Bill movies may have reintroduced him to the public spotlight after a long absence, but they did so at a cult-hero level significantly below the iconic status he enjoyed after making Pulp Fiction. Accordingly, everything seems to be done at half-strength: Charyn relies heavily on quotes from earlier profiles and film reviews, and in several cases, his analysis barely rises above quoting dialogue line by line. He also leans on the critical notion that actors can be confused with the characters they're playing, an idea that goes hand in hand with his reduction of Tarantino's themes to the psychological plight of "perplexed, parentless children" who are as scarred by the absence of their fathers as Charyn presumes Tarantino himself must have been. It's clear Charyn has been moved by Tarantino's films, but this expression of his admiration falls far below his usual lyrical standards as a novelist. (June 10)
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Customer Reviews

Seemingly senseless gibble gabble...
The moment I saw the cover of this newly published book, I immediately went to the cash register and bought myself a copy. I mean, even the title sounds cool.."Raised By Wolves". Yet, when I began reading this book, I was wondering where all of this writing was going.

The author, Jerome Charyn, seems to have only a wide knowledge of vocabulary that makes it sound like he knows what he is talking about. And at the same time, I feel as if he writes on purpose only to confuse the reader with all this filmic and post-modernist gibble gabble that really, if you try to think about it, doesn't make too much sense.

I wanted a detailed story about Tarantino's life as a youth, how he became the person he is today. What influences he had, what things he did to mold him into a film director, etc. There were bits and pieces yes, but I feel as if there was too much confusion around his aimless commentary and analysis to make it worthwhile to read.

Awsome Director, Awful Book
I consider myself to be the biggest fan of Tarantino and his art. I've purchased many biographies on him and filmographies and when I found out this was coming out I almost pooped my pants. I ordered it and when I finally got it I was very dissapointed.

This book is a one sided bashing of the writer/director. How could this pass as a biography? There are many times where the author takes a quote from a Tarantino movie and deeply reads into it. There is no problem with that except, he gets the quotes wrong. If you are going to take someones quote out of context you should at the very least make the quote correct, or at least close.

All in all this book is trash. Pick up Tarantino by Jim Smith or The Pocket Essential Quentin Tarantino. Actually pick them both up The Pocket essential gives a better view of his life and a concise overview of the movies. Jim Smith's has an extensive view of his filmography and almost no personal life. They go together great. Like Mia and Vincent.