"A smart, absorbing blend of criticism and biography that demythologizes the writings of Britain's premier postwar dramatist . . . Billington combines intelligence with accessibility to create a fine theater book for the general reader.""--Kirkus Reviews" "The book's most fascinating sections explore the sources, literary and biographical, of Pinter's evocative, cryptic plays.""--Booklist" "Enthralling. Calmly, judiciously written, it takes Pinter from his Hackney childhood and Jewish upbringing to his current eminence and political activity; it handles his acting, writing and directing; it treats his plays, screenwriting, poetry and fiction; and discusses many of his friendships and both of his marriages . . . Billington's book is an open-sesame into Pintor's work . . . To the extent that Billington provides answers about Pinter's life and art, his is a valuable book. And absorbing: I found it virtually unputdownable.""--Financial Times" "Through his work as a playwright and director, Pinter has raised out theatre to the highest point that it has achieved since Edwardian times . . . No reader of this book will doubt, by the end of it, that its subject is a man of the highest artistic stature.""--Sunday Telegraph" "An outstandingly good book.""--Independent "
