Djuna, the Life and Times of Djuna Barnes

I first read Nightwood in college in 1951; I had never heard of Barnes. Just prior to Nightwood we read The Day of the Locust. I was ready for her, or thought so. Andrew Field has given us a well written fascinating story of this major American writer delving into her history, influences, writing and publication and as much of the inner "her" as might be possible; she remained quite reclusive for the last 40 years of her life in Greenwich Village. Ms Barnes was nothing if not private. Still she strode among the best of our writers in Paris and New York. She doens't flinch, and has low tolerance for those who do. Nightwood is an extraordianry journey into the soul of its author, and many of us. Field helps make her accessable, although I doubt if any one writer could accomplish that.