Missive #376

A record of his childhood, young adulthood, and twenties, The Best Times is a collage of cherished memories. He reflects on the joys of an itinerant life enriched by new and diverse friendships, customs, cultures, and cuisines.I didn’t like this book very much. It is autobiographical but only up to just before the Civil War in Spain and WWII. He made a passing reference to his friendship dissolution with Hemingway but did not indicate that it was due to a dispute over the Civil War. The Best Times were the years when he was a Socialist and his books were held in high esteem. After leaving Spain he moved to the right and his writing was no longer looked upon favorably by his old friends or by publishers. This was the last book published before his death four years later; perhaps he planned on a second memoir book that covered the rest of his life?

Luminary personalities and landscapes abound in the 1920s literary world Dos Passos loved. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, E.E. Cummings, Gerald and Sara Murphy, Horsley Gantt—they are his beloved friends. Spain, the French Riviera, Paris, Persia, the Caucasus—they are his beloved footpaths.

The Atlantic Monthly reviews The Best Times: “In portraying his old friends with both their flaws and their virtues, regarding them not as heroes or villains or competitors but talented colleagues, he gives us the best ‘album’ I know of the literary figures of the twenties. He does not attempt to do full-scale portraits of them, any more than he does of himself but sharp, deft sketches that convey a real sense of the person.” — From John Dos Passos website

…[S]tatements from US officials are unlikely to resonate with Latin American countries. Their claims lack credibility when contrasted with the tangible cooperation between China and Latin America and do not reflect the US’ own record in the region. China-Latin American ties have been built on mutual respect and non-interference, extending beyond trade to include investments, technology, as well as cultural and educational exchanges. China and Latin America share a history of resisting colonialism and exploitation by foreign powers and are now aligned in promoting a multipolar world order. The rhetoric of a “new cold war,” driven by neo-filibusters, alongside the revival of the Monroe Doctrine, stands in direct opposition to Latin America’s aspirations for sovereignty and cooperative development. — Latin America Rejects US’ new cold war Narrative by Tiago Nogara in Opinions @ Global Times