Books : Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase: A Biography

Rating: - It's an account of Keaton's life from beginning to end
I came to this book forewarned about the controversial allegations of childhood abuse and his illiteracy. On reading the first chapter, which is a sort of dramatic "taster" describing an event that occurs part way through the story, I was convinced that the book was going to be a novel (or screenplay)loosely based on Keaton's story.

The early chapters do contain some psycholgical speculation that does not seem to be supported by the evidence. For example, the author seems to make the claim that Keaton could not smile as a result of the (unproven) abuse he received from his father, resulting in his trademark "stone face". Yet this is contradicted by mentions later in the book that Keaton did smile and laugh, particulary in the early films he made with Roscoe Arbuckle.

As the book progresses, it becomes more a statement of a sequence of facts rather than imaginative speculation. Somewhere in the middle, where the story is at its most interesting, the presentation is well-paced and complementary.
Later on, the book becomes a list of short events, and has a repetititve feel to it. We learn how much Keaton earned for each of his appearances to reassure us that he was not living in poverty. As for the many interviews the author undertook, only a line or two of each have made it into the book. I'm not sure whether that is a good or bad thing.

I think that the big problem is that Keaton's life is the wrong "shape". This is probably true of most artists and I guess it is the big challenge for all biographers. The defining events of his life all happened in the first half. After that, the course of his life became more ordinary.

On the whole, I think this book does cover the facts of Keaton's life - certainly more completely than Blesh's or Keaton's books. The speculation is easy to spot and can be taken with a pinch of salt. If the ending is a let down, this is partly the fault of the subject matter. This book contains as much about Keaton's personal life as I would like to know. I don't plan to read another. Fans are probably better off reading about - or indeed watching - the films.

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Rating: - Perfectly dreadful!
It's really a shame that Keaton's 100th birthday was marked by the publication of a book that tries so hard to shoehorn him into the stereotypical Sad Clown mold...Ms. Meade does her best to portray him as a dysfunctional, unhappy, frozen, remote, illiterate wretch, when in fact he was none of those things. The illiteracy allegation is particularly foolish--how could a supposedly meticulous researcher have overlooked the existence of Buster's own (very tidy) diary? Watch the Brownlow/Gill documentary "A Hard Act to Follow", or dig up a used copy of the Blesh biography, but for heaven's sake don't let this dreadfully misguided piece of manufactured pathos be your only impression of Buster!

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Rating: - Details Keaton's off-the-screen life.
Meade's book does a good job of filling in the details of Keaton's off-screen life. Most valuable are her reference points made to Keaton's films that allows the reader to make correlations/speculations between reoccuring themes found in Keaton's private and performing life. Meade's writing is a little flat at times but she nonetheless does a good job at filling in the details (from the Keaton family and associates p.o.v.).Her sequencing and division of events, including asides regarding various family members, are well thought out and the photo-illustrations are excellent. Overall the quality of the book make it a valuable read to the avid or casual fan as well as to those interested in further research and study.

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Rating: - Must for Keaton fans
I have read 4 books on Keaton and this on is the best. I liked it because it's starts with his father and his vaudville days. A complete look at Keaton's life on screen and off. Pulls no punches, loaded with funny stories and you'll leave this book amazed at what he did. Very good!

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Rating: - Meticulous and vivid biography of a silent screen genius.
Marion Meade's definitive (so far) biography of Buster Keaton is meticulously researched and footnoted, and vivid in describing Keaton's character and personal life. Her evocation of his rough and tumble childhood in vaudeville, unparalleled cinematic innovation in the silent era and rediscovery in his later years is fresh and fascinating. Keaton had complete creative control for 19 short films and 10 features in the 1920s; work as intensely original as that of any other cinema artist of any era. No book can convey the laughter and exhilaration of watching Keaton's films, but Meade's book is an invaluable companion to them.