Tim Page – författare

An affecting memoir of life as a boy who didn’t know he had Asperger’s syndrome until he became a man. In 1997, Tim Page won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his work as the chief classical music critic of The Washington Post, work that the Pulitzer board called “lucid and illuminating.” Three years later, at the age of 45, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome–an autistic disorder characterized by often superior intellectual abilities but also by obsessive behavior, ineffective communication, and social awkwardness. In a personal chronicle that is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Page revisits his early days through the prism of newfound clarity. Here is the tale of a boy who could blithely recite the names and dates of all the United States’ presidents and their wives in order (backward upon request), yet lacked the coordination to participate in the simplest childhood games. It is the story of a child who memorized vast portions of the World Book Encyclopedia simply by skimming through its volumes, but was unable to pass elementary school math and science. And it is the triumphant account of a disadvantaged boy who grew into a high-functioning, highly successful adult—perhaps not despite his Asperger’s but because of it, as Page believes. For in the end, it was his all-consuming love of music that emerged as something around which to construct a life and a prodigious career. In graceful prose, Page recounts the eccentric behavior that withstood glucose-tolerance tests, anti-seizure medications, and sessions with the school psychiatrist, but which above all, eluded his own understanding. A poignant portrait of a lifelong search for answers, Parallel Play provides a unique perspective on Asperger’s and the well of creativity that can spring forth as a result of the condition.From the Trade Paperback edition.

When Glenn Gould died in 1982 at the age of fifty, he left behind an astonishing legacy: in twenty-six years he had proved himself to be not only an extraordinary pianist but a brilliant critic. His writing - which appeared primarily in music journals and on record sleeves - was often as provocative as his performances: demanding, compelling, occasionally infuriating, but always the product of a singular artistic vision. This is a wide-ranging selection from Gould's criticism.

In 65 perceptive pieces, including some of the work that earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1997, Page offers what he calls “a collection of illumined moments ” now gathered in a single volume for the wider audience who will treasure their insights.