The Man Within My Head

This interesting introspective helps Iyer explain some of his background and the influences that hae gone into his writing. The "man within his head" is Graham Greene, an author who kept touching Iyer's life in odd ways. After reading this book I reread some Greene and watched him on film. I don't have the same reaction to this author--I'm happy to say he's not in my own head. But it's fascinating to see how an author who is as skilled as Iyer is able to trace some of the mysterious influences that have affected him and hence his writing. This is an unusually personal book. Even though Iyer's writing is always personal, this takes the reader to a new level. Although to an extent it's probably more enjoyable to Iyer or Greene connoisseurs, it's also a model for any reader or writer who is serious. We all have many, many influences on our own writing, but we don't always take the time to consider what those are. A careful analysis may even yield information we'd rather we didn't know. It's a risk we might have to take--and a risk that I appreciate Iyer's taking in this volume.

Ostensibly "The Man Within My Head" is Iyer's meditation on Graham Greene, the writer nearest to his heart, but it is equally a meditation upon Iyer himself. Greene may be the man within his head, but why? What is it in us that makes a particular writer resonate in our souls? For Iyer Greene is his adopted father although the two never met."[T]here is a mystery, fundamental and unanswerable, in ourselves as in the world around us, which is in fact a part of what gives life its sense of hauntedness", Iyer writes. It is this sense of hauntedness that Greene captures in his novels and makes them meaningful to Iyer. Through Iyer's exquisite writing we learn here not only about Greene, but also about Iyer, a man who lives between cultures. We also learn about ourselves through his ruminations. What more could any reader ask?

I always enjoy Pico Iyers books because he has a balance of the objective, observing mind and the subjective self questioning of an attentive mind and the appreciation and acceptance of the heart mind. Or so it seems to me. He has closely observed information to share about people and places, and now he has closely examined things to share biographically as well. Along the way he always credits every helping hand or heart. I find strength in critiques that do not tear down.Especially if you are also a reader of Graham Greene you will enjoy this book. If you have enjoyed Pico Iyer's other travels through the worlds his mind has encountered, you will get something out of this too.

What an exciting, thoughtful writer, who has lived such an adventuresome life--and continues to do so. From Santa Barbara, with an Indian academic father, to public school in England, to living in Japan, and traveling and writing-- A man of immense wisdom and thoughtfulness, he is a treasure , with his knowledge of Japan's "stillness", and his own extraordinary perceptiveness and thoughtfulness. A rare travel writer, who is a poet and philosopher of the first rank!This book was a treasure to read , mull over, and remember!!

I love Pico Iyer, and this book is quite a departure from his travel writing. And because I love his other work, I really liked the feeling of getting to know the man behind the poetry and travel essays.

Pico Iyer writes beautifully and his stories are excellent. I adore Graham Greene and have since the late 5o's when I beganreading him. I'm re-reading all the Greene books I have as I read the Iyer book. It's so nice to hear what Mr. Iyer has to sayabout each book and then read it for myself. I love it all.

Pico Iyer's writing is vivid and descriptive-- not too flowery either. Just the right combination of words without the words getting in the way of telling the story

I am partial to literary fiction, and so I save that last half star for that category, but Iyer's reverie is high on my list for provocative reading far into the night.

Iyer is a true rarity, a man with global sympathies who also had global experience and global wisdom. His prose is seductively good, so that when his multifarious lines of thought draw you into fresh and intriguing places, you follow without realising you are being taken into new and challenging spaces. I enjoy every page. Strongly recommended, both this and others of his work, notably (for me) The Lady and the Monk, Global Soul and Sun After Dark.

classic Pico Iyer style, enjoyed it very much

Das Buch gibt einen guten Einblick in das, was Pico Iyer so umtreibt. Vieles aus seinem Leben wird verständlich, die Reiselust, das nirgends-zu-Hause-sein, das "Weltbürgertum" als Ersatz für Heimat. Bringt einem sowohl Pico Iyer als auch Graham Greene näher. Empfehlenswert!

Gotta love Pico :)