The Tongue Set Free

Book excerpt: Winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize, this first volume of the author's autobiography provides a searching portrait of his personal background and creative development. Elias Canetti was one of the major intellectual figures and polymaths of the twentieth century. A master of many genres, he is known especially for his novel, Auto-da-Fe, and his great work of social theory, Crowds and Power. But Canetti's genius is perhaps nowhere more evident than in the three volumes of his autobiography. This first volume, Tongue Set Free, provides a searching portrait of the author's personal background and creative development as it presents the events, personalities (especially Canetti's mother), and intellectual forces that shaped the growth of the artist as a young man.