You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 3.231.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪ST47‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a web host's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and they should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 06:15, 30 September 2026.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Jon Kolbert‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected .
- Start of block: 05:35, 21 February 2024
- Expiry of block: 05:35, 21 February 2029
Your current IP address is 3.231.144.37. The blocked range is 3.231.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|Book by William Boyd))
((Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name         = The New Confessions
| image        = File:The New Confessions.jpg
| border       = yes
| caption      = First edition
| author       = [[William Boyd (writer)|William Boyd]]
| country      = United Kingdom
| language     = English
| cover_artist =
| genre        =
| publisher    = [[Hamish Hamilton]]
| pub_date     = 28 Sep 1987
| pages        = 384
| isbn         = 0-241-12383-6
))

'''''The New Confessions''''' is the fourth novel by the Scottish writer [[William Boyd (writer)|William Boyd]] published in 1987. The theme and narrative structure of the novel is modelled on [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]'s ''[[Confessions (Rousseau)|Les Confessions]]'', the reading of which has a huge impact on the protagonist's life.

==Plot==
The book follows the life of John James Todd from his birth in [[Edinburgh]] up to his final exile on a Mediterranean island. Todd fights in the [[First World War]] and also films it as a cameraman, he then works for a film studio and ends up in [[Berlin]] where he starts his filming of ''The Confessions''. After the financial collapse of his backer, he moves to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] along with many German exiles. He becomes a war correspondent during the Second World War and then returns to America where he becomes caught up in the [[Red Scare#Second Red Scare|anti-communist witch hunts]].

==Reception==
*[[Kirkus Reviews]] praises the novel: "A superbly entertaining, riveting work of major rank...Full of wild swings and ironic inversions, Boyd's latest nonetheless holds together by the intensity and sheer drive of his modern-day Rousseau. Rich, thoroughly absorbing work."<ref>[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/william-boyd-7/the-new-confessions/ Kirkus Reviews] Retrieved 22/9/2022.</ref>
*Ronald Gottesman writing in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' concludes that "Boyd has created an important and complex character in a vividly evoked series of settings. He has told a tale that we cannot not believe in (in spite of its many astonishing turns). He has written a subtle and provocative history of our time. Boyd is no longer a young writer of promise; with this book, he takes his place as a major novelist."<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-19-bk-7866-story.html Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Movie] Retrieved 22/9/2022.</ref>
*[[Michiko Kakutani]] from ''[[The New York Times]]'' is also positive: "While using Rousseau's life and work as a framework for his story, Mr. Boyd never makes the mistake of trying to turn Todd into a heavyweight philosopher, never belabors his role as a representative man. As a result, he has produced an entertaining and darkly comic novel, a novel given weight and ballast by the pressure of recent history."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/27/books/books-of-the-times-william-boyd-s-reverberations-with-rousseau.html William Boyd's Reverberations With Rousseau] Retrieved 22/9/2022.</ref>
*[[Joseph O'Neill (writer, born 1964)|Joseph O'Neill]] of the ''[[Literary Review]]'' writes that "To reveal any of the story would be a shame, because the great pleasure of this book is provided by its thrilling momentum and unexpected twists. Suffice to say that J J Todd experiences everything - Berlin in the Twenties, World War Two and, perhaps best of all the McCarthy witch-hunts. As Todd puts it, I have hunkered down in the mulch of the phenomenal world.' This is just about the only conclusion he comes up with. As Rousseau put it describing himself, he is a man who feels everything but sees nothing.<ref>''[[Literary Review]]'', September 1987, page 16.</ref>
*Martha Duffy from ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' has some reservations: "some of the gusto is missing. As his hero ages, the author's energy flags. Promising situations are brought up only to be dropped, and the tour of the century ends rather limply. Still, Boyd, a skilled and productive novelist (A Good Man in Africa, Stars and Bars), has succeeded in no small feat: writing a portrait of an artist that is both entertaining and intellectually engaging."<ref>[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,967515-2,00.html Rousseau Redux] Retrieved 22/9/2022.</ref>

==References==
((Reflist))

==External links==
* The Independent, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100220005058/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/william-boyd-a-chapter-of-accidents-750699.html "William Boyd: A chapter of accidents"], 20 April 2002

((William Boyd))

((DEFAULTSORT:New Confessions))
[[Category:1987 British novels]]
[[Category:Scottish novels]]
[[Category:Hollywood novels]]
[[Category:Novels by William Boyd (writer)]]
[[Category:Hamish Hamilton books]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

The New Confessions (edit)
Template:Both (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Catalog lookup link (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:ISBN (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:ISBNT (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox book (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Longitem (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Template other (view source) (protected)
Template:Wikidata image (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:William Boyd (edit)
Template:Yesno (view source) (protected)
Template:Yesno-no (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Catalog lookup link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Check isxn (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:InfoboxImage (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Italic title (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:Template wrapper (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wikidata (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to The New Confessions.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Confessions"