The Life and Work of Harold Pinter

London theater critic Michael Billington draws on interviews with the noted British dramatist, his friends, and coworkers to explore the links between Harold Pinter's life and works like The Birthday Party and Betrayal. He discovers a good deal of autobiography, as well as political commentary on the power struggle implicit in male-female relations. The account of Pinter's youth in London's East End and his close friendships with other smart, iconoclastic Jewish boys is especially good. Intelligent and accessible, this is a fine theater biography for the general reader.