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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
The last of my Abigail Thomas memoirs. With ease and beauty, Thomas turns simple thoughts and feelings into poetry. I truly hope she is curled up with her dogs right now, scribbling her thoughts on a notepad so that I have more of her work to look forward to.
A quick read and a different style of writing to look into for all writers.
This is a quick reading memoir. The chapters are anywhere from a paragraph to a page or two long. And I don’t know if I’d call it a “memoir” as much as it seems like just some random thoughts about her life. I chose it to read because I had enjoyed A Three Dog Life so much. Not so sure about this one. The writing is beautiful (parts of it), but I don’t feel like I got a real glimpse into her life.
Another kind of 'meh' read, again purely from a content standpoint. I enjoyed the brevity of each section and I really appreciate Thomas' elegant prose and sense of humor, but I wasn't particularly interested in the story she was telling. (With that being said, I must acknowledge once again that a) I have a very low tolerance for heterosexual marriage stories and b) I did actually like the ending of it pretty well. So there's that.)
Content warnings: death, sexual harassment.
Content warnings: death, sexual harassment.
I read this book in one weekend - I literally couldn't put it down! It only took me 3 days because I was trying to spread it out with the other 2 books I'm currently reading also, at first. After page 25, I knew that I couldn't be reading (or doing much of) anything else until I finished this book. It also gave me so much inspiration in my own writing - a piece that I have been rewriting forever trying to find the right structure - that after finishing reading the book, I went straight into writing ... The characters, the changes in point of view, the short, flash piece format, the emotions -- everything is on point in this book. If you haven't read it yet, you must read it!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
4.5/5 Stars
This is a beautifully crafted memoir. Each chapter falls somewhere between poetry and prose, and the way each story is crafted challenges the traditional structure of storytelling. Reading this book reminded me that we all experience moments profoundly, and every memory lends texture to the ongoing story of our lives, even out of context.
The unique way this book is crafted perfectly emulates life: the memories are sporadic and out of order--some connecting to one another while others stand alone--but all add up to the measure of one person. I found the honesty divulge don each page to be undeniable; I have never been married, divorced, or a single mother, but I understood exactly how Abigail Thomas felt--her confusion, her desires, her struggles, her desperation to write certain moments into something comprehensible. I connected with her story despite the fact that we are worlds apart, which is the beauty of memoir.
Writing-wise, I love every decision Abigail Thomas made as an author. I love that this memoir was written in both first a third person; as a writer, this is something that I understand--two voices I find myself alternating between depending on the nature of the story. I love that the titles of every chapter lent themselves to all of the words that followed--either contextualizing them, leading into them, or perfectly summarizing them. As I said before, Thomas' storytelling is wonderfully captivating and somewhere between poetry and prose. She uses her words as a means for discovery, and I found myself wholly engrossed in each page--to the point where I had to force myself to stop reading for the night.
Overall, this was a fantastic reading experience. I can't wait to read more from Abigail Thomas and to delve deeper into creative nonfiction to see how much it can teach me about writing and, by extension, about life.
This is a beautifully crafted memoir. Each chapter falls somewhere between poetry and prose, and the way each story is crafted challenges the traditional structure of storytelling. Reading this book reminded me that we all experience moments profoundly, and every memory lends texture to the ongoing story of our lives, even out of context.
The unique way this book is crafted perfectly emulates life: the memories are sporadic and out of order--some connecting to one another while others stand alone--but all add up to the measure of one person. I found the honesty divulge don each page to be undeniable; I have never been married, divorced, or a single mother, but I understood exactly how Abigail Thomas felt--her confusion, her desires, her struggles, her desperation to write certain moments into something comprehensible. I connected with her story despite the fact that we are worlds apart, which is the beauty of memoir.
Writing-wise, I love every decision Abigail Thomas made as an author. I love that this memoir was written in both first a third person; as a writer, this is something that I understand--two voices I find myself alternating between depending on the nature of the story. I love that the titles of every chapter lent themselves to all of the words that followed--either contextualizing them, leading into them, or perfectly summarizing them. As I said before, Thomas' storytelling is wonderfully captivating and somewhere between poetry and prose. She uses her words as a means for discovery, and I found myself wholly engrossed in each page--to the point where I had to force myself to stop reading for the night.
Overall, this was a fantastic reading experience. I can't wait to read more from Abigail Thomas and to delve deeper into creative nonfiction to see how much it can teach me about writing and, by extension, about life.