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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
A haunting and beautifully written memoir of a tragic and broken life.
This book was devastating but a book I think everyone should read. The heartache of the authors life is something more people than you think can relate to, have lived and experienced. He eloquently tells the story of his life, and doesn’t spare the hard to talk about details. I was saddened to find out he passed away in April of this year. It took a lot of bravery to tell his life story.
This is not an easy book to read. What this man has endured is absolutely heart wrenching. But to be able to write in such a brave, honest way is a testament to the man that Mr. Goolrick clearly is. He says he wrote it to bring awareness of the thousands of children who are sexual abuse victims. I hope more and more people are able to read this book and perhaps find hope.
With all the demons tormenting this man, it is no wonder that "A Reliable Wife" was such a startling and intense book. I can't wait to read whatever he does next.
vivid portrayal of life in the 50's and early 60's, but grim and dark.
One terrible night influenced the author's entire life, heartbreaking.
I wasn't able to finish this. It just got less interesting the farther I read.
I read 80 pages of this and gave up. It had no discernible plot or theme. Just a bunch of random ramblings. Life's too short.
This is a really strange, hard book. Not hard to read, but hard to handle. The author is so wounded, and he drops hints about his story and his present situation in really unusual ways. But the story is a great depiction of a period and a way of life.
Glad I read Goolrick's two fictional books--both of which were wonderful--before reading this memoir.
The book is stunning in many ways--a man laying bare his worst secrets and deepest insecurities--in moving, jarring prose. There are scenes that are deftly drawn, recalling time and place with crystalline accuracy. And I liked the non-linear, non-chronological structure, which begins (and this is not a spoiler) with the death of his Goolrick's father.
However. There is a lack of cohesion. The book feels like it was written by multiple authors at times, as Goolrick experiments with stream of consciousness, repetitive motifs, straightforward narrative, Gothic/Southern story-telling and even black humor. You keep wondering: what is he trying to say? What does he want the reader to know?
In the end, I felt manipulated by Goolrick's story, as if he tried a dozen ways to make me feel something, with only some of them successful.
The book is stunning in many ways--a man laying bare his worst secrets and deepest insecurities--in moving, jarring prose. There are scenes that are deftly drawn, recalling time and place with crystalline accuracy. And I liked the non-linear, non-chronological structure, which begins (and this is not a spoiler) with the death of his Goolrick's father.
However. There is a lack of cohesion. The book feels like it was written by multiple authors at times, as Goolrick experiments with stream of consciousness, repetitive motifs, straightforward narrative, Gothic/Southern story-telling and even black humor. You keep wondering: what is he trying to say? What does he want the reader to know?
In the end, I felt manipulated by Goolrick's story, as if he tried a dozen ways to make me feel something, with only some of them successful.