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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
A harrowing account of the lifetime effects of abuse.
A retrospective account of middle-class suburbia in Virginia during the 1950s and 1960s before the Vietnam War. Alcohol abuse, constant partying, keeping up appearances and shattered dreams.
A retrospective account of middle-class suburbia in Virginia during the 1950s and 1960s before the Vietnam War. Alcohol abuse, constant partying, keeping up appearances and shattered dreams.
Incredibly sad... one of the saddest memoirs I've ever read. No hope for this man, but so beautifully written. I am glad I read this though
I love this memoir. It is both the story of one man's specific life and a portrait of Virginia culture in the 1950s and 1960s. Both stories are brilliantly told and both are compelling. And, although Goolrick suffered more than a child should, I didn't find the book too painful or depressing to enjoy. Yes, he tells his story honestly and without holding back the awful things that happened to him. But he is equally honest about the people and places he loves, and tells his story with a precisely calibrated degree of compassion and humor. His prose, of course, is amazing throughout.
This story touched me deeply and gave me new insights into my own parents and my relationship with them. It is not light beach reading, but it is a wonderful book that I recommend without reservation - especially to others whose parents were part of the middle-class "cocktail culture" of the 1950s and 1960s.
This story touched me deeply and gave me new insights into my own parents and my relationship with them. It is not light beach reading, but it is a wonderful book that I recommend without reservation - especially to others whose parents were part of the middle-class "cocktail culture" of the 1950s and 1960s.
Disturbing story. It was so graphic that had to force myself to read it. I read it for back ground info for my book club when we read A Reliable Wife by the same author. I probably wouldn't have finished it otherwise.
Very sad, very choppy, didn't hate it, wouldn't recommend it.
Dark. Sorrowful. Tortured. Sometimes I'm not sure how people can go on when they have had such horrible events happen to them. For me, it's a miracle that Robert Goolrick is alive let alone such an incredible writer. (He is the author of one of my favorite books: The Reliable Wife) For me, this was an incredibly hard memoir to read. Of course, that doesn't compare to Mr. Goolrick's agony in living through such trauma.
I look forward to meeting Mr. Goolrick at the 2012 Iowa City Book Festival.
I look forward to meeting Mr. Goolrick at the 2012 Iowa City Book Festival.
I'm craaaaazy in love with this author and this was the hardest thing I've ever had to read. By page 36, I was openly weeping and I can't even verbalize the fear in my heart I have now for humanity. Yeah. That book hurt. Don't read it.
I cannot imagine that this book was easy to write. It explains a lot about his later work, A Reliable Wife and Heading Out to Wonderful. I will read anything this man writes, even though his subject matter is often difficult and disturbing. However tough his life is or has been, he has an incredible talent for writing.
I was enjoying his style but may have to come back to this later. Abused children is a difficult topic, though the author sort of sneaks up on you in an interesting way.
I like that Goolrick is able to nostalgize his southern upbringing despite its horrors.
I like that Goolrick is able to nostalgize his southern upbringing despite its horrors.
Goolrick's talent for describing a scene is both a blessing and curse and easily evident in this memoir.