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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
A poetic memoir told through vignettes in the form of letters to various men. Beautiful and moving writing with stream of consciousness style. Also very funny at times. Like many others, while reading this, I thought, Mary Louise Parker could absolutely change careers to writing with no problem.
I felt a lack of momentum in reading - something about the book being broken up into disjointed letters made it feel less like a story. The book was hard to put down when reading (I kept thinking "I'll just read one more letter") but I didn't feel much urge to pick it up in between readings.
Also, a few of the letters to people who were not white seemed to rest on cliches and stereotypes - e.g. the random cab driver, the uncle of her adopted daughter. I could feel the author with her actor's skill trying to work her way into the individual people's minds rather than staying on the level of the stereotype, but I felt like she didn't quite arrive.
I felt a lack of momentum in reading - something about the book being broken up into disjointed letters made it feel less like a story. The book was hard to put down when reading (I kept thinking "I'll just read one more letter") but I didn't feel much urge to pick it up in between readings.
Also, a few of the letters to people who were not white seemed to rest on cliches and stereotypes - e.g. the random cab driver, the uncle of her adopted daughter. I could feel the author with her actor's skill trying to work her way into the individual people's minds rather than staying on the level of the stereotype, but I felt like she didn't quite arrive.
I didn’t like this book at all. I never got into her cryptic, poetic letter writing because it all seemed so forced. I don’t expect her to name people but the mysterious writing quickly grows old. I do t have any better sense of who she is because so much of it seems written about someone else, some girl out there who is separate from Parker. She sounds like she’s gone through a lot but I wish that she could have just written letters with actual emotion and description instead of metaphoric prose.
I put this book on my short stories shelf, because that's the only way I can make sense of it -- to see each letter as a short story. Parker seems to be writing actual letters to people -- the kind where you don't have to fill in details because the reader already knows them. Sometimes this worked and felt like a cool, innovative short story, and other times I was completely lost and/or disinterested. If this story angle was fulfilled a bit more, it could have really worked.
I've liked her as an actress since Fried Green Tomatoes, and always thought she has a witty, dry sense of humour. That must be my imagination based on her The West Wing character, because that humour is completely absent from the book. Give it a pass unless you, as a fan, REALLY love her work and need to consume it all.
I've liked her as an actress since Fried Green Tomatoes, and always thought she has a witty, dry sense of humour. That must be my imagination based on her The West Wing character, because that humour is completely absent from the book. Give it a pass unless you, as a fan, REALLY love her work and need to consume it all.
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
I don't know if writing a memoir that focuses around the men in the author's life is feminist or aging well, but it was an enjoyable, quick read. Some of the stories were very captivating and well written.
I listened to the audio book and it was especially powerful to hear the author read her words. Recommend!
Wow. Beautiful. It took me a while to finish this book only because it sometimes felt like a chapter (a letter to a male person who had crossed her life path or more) needed a bit of time. I'm so glad she kept her promise to her father.
You know how those actor-turned-writer books are so annoying (Lena Dunham, James Franco, etc . . .)? Well "Dear Mr. You" eradicates all my annoyances. Mary-Louise Parker is a good actress and a GREAT writer, and this book is inspired, insightful, sharp, touching and very well-written.
(Received ARC at Book Expo of America 2015)
Mary-Louise Parker has penned a very eloquent collection of letters aimed at the influential men in her life. The beauty in her writing and the emotion she puts into each letter makes you want to write some of your own. I've heard that writing honest and open letters to certain people in your life can be quite cathartic. Reading Dear Mr. You makes me want to break out the pretty stationery and get my feelings out.
The downside to her novel is that it drove me crazy wanting to know who each letter was about. I felt like I was missing a huge piece of the puzzle. Despite this, I still really enjoyed her work -- the only thing that would complete this before its official release is to change Parker's beautiful head shot on the back cover with a picture of her dropping a microphone.
Mary-Louise Parker has penned a very eloquent collection of letters aimed at the influential men in her life. The beauty in her writing and the emotion she puts into each letter makes you want to write some of your own. I've heard that writing honest and open letters to certain people in your life can be quite cathartic. Reading Dear Mr. You makes me want to break out the pretty stationery and get my feelings out.
The downside to her novel is that it drove me crazy wanting to know who each letter was about. I felt like I was missing a huge piece of the puzzle. Despite this, I still really enjoyed her work -- the only thing that would complete this before its official release is to change Parker's beautiful head shot on the back cover with a picture of her dropping a microphone.