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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This felt very intimate and honest and was exactly what I needed to read right now. The audiobook narration was beautifully done and matched very well with Attenberg's writing.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
LOVED THIS! It’s out in 2022 and I’ll write more then. It was everything I want in a memoir: relatable, honest, interesting, complicated, revealing. Jami Attenberg is one of my favorite authors and I appreciated learning more about her writing career and personal life. She’s lived in so many cool places and done lots of traveling; basically she’s done all the things I thought I’d do by my age.
Thank you to @eccobooks for sending me a review copy.
Thank you to @eccobooks for sending me a review copy.
I mean. I guess it was compelling enough for me to read to the end? But it was messy in terms of time, didn’t seem to have a point it was driving to, and seemed to end more than once. It was kind of a mess.
No time for a lengthy review, but this is a lovely little travelogue through the life of a writer. That certain kind of writer, literary, well thought-of, but not the type who sells tons of books. Attenberg's prose is wonderful but I always hate her characters (unrealistic, almost cartoonishly overblown, frequently irksome) so I have not enjoyed her novels. For the record, it is not that I do not understand her characters -- Attenberg and I are both Jewish women from suburban towns adjacent to Midwestern cities, we both felt the pull of New York, travel widely, love good food and good liquor and good men, have lived part of our adult lives in the South, and value our friendships deeply. I understand her. I just don't think she understands typical non-artsy people and her character development suffers as a result. She makes normal people into vacant people or ridiculous quirky people. People I don't know at all. I like this book though. Attenberg understands herself even if she doesn't get others, and for this book that is all she needs to understand. The book is quiet and thoughtful and it pulled me in. If you enjoy books about writers' genesis and about the artistic spirit, I think you will like this.
God this is good.
It's not just what she says or writes about, but HOW - I've highlighted the crap out of it and since I'm reading it on a Kindle I can see that I'm not the only one. Some of it I highlighted because it was worded so beautifully. Some of it I highlighted because it's just blunt truth. Some of it I highlighted because it's so completely inspiring.
I've read almost everything this woman has ever published from articles to books, and this was a welcome change from the ongoing "dysfunctional families" theme (something she does *so* well but also something I can take or leave at this point). This though, I haven't been able to put it down. It's a lot like Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel was for me - similar vein, vignettes/essays about a writer's life - the trainwrecks, the accomplishments, the process...
Well done, again, Attenberg.
It's not just what she says or writes about, but HOW - I've highlighted the crap out of it and since I'm reading it on a Kindle I can see that I'm not the only one. Some of it I highlighted because it was worded so beautifully. Some of it I highlighted because it's just blunt truth. Some of it I highlighted because it's so completely inspiring.
I've read almost everything this woman has ever published from articles to books, and this was a welcome change from the ongoing "dysfunctional families" theme (something she does *so* well but also something I can take or leave at this point). This though, I haven't been able to put it down. It's a lot like Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel was for me - similar vein, vignettes/essays about a writer's life - the trainwrecks, the accomplishments, the process...
Well done, again, Attenberg.
As a fan of Jami's novels, a #1000wordsofsummer participant, and a neighbor in our beloved New Orleans, I was really looking forward to her memoir and was not disappointed. I Came All This Way to Meet You is a witty, interesting, sometimes painful telling of the author's journey through life, love, and art. It's also a lovingly-rendered portrait of places and people, and made me think about the friends (and enemies) who've come and gone in my own life, each one leaving a mark. As a writer myself, I appreciated the notes on craft and process, but you don't have to be a writer to take meaning from Jami's beautiful prose and vulnerable--yet often hilarious--insights. Highly recommended.