Reviews - Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives

11 reviews for:

Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives

Great framework text for scholars interested in studying life narratives. I particularly found the sections on the use of memory in life narratives and post-colonial life writing in conjunction with the novel particularly powerful.

pammerman's review against another edition

3.0

A useful starting point for reading autobiography...especially the toolkit in the final pages.

shortstack48's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 I did think this book was good overall. There were parts that I would consider pretty obvious conclusions about autobiography that I already knew. It’s really theory heavy and sometimes too convoluted when parts could easily be summarized in a more accessible, understandable way. Overall though, I’m glad I read it and I feel like it’s a must read for anyone teaching, into creative writing, or interested in English.

mimirtells's review against another edition

3.0

3/5 Stars (%62/100)

I've used this book as a textbook in my Life Writing master class. I think it is a very good source especially if you are new to this area of literature. Before reading the book and taking the course, I had no idea what life writing was. It is also very ironic that Smith, despite arguing that we should call it life writing or life narratives, chose the word autobiography for the title. Overall, it is a useful book and a good source to cite certain things. However, I found it complicated at times and it is quite long. I still recommend it if you are interested in memoirs and autobiographies, sorry I mean life narratives. My favorite term from the book is "thanatography" which comes from the Greek God of Death Thanatos and means narratives that deal with one's experience with death.

ellaminnowpea84's review against another edition

5.0

I wrote my master's thesis on how gender is represented in contemporary memoirs written by women. I could not have written it without this book - comprehensive, readable, and full of detailed examples. Not for the layman by any means, but if literary theory as it applies to self-writing is of interest to you, this is an excellent place to start!