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carmenx9's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Funny, smart, silly, and deeply sad. "Voice" might be one of the top five chapters in memoirs, if not all books.
hannahlee's review against another edition
3.5
This was such an odd book. It made me feel all kinds of ways - there were times when I really enjoyed the writing style, and others when I found it over-the-top. There were times when I was charmed by the wackiness of the story, and others when I was deeply saddened. Overall I think it achieved its goals and it definitely elicited a response in me, but I'm not sure I can precisely say I liked it.
purplepierogi's review against another edition
4.0
this is the kind of memoir that has a really haphazard timeline and jumps around a lot. which is fine ! it also was very funny but in a sort of overstuffed way; genuinely every line is a punchline. I guess whether you find the book satisfying depends a lot on how funny you find those punchlines, your affinity for vignettes of dysfunctional people told in hyperbolic prose. I liked it but it did get old, and is more quirky than slap your knee funny. does this make me a weepy memoir curmudgeon?
khornstein1's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a present from someone who knows I am a devout Episcopalian...a church in which having a priest as a father doesn't really raise an eyebrow--but this Daddy is Catholic! Patricia Lockwood's dad converts to Catholicism after he has a family, and gets special dispensation from Rome.
So at first I was annoyed at the overly-precious (and pretentious?) prose: everything is a metaphor. Plus the usual, "Catholicism is lame..."
But I stuck with this book, and about 3/4 of the way through, there is a remarkable passage in which Lockwood describes herself as (these are not very great examples, and made up by me here) someone who looks at a communion wafer and sees a dove, looks at stained glass and sees a church made out of semi-transparent walls. In fact, she looks at almost everything in her environment and it takes the form of something else. And it struck me, that when I look at a paperclip, it might remind me of something, but I don't walk around seeing everything in this multi-dimensional way. But she does, and she's describing a childhood where a lot of strange things took place (almost "Running with Scissors" like but not quite), but she experienced and coped with them through seeing them via the eye of an artist, or writer.
Then, I enjoyed the rest of the book! And I was sympathetic to Lockwood who must have had a hard time growing up, literally, in the church (or in the rectory, with seminarian students around and parishioners knocking on the door)--in some ways, she also reminded me of the main character in Fun Home.
It's worth checking out if you like memoir.
So at first I was annoyed at the overly-precious (and pretentious?) prose: everything is a metaphor. Plus the usual, "Catholicism is lame..."
But I stuck with this book, and about 3/4 of the way through, there is a remarkable passage in which Lockwood describes herself as (these are not very great examples, and made up by me here) someone who looks at a communion wafer and sees a dove, looks at stained glass and sees a church made out of semi-transparent walls. In fact, she looks at almost everything in her environment and it takes the form of something else. And it struck me, that when I look at a paperclip, it might remind me of something, but I don't walk around seeing everything in this multi-dimensional way. But she does, and she's describing a childhood where a lot of strange things took place (almost "Running with Scissors" like but not quite), but she experienced and coped with them through seeing them via the eye of an artist, or writer.
Then, I enjoyed the rest of the book! And I was sympathetic to Lockwood who must have had a hard time growing up, literally, in the church (or in the rectory, with seminarian students around and parishioners knocking on the door)--in some ways, she also reminded me of the main character in Fun Home.
It's worth checking out if you like memoir.
mariberries's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Pedophilia, and Suicide
marinaemoore's review against another edition
5.0
It is abundantly clear when reading this that Lockwood is first and foremost a poet. She masterfully dissects both the Catholic Church and her family dynamic with splendid, quick-witted and quirky precision. I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir.