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sleepingsaha's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Was between a 4.25 and 4.5 but I rounded up because I've been thinking about this since I finished it!This made me sad — not because anything more terrible happens in this memoir than any other books I read, but because I think O’Faolain is reflecting on relationships and life choices that I have similar anxieties about. But it was a reflective kind of sadness that I haven't felt from a read in a while, so I really appreciated this reading experience.
stmchester's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the author's insights into women's roles and life in general. I loved the last chapter where the author shared correspondence from readers and how the book made a positive impact on their lives. Definitely worth reading!
eabhawall's review against another edition
4.0
What an extraordinary person. I enjoyed a lot about this memoir, Nuala's style of writing is so rich, her turn of phrase so elegant and unexpected. Structurally I found this a bit of a mess at times, the interrupted flow meant I never read too much at a time. With so many names and time hops my brain would tend to get a bit frazzled. She was truly an outrageous character and I appreciated her candor. She was completely herself and didn't shape the story to present a particular narrative, or forgiving picture of herself. She accomplished many great things, but my word there are so many deeply tragic anecdotes.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
This book was immensely popular when it was first published. It seemed to speak, for the first time, of a particular experience of parental neglect, alcoholism, and woman's loneliness. However, when I read it, I was surprised by how little the narrative actually focuses on these subjects. O'Faolain begins with her Dublin childhood in the forties and fifties, but moves on to evoke her working life as a lecturer, television producer and columnist. She describes Bohemian Dublin in the 1960s -- she and Patrick Kavanagh once both lived in Leland Bradwell's living room, for example -- and discusses the excessive drinking and lack of self-insight that was common at the time. O'Faolain was also a heavy drinker and skirts around her experiences with alcoholism and trying to give up drink. She also described her fifteen-year relationship with Nell McCafferty, although in a circumspect way, never divulging what it meant to her to be in a relationship with a woman after decades of being with men. Overall, I found this book frustrating: O'Faolain seemed to skirt around the most pressing issues, and focuses too much on minor anecdotes about various different writers. However, I was interested that it had such a profound impact when it was first published, and I wondered if my generation is too used to everything being out in the open, and if I should have been more content to read between the lines. It is entertaining and easy to read.
caroparr's review against another edition
4.0
Unflinching is the word that immediately comes to mind, as the Irish journalist (and radio/TV producer, among other hats) tells the story of her life, starting as the second of nine children to parents who were either absent, absent-minded or lost to drink. But there's not a shred of sentimentality here, as she tells us about her many lovers (none of whom work out) and her often unsuccessful efforts to find her way in the world. The middle section, about the many people she worked with over the years, is not so interesting for those of us who have never heard of most of them. But apart from that I could not put it down. Thanks to Backlisted for the recommendation.