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reddyrat's review against another edition
3.0
This is a memoir contrasting between Hampl's childhood in St. Paul and scenes of Hampl dealing with her parents' illnesses and deaths. Hampl grew up in St. Paul in the 1950s, before the highways arrived and made the connections between the Twin Cities easier. Minneapolis and St. Paul were divided into two very different worlds: the Scandinavian, Lutheran city of Minneapolis and the Catholic world of St. Paul where one identified their neighborhood by stating which parish they attended. Hampl's father owned a flower shop in downtown St. Paul and much of the book describes his interactions with his customers, the high society of St. Paul. This book dragged at a lot of points. It is artfully written, but rather dull. It was interesting to me mainly because of all the St. Paul references. A reader without a connection to St. Paul probably wouldn't like it very much.
beatniksafari's review
4.0
As Patricia Hampl sits bedside during her mother's fading moments, she recalls her formative years as the daughter of a feisty, distrustful Irishwoman and a handsome, gentle Czech. I love the vivid sense of place Hampl creates. I have never been to St. Paul, but could visualize the streets, the river, the fancy downtown store where wealthy visitors purchased flower arrangements from Hampl's father.
As the granddaughter of a feisty Irishwoman and her handsome, gentle husband, I could connect to many of Hampl's reminiscences. The love she feels for her parents, even when feeling frustrated by the confines of a claustrophobic Catholic girlhood, is palpable.
As the granddaughter of a feisty Irishwoman and her handsome, gentle husband, I could connect to many of Hampl's reminiscences. The love she feels for her parents, even when feeling frustrated by the confines of a claustrophobic Catholic girlhood, is palpable.
mindyt's review
2.0
I actually could not finish this book. It was too "densely" written. There were some memorable lines, but I couldn't stick with it.
seest12's review
3.0
It was OK. I sped through parts of the book and wanted to love it, but found some of the writer's prose hard to follow. I prefer more direct writing, vs this floral, wordy, descriptive writing style.
I like the story a lot and understand why my mother loves it. She has lived much of her life in St. Paul and is probably around the age of Hampl, which I am sure helped her feel much more connected to this memoir than me.
I like the story a lot and understand why my mother loves it. She has lived much of her life in St. Paul and is probably around the age of Hampl, which I am sure helped her feel much more connected to this memoir than me.
rwaringcrane's review
4.0
Hempl writes memoir with the artistic flair of fiction. Her poignant account of her mother's passing includes detailed descriptions of St. Paul neighborhoods, her father's work as a florist, her own desire to reach beyond "the middle" of everything.
A historian friend loaned this title to me. After reading it I'm sure that the writer's clever weaving of time and place must be why she recommended it.
A historian friend loaned this title to me. After reading it I'm sure that the writer's clever weaving of time and place must be why she recommended it.
k5tog's review
3.0
I wanted to like this book, I really did. Old St Paul history. Local flavor... But the writing was just too flowery for me (although, that is appropriate I guess since the author was the daughter of a florist).
snowmaiden's review
3.0
On the whole, I enjoyed reading this book. A lot of the details of Hampl's life-- growing up in the Upper Midwest, living with parents of two very different temperaments from two very different ethnic backgrounds, becoming a writer to the mixed pride and incomprehension of her parents-- are similar to my own. Hampl is also a very good writer at the paragraph level. However, I think this book could have used much more editing than it got. There are several anecdotes that she repeats several times throughout the book. She does give different details each time, so I guess it's possible that this was a stylistic choice, but I got the feeling that she had just written up these stories every time she thought of them and no one ever went back and decided which ones to take out. It gave the book a choppy feeling and took me out of the flow each time this happened.
bwreads's review
1.0
I only read the first fifty pages, and found absolutely nothing in this book that would compel me to continue. I only read that far because it was a book club choice, and I thought if everyone talked it up, I would finish. But nobody liked it.
Basically, it was like a lady I didn't know suddenly started complaining to me about her life, but I had no way of connecting with her at all, and there wasn't any story to it. It was just a stranger complaining. I was bored.
Basically, it was like a lady I didn't know suddenly started complaining to me about her life, but I had no way of connecting with her at all, and there wasn't any story to it. It was just a stranger complaining. I was bored.
jessicaz's review
Hmm...I want to love this book because she is faculty at the U and also from St. Paul...but its almost too poetic and lyrical for me. This says more about my sophistication as a reader (or lack thereof) than her writing ability/style, though...
libkatem's review
4.0
Hampl makes me feel nostalgic for St Paul, though I only live ten minutes from there. Honestly. The way she describes her childhood, her growing up Catholic and Irish and Czech reminds me of my childhood, growing up Catholic and Irish and German. The death of her parents is something I dread with my own parents. And I long to escape, to go somewhere, to do something important, but will probably, ultimately, never truly be able to leave Old St Paul- I still call Macy's Dayton's, and I go to Landmark and the Library that's named for the Empire Builder that lives on the top of the hill.