Reviews

Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage by Dani Shapiro

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readtoinfinity's review against another edition

4.0

It seems like a story with some random thoughts but very well written. Its definitely interesting but I could only read it in sections.

nanajo's review against another edition

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5.0

Marriage, such a huge subject, is eloquently captured in this memoir of only 145 pages. Reading it as I celebrated my own 30 years of marriage, I paused frequently throughout the book to reflect. “How do we make lifelong commitments in the face of identities that are continuously shifting and commit ourselves for all time when the self is so often in flux? What happens to the love in the face of the unexpected, in the face of disappointment and compromise?” Tough questions to ask myself in the privacy of my heart and mind, I admire the courage of Shapiro to share hers with a world of readers. I saw myself and many women reflected in her honesty. The joy & fear of raising children. Aging parents. Shapiro’s description of “a scorched landscape of grief” made her & I shudder. I too keep special little books containing the words of others. I had no idea there was a word to describe them; commonplace book, a “thinker's journal”. Shapiro’s criterion “the words must pierce me, stop me, so that I can go no further until I write them down-until I make them mine.” She introduced me to the belief of Donald Hall, that third things are essential to marriages; something “that provide a a site of joint rapture or contentment.” I will seek out the children’s book by Michael Foreman “Fortunately, Unfortunately” that she writes of as an introduction to my grandchildren about the great adventures that may arrive on the heels of life’s curve balls.

kdekoster's review against another edition

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4.0

“ Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.”

“We spent the very last night of our honeymoon eating big Macs and making love in an airport hotel.
Day 17.
Married.
Home.”

laurcoh's review against another edition

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2.0

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

sjroth's review against another edition

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1.0

I was not a fan of Shapiro, her husband, or her writing style. I don’t think it was well written and I didn’t find any particular insights or wisdom here. Shapiro alternates between bragging and whining and I just don’t have any sympathy for their “struggles” or their chaotic, creative approach to life.

I’m starting to question Anne Bogel’s recommendations. This is not the first book she’s recommended that has been woefully underwhelming in every sense.

jennadianne's review against another edition

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3.0

This book is a pretty perfect example of marriage and how when they last, they are like "sand through an hourglass". There is no turning back; and it never goes the way you would expect it to. If you've been married for awhile you'll enjoy this one and appreciate everything the author says.