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A review by jrl6809
Aurelia, Aurélia: A Memoir by Kathryn Davis
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I admire non-fiction and memoir that takes risks with structure in ways that are more typical of fiction, and this definitely fits the bill. Aurelia Aurelia is Kathryn Davis' story of the loss of her husband; however, instead of telling the story linearly she instead organizes her chapters around themes, ideas, places, etc. She tells anecdotes about her life but also includes some theory and discussions of things like literature and TV shows. It reminded me of authors such as Maggie Nelson and Melissa Febos, who I adore.
Because the book is so short, however, and because the sections are told in short snippets and jump around so much, I had a hard time emotionally investing in this one as much as I would expect to emotionally invest in a story about the death of the author's partner. It does occur to me, though, that this book was probably written more for Davis herself (as a processing tool) than for the reader. And I respect that, and think it works really well when viewed as almost a journal. It allows us to see what processing grief on the page looks like in real time, rather than after it has been edited and reorganized for the consumer. I think this is one that will stick with me and continue to rise in my esteem over time, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading Davis' fiction.
Because the book is so short, however, and because the sections are told in short snippets and jump around so much, I had a hard time emotionally investing in this one as much as I would expect to emotionally invest in a story about the death of the author's partner. It does occur to me, though, that this book was probably written more for Davis herself (as a processing tool) than for the reader. And I respect that, and think it works really well when viewed as almost a journal. It allows us to see what processing grief on the page looks like in real time, rather than after it has been edited and reorganized for the consumer. I think this is one that will stick with me and continue to rise in my esteem over time, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading Davis' fiction.