A review by knitter22
Let Me Finish by Roger Angell

4.0

As the son of The New Yorker editor Katharine White and stepson of E.B. White, it was easy for me to think that Roger Angell came by his writing ability through both heredity and environment, but even if those are true, it's evident that he has practiced and honed his craft. His writing is clear, concise, insightful, funny, poignant, and enlightening. I am not personally a big sports fan, but his love of baseball comes through and showed me that there is much more to the game than grown men hitting and throwing a ball.

Angell writes about more than baseball, and his reminiscences are interesting and honest.

I've had a life sheltered by privilege, and engrossing work, and shot through with good luck.

Even if his life is markedly different from mine, this memoir contains much that is familiar to each one of us. The last essay “Hard Lines", about the loss of loved ones was especially moving to me.

Life is tough and brimming with loss, and the most we can do about it is to glimpse ourselves clear now and then, and find out what we feel about familiar scenes and recurring faces this time around.

Let Me Finish was the perfect book at the perfect time, and a welcome escape from politics, upheaval, and worry to a kinder, gentler world. Thank you, Melissa!