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A review by casskrug
Aurelia, Aurélia: A Memoir by Kathryn Davis
3.0
“There are points in your life when you think you’re about to become whatever’s next.” is maybe one of my favorite opening lines for a book ever. i was so ready to love this based on that first sentence and the description. unfortunately, i think this one was a bit too esoteric and fragmentary for my taste in memoirs - it’s not exactly a memoir in essays but it’s also not written in a linear way, making it difficult to follow.
davis jumps back and forth between her travels during her teenage years, time spent with her husband while he was still alive, her grief after his death, and the music and books that she loves. there were moments of beautiful writing but ultimately the ideas presented were too disconnected to resonate with me. i think one of the major things that can make or break my reading experience with books of this nature is my familiarity with the references the author makes, and there was very little overlap between my knowledge and the children’s stories and classical music referenced here (through no fault of kathryn davis, it’s just how it is).
my favorite chapter was “ghost story two” where davis visits a cottage her daughter was staying in. the description of the setting was detailed and cozy, and there was a good mix of writing about grief and ghosts and literature.
overall, this was super dreamlike, which historically isn’t my favorite style of writing. it reminded me a lot of patti smith’s year of the monkey. i’d be curious to check out a novel by kathryn davis at some point but unfortunately, this was not the memoir for me.
davis jumps back and forth between her travels during her teenage years, time spent with her husband while he was still alive, her grief after his death, and the music and books that she loves. there were moments of beautiful writing but ultimately the ideas presented were too disconnected to resonate with me. i think one of the major things that can make or break my reading experience with books of this nature is my familiarity with the references the author makes, and there was very little overlap between my knowledge and the children’s stories and classical music referenced here (through no fault of kathryn davis, it’s just how it is).
my favorite chapter was “ghost story two” where davis visits a cottage her daughter was staying in. the description of the setting was detailed and cozy, and there was a good mix of writing about grief and ghosts and literature.
overall, this was super dreamlike, which historically isn’t my favorite style of writing. it reminded me a lot of patti smith’s year of the monkey. i’d be curious to check out a novel by kathryn davis at some point but unfortunately, this was not the memoir for me.