2 Comments

  1. Shelley

    I’ve not read a book in many a year (I shamefully admit) So I am unfamiliar with Mary Karr. What I am familiar with is your writing, dear Christina. Whether in poetry or as a masterful critique. I love to read your reaction to a book, a few lines of prose or a delectable meal or even a delightful beverage. What intrigued me the most about your review of Mary Karr’s ‘A Memoir’ is summed up beautifully by your insightful 5th paragraph,
    “But in addition to this bone-deep sadness is this bone-deep desire to be a poet. I also experience that feeling, that magnetic pull toward literature. For the foreseeable future, books are as close as we’ll get to being able to understand the thoughts knocking around inside another person’s skull. The good books, fiction or not, shine a light into all the contradictions and ugliness and lightness that make us human. In so doing, they offer readers a glimpse of another life. It’s in this space that empathy grows.”
    As an author, I imagine you would have given Mary Karr one of the biggest smiles of her career…. a reaction of empathy expressed in words brought on by what was felt from reading about another life. Excellent!

Leave a Reply to Christina Brandon Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *