Memoir (2010)
My SynopsisTrue story about the author's 38-year-old daughter, Amy, a pediatrician, who died unexpectedly of an undetected heart problem and how he and his wife moved in with their son-in-law and three grandkids to help raise them.
My Thoughts
I really wanted to like this book. I had read about it and just knew it was my kind of book. The 5 on my keyboard was begging to be used.
Instead I pushed the 2. Two stars! I haven't given a book a 2 star rating in a long time. In fact, I don't usually finish a 2 star book. But I forced myself.
Why didn't I like it? I didn't like the author. Have you ever felt that way? I felt that way about the author of This Lovely Life. I didn't feel a connection to her or to this author, Roger Rosenblatt. He was unlikeable. To me anyway. He bragged about who he knew, what famous people came to his daughter's funeral, what articles and other books he's written, who he has worked for, and what awards he's received. I know he discussed more than that, but I couldn't get past his arrogance.
When talking about his daughter's wedding:
We had asked Amy what sort of ceremony she and Harris wanted, and she said they'd like the cartoonist Garry Trudeau, a close family friend, to marry them.
And this:
The morning of the wedding, Amy, Ginny, and Jane Pauley, the television journalist and Garry's wife, were having their hair done at the Quogue beauty parlor...
It went on like that throughout the book, and each time he mentioned someone he knew or a book or article he had written in the past, I disliked him even more.
I didn't like the incomplete, random thoughts and choppy writing. After reading a paragraph I would think, "Huh? Where did that come from?"
I thought the book was a nice keepsake to give to his family. And by naming every friend and family member who sent flowers, said a kind word or helped out in the days after Amy's death, I felt it served as a giant thank you card. That's it.
Do I Recommend?
No. But I know others enjoyed it so be sure to check out more reviews. Obviously this is just my opinion :)
Source
Library (thank goodness)
My Rating
2/5
Other Reviews
Caribousmom
Bibliophile By the Sea
Killin' Time Reading
A Bookshelf Monstrosity
(Everyone above loved it except Killin' Time Reading)
2 comments:
Sorry this one did not work out for you.
I have to hand it to you, at least you finished it. I don't think I could have. I can see why you did not like it. Thank goodness there are plenty of books out there to make you forget this one.
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