A sensitive, thoughtful document of the immediate pain of separation and betrayal and its gradual mellowing into rue.
A former BBC journalist and broadcaster reflects on the last year of her two-decade marriage to acclaimed American travel writer Paul Theroux.
Long after their marriage ended, the author read this comment from her former husband in a published interview: “Writers choose their wives. They choose them for certain purposes. They need a specific kind of woman—protective and self-sacrificing types….What they want is a secretary, mother, a guardian of the gate.” Naturally, she felt compelled to reply. "If you had given me the job description in advance, I wouldn't have applied." Instead, she was married to the man, whom she met in Nairobi in 1967, for more than two decades and bore him two sons. This memoir, documenting the final year of their union, is based on a diary she kept in 1990 and then annotated with further memories and corrections later in the decade. The entry for Jan. 18: "Paul left today—the beginning of our six-month separation. I cried horribly as he was leaving. He cried too then left in a taxi and I spent a miserable day, drinking, smoking a joint and hoping I can pull myself together tomorrow.” As she suspected—and later confirmed, with the uncomfortable assistance of her sons—he was with another woman; it was not his first affair, but she, too, had been unfaithful. Still, their phone calls could be so warm, it seemed their love must prevail. "Talking to Paul was like talking to myself; we used words that no-one else knew, laughed at unnamed memories, shared the network of associations that sprang to the other's mind at the mention of a person or place." The author’s insightful commentary on her attempt to cope with so much uncertainty, loneliness, and suffering includes many lovely observations—e.g., "Trying new recipes is always a sign of hope." "There is nothing like an early morning walk on a sunny day to remind you that life is worth living."
A sensitive, thoughtful document of the immediate pain of separation and betrayal and its gradual mellowing into rue.Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-78578-739-3
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Icon Books
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.
The veteran newscaster reflects on her triumphs and hardships, both professional and private.
In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Couric (b. 1957) transforms the events of her long, illustrious career into an immensely readable story—a legacy-preserving exercise, for sure, yet judiciously polished and insightful, several notches above the fray of typical celebrity memoirs. The narrative unfolds through a series of lean chapters as she recounts the many career ascendency steps that led to her massively successful run on the Today Show and comparably disappointing stints as CBS Evening News anchor, talk show host, and Yahoo’s Global News Anchor. On the personal front, the author is candid in her recollections about her midlife adventures in the dating scene and deeply sorrowful and affecting regarding the experience of losing her husband to colon cancer as well as the deaths of other beloved family members, including her sister and parents. Throughout, Couric maintains a sharp yet cool-headed perspective on the broadcast news industry and its many outsized personalities and even how her celebrated role has diminished in recent years. “It’s AN ADJUSTMENT when the white-hot spotlight moves on,” she writes. “The ego gratification of being the It girl is intoxicating (toxic being the root of the word). When that starts to fade, it takes some getting used to—at least it did for me.” Readers who can recall when network news coverage and morning shows were not only relevant, but powerfully influential forces will be particularly drawn to Couric’s insights as she tracks how the media has evolved over recent decades and reflects on the negative effects of the increasing shift away from reliable sources of informed news coverage. The author also discusses recent important cultural and social revolutions, casting light on issues of race and sexual orientation, sexism, and the predatory behavior that led to the #MeToo movement. In that vein, she expresses her disillusionment with former co-host and friend Matt Lauer.
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53586-1
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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