Sharply written but painful and emotionally draining, with few moments of reprieve.
An aging father-in-law comes to stay with life-changing consequences in this memoir by Boerner (The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee, 2016).
When the unexpectedly shrill ringtone of the cellphone belonging to the author’s husband, John, jars the couple’s morning, Boerner knew instinctively that something was wrong. John’s mother, Pauline, had been admitted to the hospital, leaving his 90-year-old father, Gene, alone at home. Boerner suggests to her husband that he drive to Arkansas to collect his father so he can stay at their house in Dallas “for a few days.” Gene’s stay lasts for six weeks, a period in which Boerner, senior vice president of the commercial lending department at a Dallas bank, spends time assisting her father-in-law with his daily needs as John’s only sister looks after the hospitalized Pauline. Gene struggles with the stairs, is frustrated by the way Boerner organizes his pills, accuses Boerner’s son of stealing his wallet, and becomes increasingly confused. However, Boerner, who as a young girl wanted to be a nurse, forms a bond with Gene. She confides in Gene that she would like to write a book someday, to which Gene responds sagely: “someday gets here fast. Before long, we’ll both be nothing but memories.” The memoir hinges on this moment, which inspires Boerner to quit her job and become a writer, but the bulk of the narrative focus is on the sad decline in health of her father-in-law. As proven in her stirring debut novel, Boerner is a thoughtfully descriptive writer: “[Gene] stops counting and takes a forced breath, his exhalation so heavy I imagine wisps of his soul escaping into our home.” However, the tone of this particular offering is so relentlessly melancholic that it makes for a difficult read: “Gene will die because his time on earth has been filled to overflowing…raising children and being kind, and loving one woman to such an extent that he withered without her.” Those caring for an ailing elderly family member will recognize the gamut of emotions expressed in this tender tribute to an inspirational relative—moments of frustration, helplessness, and heartache—but this book will struggle to draw a wider audience because of its depressing nature.
Sharply written but painful and emotionally draining, with few moments of reprieve.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-951418-00-7
Page Count: 349
Publisher: One Mississippi Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.
The renowned writer offers advice on information-gathering and nonfiction composition.
The book consists of eight instructive and charming essays about creating narratives, all of them originally composed for the New Yorker, where McPhee (Silk Parachute, 2010, etc.) has been a contributor since the mid-1960s. Reading them consecutively in one volume constitutes a master class in writing, as the author clearly demonstrates why he has taught so successfully part-time for decades at Princeton University. In one of the essays, McPhee focuses on the personalities and skills of editors and publishers for whom he has worked, and his descriptions of those men and women are insightful and delightful. The main personality throughout the collection, though, is McPhee himself. He is frequently self-deprecating, occasionally openly proud of his accomplishments, and never boring. In his magazine articles and the books resulting from them, McPhee rarely injects himself except superficially. Within these essays, he offers a departure by revealing quite a bit about his journalism, his teaching life, and daughters, two of whom write professionally. Throughout the collection, there emerge passages of sly, subtle humor, a quality often absent in McPhee’s lengthy magazine pieces. Since some subjects are so weighty—especially those dealing with geology—the writing can seem dry. There is no dry prose here, however. Almost every sentence sparkles, with wordplay evident throughout. Another bonus is the detailed explanation of how McPhee decided to tackle certain topics and then how he chose to structure the resulting pieces. Readers already familiar with the author’s masterpieces—e.g., Levels of the Game, Encounters with the Archdruid, Looking for a Ship, Uncommon Carriers, Oranges, and Coming into the Country—will feel especially fulfilled by McPhee’s discussions of the specifics from his many books.
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-14274-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
Naughty good fun from an impossibly sardonic rogue, quickly rising to Twainian stature.
The undisputed champion of the self-conscious and the self-deprecating returns with yet more autobiographical gems from his apparently inexhaustible cache (Naked, 1997, etc.).
Sedaris at first mines what may be the most idiosyncratic, if innocuous, childhood since the McCourt clan. Here is father Lou, who’s propositioned, via phone, by married family friend Mrs. Midland (“Oh, Lou. It just feels so good to . . . talk to someone who really . . . understands”). Only years later is it divulged that “Mrs. Midland” was impersonated by Lou’s 12-year-old daughter Amy. (Lou, to the prankster’s relief, always politely declined Mrs. Midland’s overtures.) Meanwhile, Mrs. Sedaris—soon after she’s put a beloved sick cat to sleep—is terrorized by bogus reports of a “miraculous new cure for feline leukemia,” all orchestrated by her bitter children. Brilliant evildoing in this family is not unique to the author. Sedaris (also an essayist on National Public Radio) approaches comic preeminence as he details his futile attempts, as an adult, to learn the French language. Having moved to Paris, he enrolls in French class and struggles endlessly with the logic in assigning inanimate objects a gender (“Why refer to Lady Flesh Wound or Good Sir Dishrag when these things could never live up to all that their sex implied?”). After months of this, Sedaris finds that the first French-spoken sentiment he’s fully understood has been directed to him by his sadistic teacher: “Every day spent with you is like having a cesarean section.” Among these misadventures, Sedaris catalogs his many bugaboos: the cigarette ban in New York restaurants (“I’m always searching the menu in hope that some courageous young chef has finally recognized tobacco as a vegetable”); the appending of company Web addresses to television commercials (“Who really wants to know more about Procter & Gamble?”); and a scatological dilemma that would likely remain taboo in most households.
Naughty good fun from an impossibly sardonic rogue, quickly rising to Twainian stature.Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-316-77772-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
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