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kayciehutcheson's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ohmygollylibby's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ncarter5069's review
5.0
One of the best books I've read in a long time. Reminds me so much of Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son for a number of reasons, but mostly because of its beauty.
gaylebn's review
2.0
Ugh. I was so mad at the author for what I initially thought was an autobiography. It wasn't until I finished the book that I saw he called it a work of fiction. Strange how the main character shared his name. Anyway, the Scott McClanahan of the book was a total jerk, and typified southern West Virginia rednecks who are more interested in finding fun in a case of beer and a pick-up truck than gainful employment and meaningful relationships. As a fellow West Virginian, I was miffed by the character for continuing the disparaging reputation our state gets, apparently well-deservedly. And I was mad at Sarah for tolerating Scott's behavior. If the author's goal was to evoke an emotional response to his work of fiction, it worked on me.
samarov's review against another edition
reviewed in the Chicago Reader
“There is only one thing I know about life. If you live long enough you start losing things. Things get stolen from you: First you lose your youth, and then your parents, and then you lose your friends, and finally you end up losing yourself.”
With this matter-of-fact statement, Scott McClanahan begins one of the most realistic and believable autopsies of a marriage I’ve ever read. In The Sarah Book, he ping-pongs between recollections of the good times, arguments, warning signs, and eventual collapse of his and his first wife Sarah’s relationship in prose so deceptively plainspoken that it feels conversational.
Over the past decade, through three story collections, three novels, and, most recently, The Incantations of Daniel Johnston (Two Dollar Radio), a graphic biography of the famous lo-fi musician, McClanahan has honed a distinctly candid and unpretentious prose style. His literary voice is nakedly emotional one minute and brutally funny the next, but it rarely produces a false note. McClanahan has earned many accolades in the indie-lit scene; The Sarah Book should introduce him to the wider audience his work richly deserves.
Hewing to one’s own life experiences is always a complicated proposition for a writer, but by calling his books “fiction” McClanahan absolves himself of having to keep to strict factual accuracy while giving himself full license to tell his stories. The fictional McClanahan drives drunk with small children he’s forgotten are strapped into the back seat; he burns a Bible given to his wife on their wedding day, then tries to laugh it off; he tries to win her back by reading her poetry, knowing full well the effort is a lost cause.
Throughout The Sarah Book McClanahan portrays himself as an agent of chaos and misery, detailing the ways in which his tantrums, fixations, and paranoias hurt his wife, children, and everyone else he comes into contact with; and yet the reader neither pities nor despises him. The rural West Virginia that McClanahan writes about is rarely represented in mainstream American literature. Too often in books and popular culture, poor country people are portrayed as either ugly redneck caricatures or naive, good-natured simpletons. In McClanahan’s works, no matter the characters’ flaws, they are portrayed as complex and multidimensional, even though they aren’t necessarily admirable.
Regardless of how dark his despair might be, McClanahan never stops trying to save the day even when he knows his efforts will be in vain. “I was late the morning of my divorce hearing because I was writing Sarah a love letter,” he writes. “Of course, I’d been telling her for months now that no one would love her like I did. She always laughed and said, ‘Thank god. I sure fucking hope not.'”
In the end, years after McClanahan’s marriage to Sarah has ended, despite how grueling the dissolution of their relationship may have been, he can break bread with their children and her new boyfriend and introduce his new girlfriend to her as well. McClanahan shows how everyone we get involved with becomes a part of us forever. The Sarah Book is a testament to how the weight of one’s failings can be borne with grace.
runeclausen's review against another edition
5.0
This book is rough. It is heartbreakingly rough.
It details the authors own experience with going through a divorce that he didn't want. How this completely tore down his sanity, and turned his life into a dark nightmare, as he come to the realization that the woman he loves with all his heart, is no longer loving him.
This is obviously a very emotional topic, and Scott McClanahan manages to squeeze out all the emotions and feelings in such a way that you can't help but to be affected too, and feel the sheer amount of sorrow and darkness that oozes out of these pages. It get's even worse than this towards the end, when their kids start to alienate themselves from him, and he also has to realize that he might be losing their love too.
Granted, Scott is also painstakingly honest and open about his issues that led to this divorce in the first place; long struggles with alcoholism, long bouts with depression and a general messy life. All these topics are openly discussed without any filter, and he doesn't go out of his way to caricature himself as a bad person. This just makes it even more tragic to read about, as you start to understand where Sarah is coming from, and can see why she would want to leave this mess of a man.
All in all these is just no winners here, only a lot of heartbreak and melancholic reflection upon a life marred with issues, and emotional roller coasters.
Despite this book handling extremely dark topics, Scott McClanahan tries to infuse the stories with dark humor, and just straight up silly toilet humor, which fits the style of the narrtion very well. So sometimes there is even some heartwarming sections. Even more so, are the chapters where Scott tells about how him and Sarah met, and their early days as a couple. These gives a whole other spin to this story, and makes you as the reader go through the whole range of emotions. It messes with you deeply.
The language of the book is simple and not filtered, it reads like an endless stream of thoughts, and it is not polished off for the audience, you get the exact words and feelings that Scott was feeling. In that way it is also more trustworthy, as it simply wouldnt fit Scott to talk in a proper way, and using PG-13 sentences.
Most of these feelings emanating from this book are very relatable to anybody who wen't through a breakup. It's a beautifully dark tribute to this side of relationships.
It details the authors own experience with going through a divorce that he didn't want. How this completely tore down his sanity, and turned his life into a dark nightmare, as he come to the realization that the woman he loves with all his heart, is no longer loving him.
This is obviously a very emotional topic, and Scott McClanahan manages to squeeze out all the emotions and feelings in such a way that you can't help but to be affected too, and feel the sheer amount of sorrow and darkness that oozes out of these pages. It get's even worse than this towards the end, when their kids start to alienate themselves from him, and he also has to realize that he might be losing their love too.
Granted, Scott is also painstakingly honest and open about his issues that led to this divorce in the first place; long struggles with alcoholism, long bouts with depression and a general messy life. All these topics are openly discussed without any filter, and he doesn't go out of his way to caricature himself as a bad person. This just makes it even more tragic to read about, as you start to understand where Sarah is coming from, and can see why she would want to leave this mess of a man.
All in all these is just no winners here, only a lot of heartbreak and melancholic reflection upon a life marred with issues, and emotional roller coasters.
Despite this book handling extremely dark topics, Scott McClanahan tries to infuse the stories with dark humor, and just straight up silly toilet humor, which fits the style of the narrtion very well. So sometimes there is even some heartwarming sections. Even more so, are the chapters where Scott tells about how him and Sarah met, and their early days as a couple. These gives a whole other spin to this story, and makes you as the reader go through the whole range of emotions. It messes with you deeply.
The language of the book is simple and not filtered, it reads like an endless stream of thoughts, and it is not polished off for the audience, you get the exact words and feelings that Scott was feeling. In that way it is also more trustworthy, as it simply wouldnt fit Scott to talk in a proper way, and using PG-13 sentences.
Most of these feelings emanating from this book are very relatable to anybody who wen't through a breakup. It's a beautifully dark tribute to this side of relationships.