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bucketoffish's review against another edition
2.0
Birkerts presents some interesting ideas about memoirs - about why people write them, and what makes one worthwhile to read. In his view, a good memoir is not only about the specific life events recounted, but about how they resonate more generally with the experiences of the reader. In a similar fashion to narrative fiction, a memoir is about reflection on a sequence of events that the author has found emotionally significant. Whether it's working through trauma, changing a perspective, or simply growing up, the memoir is about sorting through fragments of memory to find events that stand out in hindsight to form a cohesive story. As in fiction, there's a sense of an encompassing story arch and of something learned or experienced.
Birkerts talks about quite a few interesting ideas, and shows examples of ways in which memoir authors frame their work. He illustrates the concepts of selective memory, and of juxtaposing viewpoints from past and present. The first chapters were my favorite, when he touches briefly on philosophical topics of what it means to live through a series of experiences, to recall one or another with greater clarity, and then later to feel compelled to weave them into a narrative.
Birkerts talks about quite a few interesting ideas, and shows examples of ways in which memoir authors frame their work. He illustrates the concepts of selective memory, and of juxtaposing viewpoints from past and present. The first chapters were my favorite, when he touches briefly on philosophical topics of what it means to live through a series of experiences, to recall one or another with greater clarity, and then later to feel compelled to weave them into a narrative.
kjboldon's review against another edition
5.0
Challenging but inspiring deep dive into some of the best memoirs, and how the authors skillfully manipulate time to tell their stories.
adrianasturalvarez's review against another edition
5.0
Paired with specific attention to the narrative voice of a work, as outlined by Wayne C. Booth, or as it is intensively studied at the Writers Studio, Birkerts' take on the distance between the writer and the narrator as it functions in memoir is exceptionally well written. By surveying a few of the large thematic tracks in memoir he is able to bring home more than a few useful and poignant truths about writing and how memory functions in the context of memoir (and, separately, autobiography). I'm not interested in writing a memoir at the moment but the lessons given here can be applied to any type of writing, and certainly any time of living, where memory is concerned.
teawithgoblins's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this very much, and felt better aware of the intricacy of this genre. I read it as part of a self-directed study of memoir and creative non fiction. It helped to be introduced to some of the leading titles in this genre.
senid's review against another edition
3.0
I have been reading memoirs and books about memoir. There are some helpful perspectives in the first section of this book. Then it goes into discussing examples of different types of memoirs. I find this less interesting since I often haven't read the specific memoirs being discussed. Many of the memoirs cited, were familiar from other books on this topic.
dellegeller's review against another edition
4.0
Not quite what I expected, but a fast read and interesting survey of literary memoir. (If you're looking for a critical analysis on time or temporalities within the memoir genre, this is not really the book.)
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