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A review by book_beat
An Elegant Woman by Martha McPhee
4.0
I have to admit that I love thinking about my grandmothers and great-grandmothers — all they overcame and accomplished. My office is filled with their heirlooms: a quilt, painting, and hope chest. I am inspired and feel loved when I create in this space and think of their stories. My obsession with my family led me to pick up a new release by Martha McPhee.
AN ELEGANT WOMAN is a fictional story based on McPhee’s own family history. It is a fluid, poetic tale about many generations of one family of women. The book begins with the granddaughter/narrator sorting through her grandmother’s belongings and considering the faultiness of stories and memories — is a story only true if it is factually accurate? Or can a story carry the essence of truth with muddled (but fully felt) details?
From there the reader follows the narrator’s great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother’s stories through the 1900s and all over the United States (OH, MT, ME, etc.). McPhee gets at the heart of these women, their desires and fears, and explores what it means to forge a life — what can you reject or claim as your own? What is unavoidable?
The stories contain great details but there is a sort of “film” felt between the reader and the story — like these are epics passed down from one woman to another and their structures are hazy. The writing is lyrical and contains beautiful lines about memory and truth and story.
I think if you like character-driven stories, poetic writing, and books that explore the concept of truth and memory — you may find a new favorite story in AN ELEGANT WOMAN.
AN ELEGANT WOMAN is a fictional story based on McPhee’s own family history. It is a fluid, poetic tale about many generations of one family of women. The book begins with the granddaughter/narrator sorting through her grandmother’s belongings and considering the faultiness of stories and memories — is a story only true if it is factually accurate? Or can a story carry the essence of truth with muddled (but fully felt) details?
From there the reader follows the narrator’s great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother’s stories through the 1900s and all over the United States (OH, MT, ME, etc.). McPhee gets at the heart of these women, their desires and fears, and explores what it means to forge a life — what can you reject or claim as your own? What is unavoidable?
The stories contain great details but there is a sort of “film” felt between the reader and the story — like these are epics passed down from one woman to another and their structures are hazy. The writing is lyrical and contains beautiful lines about memory and truth and story.
I think if you like character-driven stories, poetic writing, and books that explore the concept of truth and memory — you may find a new favorite story in AN ELEGANT WOMAN.