The Art of Memoir

Specialty. Mary Karr is a great writer and acclaimed teacher, and she offers both those skills to readers of her book titled, The Art of Memoir. For anyone interested in writing a memoir, this book will provide either encouragement or despair. For those readers who love fine writing, this book offers insight into why the memoir can be a success or a failure. I read this quickly and came away with this conclusion for me: I like to read Karr’s memoirs more than I like to absorb her lessons. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase The Art of Memoir from amazon.com.

Thirteen Ways of Looking

Precision. Fans of short fiction will find great craftsmanship in a new collection by Colum McCann titled, Thirteen Ways of Looking. The title novella and three short stories reveal the skill of a masterful literary artist. McCann packs more fine prose and deep insight into the character Peter Mendohlsson, a retired judge, in the novella than many writers can achieve over a lifetime. I reread many of McCann’s finely crafted sentences more than once, and even read some aloud to hear how perfectly the phrases sing. Much of life is a matter of perspective, a viewpoint, and in the novella and in the stories, McCann draws our attention to multiple perspectives that create a masterful whole. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Thirteen Ways of Looking from amazon.com.

The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger

Leverage. Any reader interested in either history or finance will learn something new after reading Greg Steinmetz’ book titled, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger. Steinmetz applies the talents of a journalist to a complicated story with lots of characters, world-changing events and a subject that many readers may have never heard of. In the 16th century, Jacob Fugger was the banker to kings and empires, and accumulated through leverage personal wealth that amounted to about 2% of European GDP, making him the richest man who ever lived. Steinmetz describes how Fugger did it in this finely written and interesting book. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Richest Man Who Ever Lived from amazon.com.

Bull Mountain

Family. Land and family provide the raw material for a finely written debut novel by Brian Panowich titled, Bull Mountain. The Burroughs family have nurtured one another and created a community on a backwoods mountain in Georgia. From moonshine to meth in a few generations, this outlaw family faces new challenges when someone arrives on their doorstep seeking revenge. Panowich develops great characters, tells a gripping story, and writes with great skill. Readers interested in a debut novel telling an old story in new ways are those most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Bull Mountain from amazon.com.

His Right Hand

Sexuality. Curiosity and controversy led some readers to Mette Ivie Harrison debut about life in a small Mormon community titled, The Bishop’s Wife, in which she explored the subject of domestic abuse. Harrison reprises the protagonist of that novel, Linda Wallheim, for a new Mormon mystery titled, His Right Hand, in which she explores aspects of LGBT sexuality within family and community. Fans of murder mysteries are those readers most likely to enjoy reading this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase His Right Hand from amazon.com.

When Breath Becomes Air

Meaning. I loved reading Paul Kalanithi’s memoir titled, When Breath Becomes Air, for so many reasons. First, I found that his love of literature gave him a writing voice that provides readers with authentic, clear and finely written prose. This writing is some of the best prose I’ve read in years. Second, he grapples with the core question of finding meaning in life: both how to live and how to die. For some of us, this is one of the main reasons we read many forms of both fiction and non-fiction: how we can learn about the essence of our human nature through the lives of others. Third, he conveys what happened to him as a student, a medical resident, a son, a husband and a father, and as a terminally ill patient. He does this with passion and beauty as his life ends. Any reader who thinks at all about life and death will be moved by this finely written book and will reflect about the meaning of life. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase When Breath Becomes Air from amazon.com.

Negroland: A Memoir

Staccato. Longtime book and theater critic Margo Jefferson turns her critical eye toward herself and her life in a finely written book titled, Negroland: A Memoir. Readers looking for a flowing narrative proceeding from childhood to the present will be surprised by the staccato style that Jefferson uses to convey her observations about class, race, relationships, gender and society. Like the way our memory works, Jefferson leaps from one recollection to another in no particular sequence. As a white man from a working class family, there’s not much I have in common with a black woman from a wealthy family. Yet, I read each page with interest. She observes and analyzes the tension that has dominated her life. She welcomes readers into a world few of us have experienced or may understand, and allows us to learn new things about human nature. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Negroland from amazon.com.