ribamat

I thought I would like this more because I love, love, love Truth and Beauty. However, I found it troubling that this book got the rave reviews that it did and no one thought to seriously reach out to someone who was so deeply depressed. To her credit, she gets that few are going to look beyond the idea that she had cancer and lived with a deformity as a result. She knows that's what will sell the book, yet she resists telling that story. We learn little about those terrible years of treatment. Yet, at the same time we are kept out of other spaces that I felt were much more rich to explore. As much as I hate the idea of being put into the world of hospitals, I felt there was a great set of stories for her to tell that would not have exploited the illness she had, but rather have breathed life into the people and experiences she crossed during that time. Similarly, I wanted to understand her growth as a writer better. She was a poet and perhaps that made feel her the need to stay succinct about her process, but, as a reader, I wanted to see what drew her to the word as a form of release. This was clearly a woman who from a young age felt an impulse for self-destruction - how did writing temporarily ease that desire? In T&B, Patchett alludes to the "mask" that remains in place despite this book being an autobiography and I think she was right on. While few autobiographies are completely disclosing, this one reveals a writer who still holds her view of herself at arms length.

2022-11-14 17:27