The first book I started to read was The Liar's Club. The title was more appealing to me so I decided it was the book. As I read the first couple of pages I was a little confused to what was going on. I new the author was telling us of a troublesome memory, but I hadn't figured out what it was. The book then led into her child hood and how her parents met. Her mom seems like a whore. Her mom was married a total of seven times. That's way too much. To me, it seemed like the only reason she wanted to be married was so she could rely on someone else to fix her problems. She also comes of as "Nervous" to everyone around her. Her husband, on the other hand, seems to balance the relationship. He appears to be social, meeting with his friends to play dominoes and drink. They tell stories of the past and always seem to enjoy each others company.
The first chapter of The Memoir and The Memoirist was about a teacher whose teaching a class about how to write memoirs. I have mixed feelings about this book. The beginning didn't really grab my attention like The Liar's Club did. After a couple of pages though, it was intriguing to hear him talk about California. Like I said before I use to live in California and anytime i hear someone talk about California I always listen. The author moved his family there to save his marriage, but when they got there it completely crumbled. I can sort of relate to this. When my parents were having marriage problems they moved into a bigger house, but a year or two later the marriage failed. as well. Another part I liked in The Memoir and The Memoirist is at the end of the first chapter when the class is over but they still want him to be apart of their lives. He must have been really influential.
Ben,
ReplyDeleteA little harsh on Karr's mother, no? In fact, Karr suggests that her mother got married in order to be sexually proper.
The first chapter does cast J.P., the father, in a somewhat positive light, but it also tells us he's died, that he fought, that he was unreliable. Why do you think Karr would want us to see him positively right off the bat? If he does in fact become a negative force in her life, what will it mean to us that at first he treated her nicely?
Good personal reflection about The Memoir and the Memoirist. I'm glad you're already getting into material about your family. Try to brainstorm possible personal topics as similar things come up in the books we're reading.
I look forward to your subsequent posts.
When I was reading The Liars Club i also was confused on what i was reading. I got the same idea about the mother and father really seemed like. When reading stories I think each reader can relate to the story somehow whether it be bad or good.
ReplyDeleteThere is truth to what you said about the mother so maybe next time provide some analysis into how you think that might have affected the author in her childhood? Is there hope for the girl to grow up to be different than her mother? It's interesting how you said the mother and father seem to balance each other out because I do remember the author describing them as opposites as well. It was good that you brought a personal experience to your reading of M&M and could find a similarity between your family and Larson's. Hopefully you will be able to continue that comparison throughout the book, which will make for some interesting blogs.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your response to the initial readings, I was surprised. Yes, Mary's mother married seven times, but can you blame her? She came from a house that held the belief that it was better to marry than to date. How hard is it really to break away from our parenting? However, there are certain character flaws that her mother has so I personally believe the blame to be 50/50.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Memoir and the Memoirist, I do get the feeling that maybe it isn't Thomas Larson that is the influential person but perhaps it is the process of correctly writing memoirs. Maybe the people there were attracted to the process and relief that these memoirs offered.