The Art of Memoir

17. The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If I could, I'd give this 4.5 stars for overusing "carnal" and "carnality" for physically embodied descriptions. Otherwise though, really great.

If you are interested in writing or especially in writing a memoir, there's lots of great info here. She is upfront with the book's opening sentence, "No one elected me the boss of memoir."

Still, she knows a great deal more about it than I do, and I welcome her personal expertise and analysis of other memoir writers.

Also, there's a reading list of about 200 memoirs in the back. (I've read a lot of autobiographies, but only about 10 of these. Definitely some that I will look for.)


10 years ago on TTaT: Don't forget