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Liked It “Fantastic. Patchett is not liable as accused by Grealey's hurt sister in my view.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful“I read this for book club and was concerned before arriving at the meeting. I thought I was going to be the only one who didn't like the book. Turns out, every single person at book club found none of the characters likable and found the entire book to be disturbing (and not in the good,...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Fantastic. Patchett is not liable as accused by Grealey's hurt sister in my view.”
marypoet wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Truth and Beauty is just was one of the most beautiful stories of friendship I can ever hope to read.
bunnychip9 wrote this review Sunday, November 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Going by my new-found love for memoirs, this too relates the unusual and highly charged friendship between two writers - Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy, who died of an accidental overdose of heroin at the age of 39. Lucy Grealy herself wrote an award-winning book Autobiography of a Face that spoke of her battle with facial surgery and intensive bouts of chemotherapy that made every day an endurance in pain. This memoir is not about Lucy although she dominates the narration. This is about a unique tribute to an undefinable friendship. An unusual book, I read it on one Sunday afternoon. Truly one of those books I can say "I just could not put it down." Read this book - it is a celebration of that most neglected of relationships - friendship.”
“Personally, I don't normally read non-fiction and am not sure how to review them. Because they are true, I don't want to speak of the artistic value of it but rather the actual retelling of a true story. On that basis, I think that Ann did a wonderful job of describing someone very near and dear to her and revealing the truth with a lightness and frankness that I don't see very often. The things Lucy did to herself was unthinkable but Ann, with all her love, told the story without tarnishing anyone's image, rather, she rounded a real human-being out. I think Lucy would've been pleased.”
Haley M wrote this review Monday, October 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is such a lovely story about friendship. She breaks up the story with letters written by Lucy. You get a glimpse into a fascinating troubled woman and the people who loved her. ”
Carina wrote this review Friday, October 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“pretty good memoir, author writes of close friendship with tormented Lucy Grealy (autobiography of a face)
Jenny A wrote this review Wednesday, September 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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“The author of Bel Canto and Patron Saint of Liars has authored a beautiful book about the amazing and tragic life of her friend, writer Lucy Grealy. Grealy and Patchett met at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate program where they became roommates and friends for life. Grealy’s tragic burden was that as a result of cancer of the jaw at a very young age, she had endured a lifetime of mostly unsuccessful surgeries to reconstruct her face. (Her story, “Autobiography of Face,” documents this.) Her defense against the excruciating self-consciousness she was left with (and the cruelty the world bestows on anyone who looks “different”) was to live an uninhibited, over the top, and ultimately self-destructive life.
Betsy Ellis wrote this review Tuesday, September 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Patchett documents not only the life of this talented writer but also the life of their intense friendship as they each struggle to find their way in the literary world and the everyday world.
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“I liked it. It intrigued me enough to read the autobio of her friend that she writes about. ”
Celesta C wrote this review Friday, September 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Poignant recollections of a whacky, wonderful and ultimately heartbreaking freindship.”
mary p wrote this review Thursday, September 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The joy and beauty of "having to write" comes clear in this book. Patchett reflects the power of that need, and the ties that it creates among two exceptional women.”
Kathy N wrote this review Saturday, August 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is the story of Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy's friendship. It is a true story, and it is a beautiful story of love and friendship between the two, told from Ann's point of view. The book addresses their ups and downs and their shared lives, their first published books, and their time at college. It also discusses Lucy's self destructive habits, her sexual dependency, her drug abuse, and her extreme feelings of perpetual loneliness surrounded by more friends than many ever see in a lifetime. Through all of it, I grew in my appreciation of people like Ann, who are there to support no matter what, and there is no doubt in my mind that Ann loved Lucy, and was "her pet" for very good reason.”
Andrea wrote this review Tuesday, July 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
