An American Childhood
 

An American Childhood

by Annie Dillard

A book that instantly captured the hearts of readers across the country, An American Childhood is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard's poignant, vivid memoir of growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s.
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Top tags: memoircoming of agenon-fictionnonfictionpittsburgh (all tags)

 

Member Reviews

  • LILIYA B
    • Rated 1 stars

    An American Childhood is a book that I really didn’t enjoy; there was nothing in it that kept me interested in the book. The author just kept going into detail that I didn’t really want to hear about. Some things were interesting like the characters realization of the world outside her room and house, but the majority of the book was dull to me. I’m sure that Annie Dillard is a good author but I think that she put in too much detail in some places where it wasn’t needed and make it a turn off. I guess it also depend on the persons personality, there are other people that might disagree with me and say that this book was good and that there is nothing wrong with the amount of detail in it. This wasn’t a book from which you can really learn, you just get to read about another persons life, which for me is not an interesting story.

    LILIYA B wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink )
  • Jade K
    • Rated 4 stars

    Annie Dillard, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, was born in April 30, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has written eleven books, including the memoir of her parents, An American Childhood, and is best known for her narrative nonfiction. She has also published poetry, essays, autobiography and criticism.
    An American Childhood by Annie Dillard is an autobiography of her own life. Annie Dillard was born in 1945 in Pittsburgh to Frank and Pam Doak. And later in 1987, she published her autobiography, which lists all the events from 1950 to her adolescence. This book is not a day to day story of her life but rather a collection of the vivid memories of her childhood and how those enduring impressions they left on her mind shaped her later on.
    In this novel, Dillard manages to change her ordinary experiences into extraordinary events, which makes novel interesting and grabs reader’s attention the most. Throughout each parts of the novel, readers can learn how Annie becomes a passionate, loving, independent young woman from a classic, childish, curious five-year-old girl.
    Dillard’s imagery and writing technique is both poetic and rare at the same time. While the novel doesn’t have a plot, it takes the readers to a secret place and to those unspoken, puzzling feelings and imaginations that children have with such a descriptive word and details. Because children go through many of the same things in life like Dillard and think alike, it was fairly easy to relate to the book.

    Jade K wrote this review Tuesday, October 14 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • Meg M
    • Rated 2 stars

    I found her writing to be dry and the time period difficult to relate to.

    Meg M wrote this review Saturday, July 5 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • sarah kay
    • Rated 3 stars

    Annie Dillard is quite possibly one of the most observant human beings to ever walk the face of the Earth. And, she has an uncanny ability to put her observations into writing. Although technically a memoir, readers of this book will take away much more than an understanding of Dillard's childhood. A little bit of science, a little bit of history, a little bit of philosophy, make this book an enjoyable read.

    sarah kay wrote this review Sunday, June 29 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • Stephanie N
    • Rated 0 stars

    Her descriptions are so intimate and inspiring. Incredible writing-- best I've read in a while.

    Stephanie N wrote this review Wednesday, June 25 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • Deni H
    • Rated 3 stars

    What fun! This is really about my younger sister's childhood, but it has the Midwestern touches and the tension and curiosity that we, daughters of our writer father, experienced and thought about too.

    Deni H wrote this review Friday, May 23 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • MBF203
    • Rated 5 stars

    Well, as a girl from the region Dillard is writing about, it's not hard to love this book--but even so, as memoirs go, this one is spectacular.

    MBF203 wrote this review Saturday, March 8 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • Laura L
    • Rated 5 stars

    I don't read that many memoirs, but I am so glad I read this one. I LOVE this book! It makes you fall in love with life all over again.

    Laura L wrote this review Monday, January 28 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • Cyd H
    • Rated 5 stars

    This is a great memoir. I really like Annie Dillard's writing and the way she revisits her childhood memories with the language and insight of an adult makes for fabulous writing and metaphors that have stuck with me as I look at my own kids.

    Cyd H wrote this review Sunday, January 27 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • Sagecoveredhills
    • Rated 4 stars

    Having spent three years in Pittsburgh and evening worshipping a few times at Shadyside Presbyterian made this book more enjoyable.

    Sagecoveredhills wrote this review Thursday, December 20 2007. ( reply | permalink )
Displaying 1-10 of 14 reviews
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