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Liked It “This book, about a group of women that meet with a mysterious instructor to learn how to write their memoirs, really drew me in right from the first page. |
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“This book is chicklit of the non-romantic variety, although it does attempt some romance. The premise is good, but while Kalpakian does a fairly good job of fleshing out her characters, there are too many and they are not distinctive enough to keep them straight. I had to make a list to remind myself of who's who. There are a few gems on writing to appreciate, but the plot doesn't work. Caryn is too contradictory; I expect more rationalism from doctors. The abortion clinic calamity is too cinematic, and the mysterious disappearing character (I won't give away who it was) comes across as preposterous and unnecessary. Still, if you want a light read for a vacation, this book was engaging.”
Robin Theiss wrote this review Thursday, September 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This book, about a group of women that meet with a mysterious instructor to learn how to write their memoirs, really drew me in right from the first page.
ghost of a rose wrote this review Friday, August 7 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Unfortunately, though, it lost some of its momentum at about 3/4 of the way through, with the climactic scene at a women's health clinic. Having previously been thoughtful and in-depth, at that point it degenerated into a typical scene of violence such as you might read in any mass-market action-adventure novel. And even after that scene ends, The Memoir Club never quite recovers its previous cohesiveness. It diverges into various threads of the different character's lives without the strong sense of connection that it had earlier. This is perhaps because the Memoir Club is no longer meeting. The members continue their friendship, in fact become closer than ever. But from then on, there is only one more memoir. I think that it was the memoirs that held the various stories together, and without them, the novel becomes a conglomeration of individual stories in the present tense.
However, it is still a fairly interesting book, and a good (if not a great) one. There's a startling twist at the end. I always knew there was something strange about the teacher of the memoir class . . .
(280 pages)
"For all of the Families of the Victims, some fundamental part of their lives could never be reconstructed. But some people, most maybe, constructed a fitting memorial around that place and waded out of the sea of grief. They were, of course, forever altered, but they pulled up, somehow, on that other shore." - Laura Kalpakian, in The Memoir Club”
“SUMMARY: Six women, seeking a little bibliotherapy, take a university extension class entitled Writing Your Memoir. The following semester, calling themselves The Memoir Club, they continue to meet at the home of one of the participants, as they try to come to terms with the losses, guilt, and grief they each have suffered, and, in doing so, try to forge a new beginning. COMMENTS: Thoughtful, inspiring, beautifully written; highly recommended, especially for women.”
Bobbie N wrote this review Wednesday, December 31 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“this book started slow & i did not think i was going to enjoy it. however, i persevered & found myself quite interested in the stories of the various women who attend the memoir club, a writing club in which they are practising writing their memoirs. overall, a worthwhile read.”
elspbeth wrote this review Tuesday, May 27 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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