LIZ: BOOK #10

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

208 pages

Completed 2/18/10

This book's writing style convinced me to pick it up; Toews wrote this book as if she were her father. An interesting concept, but one that failed to impress me. Her bipolar teacher father, who committed suicide later in life, left his family, and especially the author herself, with unanswered questions. A cathartic way of coming to terms with who her father was, I'm sure, but it never reeled me in enough to be moved by this book.

Coining this book as a memoir is deceiving, I think. Although told from the perspective of the main character, there's no way Toews could have truly entered her father's world and his lifelong struggle within it. I think that my own wariness for such an iffy way of presenting the story never allowed me to fully believe it. I can see, however, how this book could be a great resource for family members who have lost a loved one to mental illness - either living or dead.

An extremely talented writer, Toews did manage to churn out a very well-written book with "Swing Low". From early adulthood up until the day of what would end up being his last, Toews does cover her father's life in depth. I guess it just wasn't personal enough for me to enjoy it.