2011: Book #34

Family Album by Penelope Lively

240 pages

Completed 4/3/11

Told from nine points of view - the six children of two parents and their nanny - set in the outskirts of London, this novel was a bit slow to get into, but I am so glad I did. Revealing the secrets behind the family, while combining their past stories with their current lives was written so well that not once did I feel lost in terms of whom was speaking.

Intriguing, I couldn't believe the ease in which huge secrets were revealed. With the mother being oh-so-cheery and living alongside her lost-in-his-own-world husband, the children have very different takes on what went on during their childhood, and each had their own unique voice. Well done; I truly enjoyed this read.

2011: Book 22

Everything is Wrong with Me: A Memoir of an American Childhood Gone, Well, Wrong by Jason Mulgrew


240 pages

Completed 3/11/11

Honestly, I picked up this memoir because of my and the author's shared last name. I mean, come on, it's not a often seen last name. I was neither impressed nor disappointed with this tale from dry-humored Mulgrew. Stories of his Irish - read, drunk - family growing up in Philadelphia, his parents' torrid relationship, and his own poor choices, the memoir is relatively amusing, if not offering much of a story.

Maybe it's because I enjoy more dramatic and devastating memoirs, but this one was a bit uneventful. The dozens of occasionally humorous footnotes were annoying at best, and the pictures poorly captioned - I legitimately had no idea what they were portraying most of the time. Eh, should've skipped this one.

2011: Book 19

The Boys of My Youth by Jo Ann Beard


224 pages

Completed 3/2/11

This disjointedly told memoir revisiting the death of her mother, the bonds of her friendships, her adolescence, and the falling in - and out - of love with her husband, Beard presents an interesting read. A great balance of humor and darkness, the emotion is raw throughout.

I was a bit confused by the ongoing stories interrupted by reflections of childhood, but realized it was a wonderful way of presentation for Beard's memoirs.