Book Reviews John K. Cox Jurij Koch / Courtesy of Domowina-Verlag In the 1950s, a girl whom Jurij Koch knew in high school moved away from their hometown of Cottbus in East Germany. It was a case, he says in his recent memoir, of “Weg von Ulbricht, hin zu Adenauer” (Away from Ulbricht, over to Adenauer). Her mother took the girl to the West, before the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. This is a familiar enough arc of events, but, as it turns out, the motivation behind the move is probably not something that most people outside of Germany would have considered. The reason was ethnic. Little Greta was growing up surrounded by Sorbs in the southeastern part of the country. The Sorbian language reminded her mother of Polish, and she had had quite enough of the Poles in her pre-1945 home farther east. In addition, Greta’s family was Protestant and they felt awash in a “Catholic sea.” So off they went, leaving the author of this autobiography—who, well, yes, had a crush on Greta—scratching his head. Like so many other scenes in this engaging book, this story blends the customary with the unexpected to stretch our understanding of what is “German.” Like so many other scenes in this engaging book, Koch’s memoir blends the customary with the unexpected to stretch our understanding of what is “German.” Windrad auf dem Dach (Domowina-Verlag, 2016) is the second volume of Koch’s memoirs to be published in German. Currently in his... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2020-01-27 20:47:13 UTC ]
Five years ago, when in her late twenties, Emma Gannon released her first book: Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online. It’s a funny and thoughtful memoir which charts her formative experiences on the internet as a Millennial woman born in the same year as the World Wide Web. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-03 14:05:09 UTC ]
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Shawna Kay Rodenberg recounts her childhood in a religious sect and in rural Kentucky. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Why did author Kate Clanchy get an opportunity to rewrite a memoir others called out as racist and ableist? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-09-03 10:34:00 UTC ]
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A memoir from Congressman Jamie Raskin goes to Harper, Penguin signs Coll’s last Afghanistan book, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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At Ploughshares, Kat Chow discusses Seeing Ghosts, her memoir that examines grief and sorrow through the lens of three generations of her Chinese-American family. “I’ve always been drawn to writing about the body—our physical selves and how they reflect our inner lives—and how our bodies are an... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2021-09-02 20:30:39 UTC ]
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Hayley Mills, star of 'Pollyanna' and 'The Parent Trap,' is now 75 and has written a memoir about her life as a child actor under Walt Disney's watchful eye. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-09-02 13:00:20 UTC ]
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This film about Misha Defonseca, author of a ‘memoir’ about escaping the Nazis and sheltering with wolves as a child, is propulsively watchable“Sometimes a story is so astonishing it’s unbelievable.” So said a Massachusetts radio presenter in the 90s, introducing Misha Defonseca, a local Jewish... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-09-02 06:00:18 UTC ]
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Shugri Said Salh’s memoir strives for an accurate – rather than sensationalized or simplified – account of growing up in, and then fleeing, Somalia. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-08-30 19:15:00 UTC ]
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“Exodus, Revisited” offers new insights about a woman’s break from her Hasidic community. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-28 13:00:00 UTC ]
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His acclaimed fiction and a memoir had a common theme: alcoholism. After becoming sober, he called his former besotted muse “Drunkspeare.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-08-28 11:13:30 UTC ]
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“By the time I was born, the city had been conquered thrice, by the British, the Japanese, and the military junta. Three enemies to symbolize the three torments of the mind.” Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint on war, reincarnation, and the changing names of Myanmar. | Lit Hub Memoir Jeffrey Webb revisits... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-08-27 10:30:19 UTC ]
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Levy's memoir trilogy concludes with "Real Estate," pondering happiness and a new kind of home. Unlike Rachel Cusk, she keeps herself in the picture. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-08-24 15:00:41 UTC ]
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In her memoir “Seeing Ghosts,” the author recounts her mother’s death and her immigrant family’s numerous migrations, separations and losses, evoking the way grief entails a particular, perpetual sorrow. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-08-24 09:00:06 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Ireland has scooped a "unique" memoir by the warden of Skellig Michael, a remote Irish island. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-22 23:51:22 UTC ]
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Georgina Pazcoguin’s biting memoir is full of melodrama. It also has an important message. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The American Ballet Theatre star has written a thoughtful collection of essays that gives readers insight into what it means to defy categorization. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bodley Head has acquired two titles from German filmmaker and storyteller Werner Herzog, including a memoir. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-18 19:49:03 UTC ]
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The German film director has announced two new books: a memoir and The Twilight World, about a remarkable second world war officerWerner Herzog is writing a book about Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who took three decades to surrender after the end of the second world war.The esteemed German... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-08-18 12:56:08 UTC ]
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“Names for Light,” by Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint, is a memoir recounted through the stories of family members. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-08-18 12:41:21 UTC ]
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Mirror Books has acquired worldwide rights from The Can Group to Christine McGuinness' first book A Beautiful Nightmare. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-18 11:33:49 UTC ]
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