When the Paris Review interviewer ask Mary Karr – author of the wild memoir The Liars’ Club — what the biggest problems were with memoirs today, she said, “They’re not reflective enough. They lack self-awareness.” The importance of developing a capacity for reflection is one of the central themes in her new book, The Art of Memoir. Though similar advice is found in every “how to” book on this topic, Mary Karr’s inimitable voice makes her observations interesting. She has infused this textbook with her personality and verve. Her original manner, style, quirks, and sometimes-poetic perspectives give this book its bounce.
Mary Karr, The Art of Memoir (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2015), xviii.