Book cover of Memoir

Book description

This is the story of John McGahern's childhood, his mother's death, his father's anger and violence, and how, through his discovery of books, his dream of becoming a writer began.

At the heart of Memoir is a son's unembarrassed tribute to his mother. His memory of walks with her through…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Memoir as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

McGahern, an Irish writer, arguably should have won the Nobel prize for his body of work (I’ve read everything I could get my hands on). He died in 2006 of cancer. This was published posthumously in 2007, the year I first read it... Have read it 3 times since. McGahern opens up and lets us in, with beautiful prose. Hypnotic, haunting, wise, and honest.

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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