Currently Reading #12.5

[littlerdog.livejournal.com]

In my haste to tell the world my thoughts on Into Thin Air, I seem to have overlooked the book I read just before it: Jo Brand's Look Back in Hunger. A somewhat discursive and undirected book with a flat ending--it basically stops--this was nonetheless hugely enjoyable. Brand is frank, self-deprecating, and funny. Reading her book was like curling up in bed with a hot water bottle and a nice cup of tea when you're feeling under the weather.

I don't often read memoirs, as I don't enjoy the experience of finding out years later that something that affected me emotionally was a pack of lies. If I want to be affected by lies, I'll read fiction--and indeed I do. I like a clear distinction between fiction and fact, and although I accept that memoir can sometimes err due to mistakes or a faulty memory, out-and-out lying leaves me feeling an idiot. That's not how I want to feel.

When I saw Brand's book, however, I felt that I could trust her not to put herself in a car where she hadn't been, or run together other people's stories and pretend they're her own. Maybe I'm wrong but I hope not.

Only time will tell.