The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson is set to be released February 3, 2009. This 224-page memoir in some ways reminded me of Anne Tyler‘s writing.
This book is about women, family, New York state. I love the title.
I like the cover on the ARC better than that being used for the real release, though. It just seems to fit the story better.
Basically, Dickinson tells her story in this book. Her family, populated almost exclusively by women, plays a major role; place plays a somewhat lesser role. She talks about growing up, her dad leaving, her mom surviving, her large family in a small town life, and raising her daughter.
It’s sad at the beginning, which is something I try to hedge against exposing myself to.
It’s like this. The movie Dan in Real Life is so sad at the beginning, I was crying. I felt like there was no way to resolve/redeem this man’s situation. Misery added to misery. And then when you think it can’t get any worse, more bad news is heaped on top. I almost stopped watching the movie, and likewise I almost stopped reading this book. The movie does resolve, rather happily, even, but this didn’t remove the hard feelings I felt toward it from the beginning. I still feel ambivalent at best about Dan in Real Life, because it’s sad in the beginning.
So I can’t fully endorse this book, either (at least for readers like me, if others exist). Part of the problem for me may have been that I read this after reading Dakota, which I loved; that also made two nonfiction reads in a row, though.
The writing is nice, conversational.
Dickinson is the author of the syndicated advice column, “Ask Amy,” and the host of a biweekly feature on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation.” Here’s the author’s website.
Other reviews:
• BermudaOnion
• The Bluestocking Society
• Athena’s bookshelf
• R&B: Read and Blog
• Fresh Ink Books
• Michelle’s Reading Room
