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Summary: Facing the Demon down: A Tale of Heroism and Self-Rescue
Review: Reading "At Home In The World" by Joyce Maynard is part Personal Test and part Journey of Discovery, within and without. It is at times easy reading, and at times like walking on broken glass, not because of its style (Maynard is a fabulous wordsmith, sculpting sentences as skilfully and effortlessly as she moulds emotions), but because the reader is forced to confront the stark reality that people, even supposedly Great People, sometimes have a truly Dark Side that is difficult to acknowledge, to treat with. Maynard shows a depth of courage that is as unnerving as it is rare as she denudes J.D. Salinger of his mystique and exposes him as the cruelly manipulative egoist he emerges as in her memoir; but more so she succeeds in facing down her own Demons in a process that can only be seen as a valiant self-rescue, an act of Self-Love that is not narcissism but a refusal to accept self-destruction where so many others have fallen. The book is in many ways two things in one: it is a symbolic mummy of her Life, bound and preserved and now put on a shelf; and a Ritual of Cleansing, a painful exercise in which Maynard has found the Heroine within herself, the Survivor who struggles and finally succeeds in shluffing off her skin, and with it, the scars of her painful Journey to self-healing. The book is often difficult to read because of its often brutal honesty, but is a must-read for anyone unafraid of confronting their own darkness. My personal feeling is that this book should especially be recommended for survivors of psychological abuse: Maynard is an excellent example for those who have walked the Broken Path and are seeking to come to terms with their pasts and with themselves.
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Summary: A very disturbed individual without writing skill
Review: To her credit, Maynard gets a lot of controvery and literary discussion going. But, in reality, she is a bad writer, self-absorbed and willing to do anything for a buck. Donate the money to charity, instead. She truly has no shame or conscience.
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Summary: One step shy of so-so
Review: This book was passed on to me by a friend who thought that because I, like the author, am originally from New Hampshire, I might find it interesting.And actually I did, in the way we find a bad accident on the highway interesting and slow down to sneak a quick look, almost hoping in some perverse way to see something gorey. But in the end we are ashamed of ouselves for having invaded the sacred privacy of the accident victims. Because we are merely outsiders and their suffering is really none of our business. This book was almost like that. I thought there might be something of interest to be learned about Salinger, but there were nothing but shallow observations and anecdotes - a one-sided story told by someone with an obvious axe to grind. It would be interesting to hear Salinger's version of this relationship, but of course we will never hear his point of view. To his credit. The rest of the book was mildly interesting, and might have been a good read if tackled by a writer with a more engaging style. There was no warmth or life in this book, and I found the writer's technique pretty unappealing.
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Summary: Joyce Maynard eloquently tells a story many of us have lived
Review: I've enjoyed Joyce's work for years, first in Parenting magazine, and later with "To Die For" and "Where Love Goes." Having read AHITW, I find myself deeply appreciative of her willingness, both as a woman and as a writer, to take clear-eyed look at her life -- with all its idiosyncrasies and imperfections -- and write about it. Going beyond the "me too, me too" of the many readers who feel a kinship with her depiction of an abusive relationship (an unfortunate milestone of womanhood for too many of us), I think it is the less "flashy" aspects of this book that make it so universal -- and so valuable. Indeed, if Joyce had published this book exactly as it is, but without identifying "Jerry," I suspect readers would view that relationship as part of the larger tapestry of Joyce's life -- instead of focusing so exclusively on trying to reconcile her actual experience of JD Salinger with their own imagined one. Frankly, I'm baffled by criticism of that Joyce's work is somehow invalid because she uses her own life as material. This is precisely what makes her writing both accessible and meaningful to me. Moreover, AHITW is speckled with bits of my own story, and those of my friends: the justifiably frustrated mother who lives through her daughter; the desperate struggle to transform into one's self into some artificial but more acceptable image; the painful search for a soul mate who'll magically see past the subterfuge and self deception and recognize true value when he sees it; the surprising (and for me unexpected) joys of motherhood; the many penalties society doles out to single-parents. These are the emotional landmarks of an entire generation of women, and Joyce has been our cartographer. Joyce's frank insights in AHITW inspire me to look at my own life, ask hard questions, and take responsibility for finding the answers. I highly recommend this book, as well as those mentioned above.
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Summary: I normally don't like memoirs, but I liked this.
Review: In additional to the salacious info provided about Salinger (kook, kook, kook!), this is a really interesting book about being a child, parent and wife. This woman got a lot of flack for writing At Home in the World; first of all because people think she writes too much about her own life (the term "literary exhibitionism" gets thrown around a lot when Joyce Maynard's name is mentioned). Plus, people were mad that someone had the downright nerve to say something bad about The Great J.D. Salinger. Now, I'm one of Salinger's greatest fans and think he's an amazing writer-one of America's best. However, if he's a rotten guy, that doesn't make him less of a great writer, and the fact that he's not perfect isn't something we should hide or even try to suppress. It's just, in this country, where hero worshipping is a national pastime, we're always so shocked, shocked to learn that some human being we admire is actually human. And reading this book, it sounds like he's a real jerk who took advantage, in a very calculated way, of this vulnerable young woman. He's certainly a better writer than she is, but she certainly was treated worse in the relationship. A late development in this ongoing saga is that Maynard decided to put up for auction the forty or so letters Salinger wrote to her over the years. Again, people were aghast, but she was as quoted as saying, "Hey, look, these belong to me. And if it comes down to keeping these letters or sending my kids to college, I'd rather send them to college." I'm totally on her side in this regard. Anyway, this book is pretty quick reading, and it's about her whole life-including some pretty interesting parents-and not just Salinger.
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Summary: This book was fascinating to me. It kept me wanting more...
Review: I recently finished At home in the World and loved it... I couldn't put this book down and on Friday nights, instead of going out to dinner w/friends, I'd rather stay home and read your book! (That rarely happens..belive me!) I recently finished reading your other piece "Where Love Goes" and again, loved that book and am waiting anxiously for your next literary work! Regarding ATITW I was very intrigued about your life with your parents and w/JD Salinger. Also about your life of trying to find happiness, belonging and love. Your in-depth rememberance of J.D. Salinger is the one that had me most fascinated. As I have read Catcher in the Rye and do so almost once a year (since it is one of my favorite reads) I found your experiences w/him to be almost chilling and cold. Your book opened up a whole new insight to this elusive figure and I really enjoyed it! If anyone has not yet read this book, I would suggest you go out and do so ASAP! You will not regret it......
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Summary: A powerful book about a woman making peace with her present
Review: Joyce Maynard has made a career out of helping others to realize "You are not alone". By recounting episodes of her life, from the humdrum to the unusual, in an honest, no punches pulled even at her own expense, manner her readers have been able to see that there is nothing wrong with them, that what they are going through is not peculiar and to draw support from that. Now in her memoir, written with the knowledge of a 45 year old woman, but through the eyes of the age of the narrator at the time, she has tied up all the strands of her life to date in a wrenching tale of growing up in an alcoholic family in denial, the vicarious focus of two frustrated career denied parents, suffering a disastrous first love affair which not only scarred her for many years, but one which in the aftermath she could not talk about (the JD Salinger aspect of this book has been overblown; it would retain its power if the person involved were JD Smith) and futilely tryng to create a Father Knows Best/ Donna Reed Show marriage and family life and finally emerging a mature woman transcendant and at peace with her "imperfections" . Ms. Maynard's life is in many ways no different than lots of others (and that has always been the point of her writing), but in At Home In The World, she is able to portray it with straightforward writing which accurately captures the emotions of the person telling the tale at the time the tale is happening. Whether you are a young woman embarking on the complications of love, a young married trying to reconcile reality with the fantasies we all have of marital bliss, someone with a painful secret or simply someone who likes to read a powerful story well told, this is a book for you.
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Summary: Loved her extremely personal creative style.
Review: A person would have to be clinically dead not to be drawn into Joyce Maynard's story. I've been reading her work for years, and her stories always make me cry one moment and laugh the next. Her style is extremely personal, creative, witty and fun and completely delicious. I didn't want this book to ever end.
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Summary: Great read. Interesting. Funny. Thought-provoking. Inspiring
Review: I have to admit, I was initially a skeptical guy when it came to even reading this book. I am not big on reading anyone's personal journey through life. But I do like philosophy, drama and humor. "At Home In The World" had all three and more. This is the first book of Joyce Maynard's I have read. I recognized her name because of entertaining yet surprisingly detailed stories she wrote in such diverse places as The New York Times, Tennis Magazine and other notable publications. I had also seen the movie, "To Die For" by Gus Van Zant, based on a J. Maynard novel. So I was curious if I would enjoy reading one of her books. I am really happy to say I loved "At Home..." I slid a copy off a shelf at a local bookstore and paged through it, haltingly at first. It grabbed me and I raced home to Amazon and added it to my collection. Maynard is a single mother of three kids, full-time breadwinner, busy novelist and free-lance writer. She is a real person in every sense of the word. The narrative is surprisingly candid about her past yet she isn't bitter or even plaintive in her musings. What I really liked was that this isn't meant to be written solely from a female perspective. Maynard is a person who happens to be female, explaining how she was raised, her experiences, some wild stories along the way, real-world advice for raising a family while working, and a soberness tinged with great humor. I have already recommended "At Home.." favorably to some of my hard-bitten male counterparts who now tell me even they have seen interesting parallels in their own experiences as well as from the stories they hear from the women in their lives. If nothing else, this book will entertain, make you think, laugh out loud and possibly inspire you -- as it did me, to ask questions and share stories with friends that I otherwise thought wouldn't reverberate with them. There are some nice photos as well. In summation, I would say that, with all of the recent contretempts and press Joyce Maynard has garnered from a small handfull of hatchet people, I haven't read much in the press that really reflected this book. Maybe these few "Must See TV" social critics don't like to read about women who aren't victims. Perhaps some of those male and female columnists might be threatened by Maynard's abitliy to honestly examine her own past and then refuse to be weighed down by hurdles tossed in her path . Of course, who cares what some of the column-a-day pound out popular press says. I sure don't and I'm glad I was right. I pick my books and movies without the help of such lowbrow attack dogs. Great story. I intend to check out her other books. Also, on a "oh my god I have to buy a book for someone" note: I would also highly recommend "At Home.." as a gift for basically anyone, male or female ranging from college age up to literate geezers.
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Summary: The Cult of Victimization
Review: This book is written in a flat, emotionless tone that begins to grate after just a few chapters. Women who love self-help books and stories of victimization should run out to their nearest bookstore (or throw this one in their Amazon.com Shopping Cart) without further delay! There seems to be no person who enters Ms. Maynard's life who does not exploit and victimize her in some way, beginning with her mother. Then, of course, her father, her sister, the trucker who picks her up hitchhiking, J.D. Salinger, her ex-husband. And SURPRISE!, Ms. Maynard suffers from anorexia, bulemia, low self-esteem, even faulty breast implants! Good lord. I finished this "brutally honest" memoir realizing that the author fails to tell us anything about "herself," other than relating a laundry list of events that give us no insight whatsoever into who she is, what she feels, what kind of person she is, what kind of friend, roommate, lover, wife. I suppose we should be fascinated to learn that J.D. Salinger had a slightly unusual obsession with frozen peas and used the word "kiddo" a lot. But frankly, this book left me cold.
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