Rating: 
Summary: Most beautiful memoir I've ever read
Review: *****
This book is the most beautiful memoir I've ever read and the one of the most memorable books I've ever read in my life. It is about the author's childhood in Alabama, about poverty, abuse, and alcoholism, but even more it is about love, family, and what is "normal". Despite the dark subject it is not a depressing book, but rather, a book of hope and love. I cannot imagine anyone having had a more troubled or abusive childhood than did the author, but the central theme of family love is what, most affects the family members and holds them together above all.
When you finish the book, you are really sorry, as you hate to see it end. Fortunately it continues with a second memoir about the author's life as an adult called "Fierce". Both are worth purchasing in hardback and rereading throughout your life; they are not books to be read once and then donated to a book sale.
It is not simply well-written, but it is so moving, honest, and matter-of-fact, that you really feel like you know and love all of the real people in the author's life. When I read "Alice"'s review (see above...Alice is the author's sister) I was so moved because I feel like I "know" her from the memoir. Of course I don't, but the memoir was that real.
I read this book as slowly as I could to make it last. It was just so good. I can't imagine anyone buying it and thinking they didn't get more than their money's worth, as it delivers on all levels---style of writing, suspense and plot, authenticity and transparency, the ability to draw you into the author's world.
"Fierce" takes place mostly after the author is an adult and leaves home although there are many flashbacks to childhood. "Change Me Into Zeus' Daughter" is about the author's childhood. I would buy both books together in hardback and save them forever to be read again and again.
*****
Rating:
Summary: a phenomenal journey - beautifully written, masterfully told
Review: A year ago, I was fortunate to read Barbara Robinette Moss' essay which became the first chapter of this book. At the time, I was in awe of her skill with words, her imagery, her mastery of storytelling and touched deep within at the poignacy of the tale she had to tell. I was overjoyed when I learned this had become a book, and purchased it in it's first few days of publication.An avid reader, and a writer myself, I cannot recall being so moved or so enthralled with any recent 'memoir'. Moss reaches inside the reader and grabs ahold while she carries us gently through a journey of poverty, loss, grief and joy. Yet, it is less a story of the author than it is a story of woman-ness: her's, her mother's, her sisters' and the courage, grace and poise these women maintain in the midst of, and against a backdrop of, oppression, fear, humiliation. It is a story of triumph and a story of elegance. Would that we all could be the women of this book, regardless of circumstance. Moss writes prose like poetry, with clarity and beauty. A must read. A phenomenal story. An empowering tale which proves the maxim: good books and good art serve to teach us all, that everything is possible!
Rating:
Summary: Kindred Spirit
Review: Barbara Robinette Moss is a masterful storyteller of the highest order!! Her memoir both encourages and motivates me. I can hardly wait for her next book! Our reading group in Birmingham interviewed her by telephone last night and she helped us understand even more about the complexities of her family. Folks, these are real people! Some rose above the circumstances and some didn't. We love you, Barbara, are are thankful that you are still "rising." We laud you for your courage, and we want you to continue your story. You're an inspiration! As we say in Alabama, "You go, girl!"
Rating:
Summary: A True Example Of Anything Is Possible
Review: Barbara Robinette Moss' book "Change Me Into Zeus's Daughter" was a book that I could not put down! It's hard to imagine a little girl growing up in the south who was poor, malnourished & facially disfigured living with an alcoholic father and submissive mother could write a book with such honesty without any bitterness. A motivating book for anyone young or old, no matter what your circumstances - that anything is possible!
Rating:
Summary: A compelling read.
Review: I bought this book on a lark, without expectation. I was quite surprised to find it to be a compelling story (memoir) of the plight of growing up in a family whose basic survival instincts were their salvation. There were only a couple of places I felt "lost" in the author's direction/writings, however, I was quickly back on track and following the ongoing plight. Part of the lure/hook of the book was that it was a rather contemporary look at someone's unique life (for a baby boomer like myself). I finally brought the book to work so I could read it during my lunch breaks...it was one of those "can't put it down" books. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites!
Review: I loved this book, it is the heart-wrenching, hard-to-put down type. I like the way Moss writes, very good. I read this book in one week, tops. Just one mystery remains: whatever happened to Mary Louise? It never mentioned her again towards the end. I really wanted to know whatever happened to her and if she found her.
Rating:
Summary: Adult Children Can Relate
Review: I read this book when it first published. I was really captivated by the author's writing style and ability to tell such a horrific tale with courage and lack of self-pity. Anyone, who grew up in an Alcoholic or otherwise seriously dysfunctional home will not only relate but will be freed in knowing they are not unique or alone. Not only does the family experience devastating poverty but the animosity, judgmentalism and humilation of asking charities to provide them with the most basic necessities. This book illuminates the darkest side of childhood poverty and neglect. The author shares how upon facing imminent starvation, the family ate seeds that had pesticides sprayed on them. This terrific book won Winner of the Faulkner Creative Writing Award. I think it has the best elements of "A Child Called It", "Running with Scissors", "All Over But the Shouting" and "Angela's Ashes". I look forward to reading anything this author writes and will probably reread this one. Definitely recommended addition to your library!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Memoir of a Complex Family Life (see more about me)
Review: I think in years to come,this will stand out as an
American classic.Americans on the whole were living better
than ever in the years after World War II. Too bad her
Dad didn't take advantage of the G.I. Bill, that elevated
the lower and middle classes.
I thought I would hate it with the first chapter, where
all the chidren were starving in front of their Mother.
But I continued to read and I thought of Francie, in " A Tree Grows In Brooklyn",
and I realized I was reading a great
book and could not put it down until I finished every page.
Barbara, you are a beautiful women with a good sense of self.
I don't want to give the story away,but I would ask the
author to continue this story of her Family or treat us
with another.It shows you don't have to be great or famous
to inspire people.
...
Rating:
Summary: Character Will Prevail
Review: This wonderful book has so many surprises. First among them is the undaunted spirit and strength of a girl who suffers through a hellish childhood and can write beautifully about it without wallowing in regret and elegiac gloom. The humor and apparent lack of bitterness is truly amazing as Ms. Moss relates the horror of an abusive alcoholic father, a numbed but loving mother, and the suffocating poverty of her rural South. This is not a depressive book. And there is no request or undertone for pity. Simply put, this is a must read for those who were moved by Angela's Ashes or similar books. This is America. This is a woman. This is a disadvantaged girl who perservered. To have written this book without a sense of loss or regret is an astonishing feat. The writing is clear and uncomfortably descriptive. You will feel her hunger, pain, fear and shame. And you will learn her incredible ability to cope and triumph. This is a wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: This book is an experience
Review: Writing at its best is lived rather than read. Occasionally we have the privilege to be drawn into someone's experiences with such power and clarity that we are possessed by their history and translated into it. Barbara Moss's story makes us members of the family as she weaves gripping tales of poverty, alcohlism, sickness and neglect into a book that you can't stop reading. As difficult as the circumstances are, the story is never without hope. The characters are in many ways ordinary and flawed and in spite of that, are amazingly appealing, interesting, funny, and often heroic as they struggle with the situations that compose their existence. In her writing she is able to depict seemingly ordinary events, turning them into human essences that touch our deepest emotional levels, where we live and laugh and cry and love.
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