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Category Archives: Nonfiction – General
A Review of Abraham Verghese’s The Tennis Partner
I was taught to distrust memoirs, to think of autobiography as a lesser art than fiction. I don’t remember a moment when I was taught this lesson explicitly; it is just an impression that I picked up along the way … Continue reading
Jill’s review of Domenica Ruta’s With or Without You
In March of 2013 this book was Powell’s Indiespensible selection, which is how I first learned of it. The choice surprised me since all the other books Powell’s had sent me were fiction, and this is a memoir. The choice … Continue reading
A Review of David Talbot’s Season of the Witch
When I was very young – about two or three – I had a recurring dream about a hillside that looked exactly like the hillside in the opening credits of the TV series Little House on the Prairie. You remember … Continue reading
In which Jill waxes philosophical about memory, and also talks about Pat Conroy’s The Death of Santini
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Pat Conroy should stick with being a memoirist. I read this book faster than I’ve read anything in a while, for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is … Continue reading
PAT CONROY MONTH!! finally continues. Jill reviews My Losing Season, with very little mention of basketball.
The more I read of Pat Conroy as an adult the more I know that his most powerful “fiction” is the stuff that is rooted in truth. This sentence is made apparent in reading My Losing Season, in which he … Continue reading
A Review of Rick Steves’ Travel as a Political Act (by Bethany)
Up until recently, I worked at a chain of tutoring and learning centers in the Bay Area. Modeled on the Asian-style “cram school,” these centers offered one-on-one tutoring, SAT-, ACT-, and AP-prep classes, and other classes for younger students designed … Continue reading
A Review of Pat Conroy’s The Death of Santini (by Bethany)
Last week I finished Pat Conroy’s memoir The Death of Santini, and I have mixed feelings about it. If you’ve been reading this blog regularly, you know that Pat Conroy has a special place here at Postcards from Purgatory. We … Continue reading
PAT CONROY MONTH!, October Style: Thoughts on The Boo (by Bethany)
PAT CONROY MONTH! went by way too fast. I spent much of the month catching up on reviews of books I read over the summer, but I did read two of Pat Conroy’s books – The Lords of Discipline and … Continue reading
Postcards From Purgatory 