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Barbs of truth, from a woman
Rob Moyer reviews a brief but powerful book by Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux,. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE YOUNG MAN. By Annie Ernaux. Seven Stories Press. 64 pages. $13.95. In 2022, Annie Ernaux became the first French woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. She earned it by writing books in French…
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Traveling the dangerous territory of family history
Paul O’Connor, a veteran newspaper journalist, finds the account Burkhard Bilger tells of his Nazi grandfather of great interest – and also finds much to like in Bilger’s dogged search for the truth. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor FATHERLAND: A Memoir of War, Conscience and Family Secrets. By Burkhard Bilger. Random House. 279 pages. $28.99,…
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“Plotless” – but telling – memories
Bob Moyer reviews a book that, both author and reviewer make clear, is not an autobiography. And yet… Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer STILL PICTURES: On Photography and Memory. By Janet Malcom. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 155 pages. $26. Janet Malcolm wrote many New Yorker articles as well as many books about interesting subjects—Gertrude Stein, Chekov,…
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A lot of stories to tell, with help
Are you a fan of the funny man, Steve Martin? If so, Bob Moyer has the book for you. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer NUMBER ONE IS WALKING. By Steve Martin. Drawings by Harry Bliss. Celadon Books. 256 pages. $30. One of the funniest men on the planet, Steve Martin has made 40 movies (…
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A tale of redemption
This is a book worth reading that has been too long overlooked. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson I ONCE WAS LOST: A TRUE STORY. Paperback. By Fred Moore. 265 pages. Price varies. Fred Moore knew he was a golden boy. He grew up in East Winston, the predominantly black side of Winston-Salem, in a middle-class…
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On the brink, as seen by one who’s been there
Wondering why there’s a war in Ukraine? This book might shed some light – on that, and on what else might be over “the edge.” Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor LESSONS FROM THE EDGE: A MEMOIR. By Marie Jovanovitch. Harper Audio. 17 hours, 11 minutes. $37. Also available in hardback. Mariner Books. 416 pages. $30.…
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A frightening, enlightening look at the world of El Chapo
Paul O’Connor, my esteemed colleague from our years with the Winston-Salem Journal’s editorial pages, occasionally still writes a book review for this blog. I’m always happy and enlightened when that happens. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor EL CHAPO: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE WORLD’S MOST INFAMOUS DRUG LORD. By Noah Hurowitz. Atria Books. 333 pages.…
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Pieces of a life
Bob Moyer takes a look at a biography that gives new life to a 15-year-old Jewish girl in Norway who was killed in the Holocaust. Reviewed By Robert P. Moyer KATHE — Always Been in Norway. By Espen Sobye. Krakiel Publishing. 208 pages. $24.95. Early in his career, writer Espen Sobye was a statistician. He…
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Unraveling the girl she was
Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer A GIRL’S STORY. By Annie Ernaux. Seven Stories Press. 160 pages. $18.95 Shame and humiliation. She spent two nights with a man, then fixated on him, in 1958, earning the name “whore around the edges” from her colleagues. She carried that shame with her for 58 years, until she decided to…