Saturday, February 5, 2011

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

A historical memoir, which I think points out the problems with this genre. How can one write a memoir for someone other than the author? In this case, the author is writing her grandmother's life, even though she died when the author was only a child.

It reads like a series of anecdotes, and lacks any cohesion. A much better plan would have been to write fiction, and include the modern granddaughter in the story. A good example would be Fannie Flagg's "Fried Green Tomatoes".

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