The Perils of Memoirs. "The Truth about My Fathers" by Gaby Naher, "I'm Hungry, Daddy: A True Story" by Cliff Nichols and "The Bean Patch" by Shirley Painter. [review]
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Date
2002-12
Authors
Tuffield, Aviva
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Australian Book Review
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Abstract
These three memoirs share a central focus on fathers: Gaby Naher's is a meditation on fatherhood, Shirley Painter's is about surviving an abusive one, while Cliff Nichols's relates his life as an alcoholic and unreliable parent. They are also all part of the current flood of life-writing appearing from Australian publishing houses. Drusilla Modjeska, writing recently about the failings of contemporary fiction, argued that creative writing courses since the 1980s have produced a spate of postmodern first novels that were 'tricksy and insubstantial', deconstructing narrative at the expense of well-developed plots and characters. These courses may also account for much of the current memoir boom, feeding the demands of our voyeuristic culture. But publishers have a responsibility to readers to tame the genreās self-revelatory excesses.
Description
Keywords
Book review, Memoirs
Citation
Tuffield, Aviva 2002. The Perils of Memoirs. Review of "The Truth about My Fathers" by Gaby Naher, "I'm Hungry, Daddy: A True Story" by Cliff Nichols and "The Bean Patch" by Shirley Painter. 'Australian Book Review', No 247, December, 12-13.