THE ART OF MEMOIR By Mary Karr

art of memior
I’m a big fan of Mary Karr’s The Liar’s Club and Lit so I was eager to read Karr’s new book, The Art of Memoir. Karr takes writing a memoir seriously (I wish could take her writing class at Syracuse University!). If you check out the Table of Contents, you’ll see the range of Karr’s interests and her approach to writing. I consider The Art of Memoir to be one of the best books I’ve read this year! But the big bonus is her Appendix: Required Reading–Mostly Memoirs and Some Hybrids which I typed out for you to appreciate. How many of those books have you read? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Caveat Emptor xi
Preface: Welcome to My Chew Toy xiii
1 The Past’s Vigor
2 The Truth Contract Twixt Writer and Reader
3 Why Not to Write a Memoir: Plus a Pop Quiz to Protect the Bleeding & Box Out the Rigid
4 A Voice Conjures the Human Who Utters It
5 Don’t Try This at Home: The Seductive, Narcissistic Count
6 Sacred Carnality
7 How to Choose a Detail
8 Hucksters, the Deluded, and Big Fat Liars
9 Interiority and Inner Enemy—Private Agonies Read Deeper Than External Whammies
10 On Finding the Nature of Your Talent
11 The Visionary Maxine Hong Kingston
12 Dealing with Beloveds (On and Off the Page)
13 On Information, Facts, and Data
14 Personal Run-Ins with Fake Voices
15 On Book Structure and the Order of Information
16 The Road to Hell Is Paved with Exaggeration
17 Blind Spots and False Selves
18 Truth Hunger: The Public and Private Burning of Kathryn Harrison
19 Old-School Technologies for the Stalled Novice
20 Major Reversals in Cherry and Lit
21 Why Memoirs Fail
22 An Incomplete Checklist to Stave Off Dread
23 Michael Herr: Start in Kansas, End in Oz
24 Against Vanity: In Praise of Revision
Acknowledgments
Appendix| Required Reading—Mostly Memoirs and Some Hybrids
Permissions

APPENDIX: REQUIRED READING–MOSTLY MEMOIRS AND SOME HYBRIDS
The asterisked memoirs are books I’ve taught. Does this mean they’re better written? Absolutely.

*Adams, Henry. The Education of Henry Adams and Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres
*Allende, Isabel. The Sum of Our Days
*Als, Hilton. The Women
Amis, Martin. Experience
*Angelou, Maya. I know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Antrim, Donald. The Afterlife
*Arenas, Reinaldo. Before Night Falls
Ayer, Pico. Falling Off the Map
*Saint Augustine. Confessions

Baldwin, James. Notes of a Native Sun
*Batuman, Elif. The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them
*Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Home
Beck, Edward. God Underneath: Spiritual Memoirs of a Catholic Priest
*Bernhard, Thomas. Gathering Evidence
*Black Elk. Black Elk Speaks
Blow, Charles M. Fire Shut Up in My Bones
Bourdain, Anthony. Kitchen Confidential
Boyett, Micha. Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer
Brave Bird, Mary. Lakota Woman
*Brown, Claude. Manchild in the Promised Land
*Buford, Bill. Among the Thugs and Heat
Burgess, Anthony. Little Wilson and Big God: Being the First Part of the Confessions of Anthony Burgess
Busch, Benjamin. Dust to Dust

Cairns, Scott. Short Trip to the Edge
Carr, David. The Night of the Gun
Carroll, James. Practicing Catholic
*Chaudhuri, Nirad C. The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian
*Chatwin, Bruce. In Patagonia
Chast, Rox. Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
*Cheever, Susan. Home Before Dark
*Cherry-Garrard, Apsley. The Worst Journey in the World
Churchill, Winston. My Early Life, 1874-1904
Ciszek, Walter, SJ. With God in Russia
*Coetzee, J. M. Boyhood
Collins, Judy. Singing Lessons: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Hope, and Healing
*Conroy, Frank. Stop-Time
Conway, Jill Ker. The Road form Coorain
Covington, Dennis. Salvation on Sand Mountain
*Crews, Harry. A Childhood: The Biography of a Place and Blood and Grits
*Crick, Francis and James Watson. The Double Helix
Crowell, Rodney. Chinaberry Sidewalks

Dau, John Bul. God Grew Tired of Us
*Day, Dorothy. The Long Loneliness
*Dinesen, Isak. Out of Africa
*Didion, Joan. The Year of Magical Thinking
*Dillard, Annie. An American Childhood
*Doty, Mark. Heaven’s Coast
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
*Dubus, Andre, III. Townie
Dunham, Lena. Not That Kind of Girl
Dylan, Bob. Chronicles

Eggers, Dave. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Eire, Carlos. Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy
*Exley, Frederick. A Fan’s Notes

Fey, Tina. Bossypants
Forna, Aminatta. The Devil That Danced on the Water
Fox, Paula. Borrowed Finery
Frame, Janet. An Autobiography
Frankl, Viktor. Man’s Search for Meaning
Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
*Frazier, Ian. On the Rez
Frenkel, Edward. Love and Math
Fuller, Alexandra. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight

*Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Living to Tell the Tale
Gellhorn, Martha. Travels With Myself and Another
Geronimo. My Life
Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love
*Ginzburg, Yevgenia. Journey Into the Whirlwind
*Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
*Graves, Robert. Good-Bye to All That
Gray, Francine du Plessix. Them: A Memoir of Parents
Grealy, Lucy. Autobiography of a Face
Greene, Graham. A Sort of Life
Guevara, Ernesto Che. The Motorcycle Diaries

*Haley, Alex, and Malcolm X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Hamilton, Gabriella. Blood, Bones & Butter
Hampl, Patricia. A Romantic Education
*Hardy, G. H. A Mathematician’s Apology
*Harrison, Kathryn. The Kiss
*Haxton, Brooks. Fading Hearts on the River: A Life in High-Stakes Poker
*Hemingway, Ernest. A Moveable Feast
*Herr, Michael. Dispatches
*Hickey, Dave. Air Guitar
Hogan, Linda. The Woman Who Watches Over the World
Hongo, Garrett. Volcano: A Memoir of Hawai;i
Hooks, Bell. Bone Black
Huang, Eddie. Fresh Off the Boat
*Hurston, Zora Neal. Dust Tracks on a Road

Irving, Debby. Waking Up White

Jackson, Phil. Sacred Hoops
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Jamison, Kay. An Unquiet Mind
Jordan, June. Soldier: A Poet’s Childhood

Keller, Helen. The Story of My Life
Kidder, Tracy. House
*Kincaid, Jamaica. My Brother
King, Stephen. On Writing
*Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior
Knausgard, Karl Ove. My Struggles series
*Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air
Lawrence, T. E. Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Least Heat-Moon, William. Blue Highways: A Journey into America
*Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz
*Lewis, C. S. Surprised by Joy
Liao Yiwu. For a Song and a Hundred Songs: A Poet’s Journey Through a Chinese Prison
Lopate, Philip. Against Joie de Vivre
*Lorde, Audre, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
*Lowell, Robert. “91 Revere Street,” in Life Studies

Macdonald, Helen. H is for Hawk
Malan, Rian. My Traitor’s Heart
Mandela, Nelson. Conversations with Myself
*Mandelstam, Nadezhda. Hope Against Hope and Hope Abandoned
Manguso, Sarah. The Two Kinds of Decay
*Mantel, Hilary. Giving Up the Ghost
*Markham, Beryl. West with the Night
Martin, Steve. Born Standing Up
*Matthiessen, Peter. The Snow Leapard
Mayle, Peter. A Year in Provence
*McBride, James. The Color of Water
McCarthy, Mary. Memories of a Catholic Girlhood
*McCourt, Frank. Angela’s Ashes
McPhee, John. Coming into the Country
*Merton, Thomas. The Seven Storey Mountain
*Milburn, Michael. Odd Man In
*Mingus, Charles. Beneath the Underdog
Momaday, N. Scott. The Names
Monette, Paul. Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir
Moody, Anne. Coming of Age in Mississippi
Murakami, Haruki. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

*Nabokov, Vladimir. Speak, Memory
Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
*Neruda, Pablo. Memoirs
Nolan, Ty. Memoir of a Reluctant Shaman
Norris, Kathleen. The Cloister Walk

Oates, Joyce Carol. A Widow’s Story
Olsen, Tillie. Silences
*Ondaatje, Michael. Running in the Family
O’Rourke, Meghan. The Long Goodbye
Orwell, George. Homage to Catalonia, Burmese Days, and Down and Out in London and Paris

Parker, Mary Louise. Dear Mr. You
*Patchett, Ann. Truth & Beauty
Pirsig, Robert. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Raban, Jonathan. Bad Land
Radziwill, Carole. What Remains
Raphael, Lev. My Germany
Red Cloud. The Heart of Everything That Is
Reed, Ishmael. Blues City
Rios, Albert. Capirotada: A Nogales Memoir
*Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory
Roth, Marco. The Scientists
Russell, Bertrand. The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell

*St. Aubyn, Edward. The Patrick Melrose novels
Sallans, Ryan. Second Son
Santiago, Esmeralda. When I Was Puerto Rican
Sartre, Jean-Paul. The Words
*Sassoon, Siegfried. Memoirs of an Infantry Officer
*Shackleton, Ernest. South: The Endurance Expedition
Shakkur, Assata. Assata
Shakur, Sanyika. Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member
*Shreyngart, Gary. Little Failure
Sleigh, Tom. Interview with a Ghost
Smith, Patti. Just Kids
Smith, Tracy K. Ordinary Light
Solomon, Andrew. The Noonday Demon
Sontag, Susan. Illness as a Metaphor
Soto, Jock. Every Step You Take
Stahl, Jerry. Permanent Midnight
Strayed, Cheryl. Wild

Tan, Amy. The Opposite of Fate: A book of Musings
Theroux, Paul. Old Patagonia Express
Tolstoy, Leo. Childhood, Boyhood, Youth
Thompson, Ahmir-Khalib. Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove
Thompson, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Trillin, Calvin. About Alice
*Twain, Mark. Autobiography of Mark Twain

Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle
Wainaina, Binyavanga. One Day I Will Write About This PLace
Washington, Booker T. Up from Slavery
Watt, Robert Lee. The Black Horn
Weil, Simone. Waiting for God, Gravity and Grace
*Welty, Eudora. One Writer’s Beginnings
White, Edmund. My Lives
White, T. H. The Goshawk
*Wideman, John Edgar. Brothers and Keepers
*Wiesel, Elie. Night
Winterson Jeanette. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
*Wolfe, Tom. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
*Wolff, Geoffrey. The Duke of Deception and A Day at the Beach
*Wolff, Tobias. This Boy’s Life and In Pharaoh’s Army
Woolf, Virginia. Moments of Being
*Wright, Richard. American Hunger

*Yen Mah, Adeline. Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Zailckas, Koren. Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood

USEFUL BOOKS ABOUT MEMOIR
Adams, Timothy Dow. Telling Lies in Modern American Autobiography
Leibowitz, Herbert. Fabricating Lives
Shields, David. Reality Hunger
Yagoda, Ben. Memoir: A History

23 thoughts on “THE ART OF MEMOIR By Mary Karr

  1. Wolf Böhrendt

    Just that “required reading” list of books left me spechless …

    I’m ( was …) a fervent book reader, but …

    Ok, Orwell, Sartre and some others.

    What I found funny (being a mathematician myself):
    Hardy, G. H. A Mathematician’s Apology in that list

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Wolf, Mary Karr writes about A MATHEMATICIAN’S APOLOGY in THE ART OF THE MEMOIR and makes it sound so compelling I’ve ordered the book!

      Reply
  2. Dan

    Too often it seems that those who have had the most interesting lives are the least capable of recounting them in an interesting fashion. And as a corollary of this, entirely too many dullards have felt compelled to commit their lives to print. A memorable memoir occurs when a fascinating individual and a capable writer unite in one body.

    Reply
  3. maggie mason

    Incredible list sadly, I doubt I’ve read more than a few, and haven’t read Karr. I did see a lot of authors whose books I looked for to sell at book shows, in my days as a bookseller.

    Reply
      1. maggie mason

        I looked more closely at the list, and have read 3 from the supplemental Angela’s ashes, A Year in Provence, and Electric Kool Aid Acid Test (the latter i was too young too appreciate it)

  4. Jeff Meyerson

    I loved THE LIAR’s CLUB and was planning on reading this one already. Your review will push it higher up the list.

    For once I topped George! I’ve read 37 or so books on the list, and a number of others are on my “too be read” list.

    Some I’d add:

    V. S. Pritchett, A CAB AT THE DOOR and MIDNIGHT OIL
    Jill Robinson, BED/TIME/STORY
    Janet Flanner, PARIS WAS YESTERDAY
    Christopher Isherwood, CHRISTOPHER AND HIS KIND
    Jim Carroll, THE BASKETBALL DIARIES
    Louise Brooks, LULU IN HOLLYWOOD
    Ron Kovic, BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
    Farley Mowat, NEVER CRY WOLF
    Kate Simon, BRONX PRIMITIVE (and sequels, though the first is best)
    Linda Ellerbee, ‘AND SO IT GOES’
    John Callahan, DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT
    Richard Rhodes, A HOLE IN THE WORLD
    Michael Dorris, THE BROKEN CORD
    Pete Hamill, A DRINKING LIFE
    Franz Lidz, UNSTRUNG HEROES
    Mary Cantwell, AMERICAN GIRL (and two sequels)
    Doris Kearns Goodwin, WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR
    Abraham Vergese, MY OWN COUNTRY
    Rick Bragg, ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTIN’
    Homer Hickam, Jr., ROCKET BOYS
    Deric Longden, DIANA’S STORY and LOST FOR WORDS (and look for the movie adaptations)

    Sorry to go on so long. Obviously I’ve read a LOT of these. In fact I can probably add a couple of dozen more. (I just stopped arbitrarily in 1999.) I read the Wolff brothers’ books back to back, which was fascinating. One grew up with the mother and the other with the father, for those who don’t know their story. Both became writers, obviously.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, thanks for enhancing Mary Karr’s RECOMMENDED READING list! I haven’t read as many memoirs as you because it’s a genre I haven’t explored as much as I would like to. But Mary Karr’s THE ART OF MEMOIR (and your list) will change that.

      Reply
  5. Jeff Meyerson

    Oh, what the heck. I might as well finish these:

    Reeve Lindbergh, UNDER A WING
    Larry Brown, ON FIRE
    Alix Kates Shulman, A GOOD ENOUGH DAUGHTER
    Nuala O’Faolain, ARE YOU SOMEBODY?
    Willie Morris, MY DOG SKIP
    Helene Stapinski, FIVE-FINGERED DISCOUNT
    Bobbie Ann Mason, CLEAR SPRINGS
    John Bayley, ELEGY FOR IRIS
    Susan Cheever, HOME BEFORE DARK and NOTE FOUND IN A BOTTLE
    Mikal Gilmore, SHOT IN THE HEART (he was Gary Gilmore’s brother)
    James Lehrer, WE WERE DREAMERS (wonderful book about his family running a bus company in Kansas when he was a kid)
    Stephen Lewis, HOTEL KID: A Times Square Childhood
    Patricia Volk, STUFFED: Adventures of a Restaurant Family
    Eric Wright, ALWAYS GIVE A PENNY TO A BLIND MAN
    Haven Kimmel, A GIRL NAMED ZIPPY
    Alfred Kazzin, STARTING OUT IN THE FIFTIES and A WALKER IN THE CITY
    Charles Osgood, DEFENDING BALTIMORE AGAINST ENEMY ATTACK: A Boyhood Year During World War II (wonderful fun)
    Tim Russert, BIG RUSS & ME
    Gerald Durrell, MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS
    Alison Bechdel, FUN HOME
    Rodney Dangerfield, IT’S NOT EASY BEING ME
    Abdel Sellou, YOU CHANGED MY LIFE (filmed – changed a lot – as THE INTOUCHABLES)
    Darin Strauss, HALF A LIFE
    Piper Kernan, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (the book is better than the show in every way)

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, I’ve read 7 memoirs on your lists. I need to pick up the pace! Thanks again for expanding on Mary Karr’s list! There are lot of good books on these lists!

      Reply
  6. Jeff Meyerson

    I knew I’d read a lot of them but didn’t realize how many until I looked at my database.

    There is a lot of good reading there. I’ve put the Karr book on hold.

    Reply
  7. Richard R.

    I’ve read just 5 on the list George typed, and 3 from Jeff’s list. Obviously this is not a category of book I read often. There are a couple there I may try, though. The Osgood appeals. I have read quite a few autobiographies (instead of memoirs?) of news people: Cronkite, Murrow, Rather, etc.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Meyerson

      Rick, I loved the Osgood. It had the same feel as Woody Allen’s RADIO DAYS with the kids watching for German planes, only in Baltimore rather than Rockaway. It was a very entertaining little book.

      Reply
  8. Cap'n Bob

    That’s a lot of typing! Alas, it was wasted on me! I’ve read one book from the supplemental list (Fear and Loathing) and don’t plan to read any more!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *