I have marked this as finished, but that's a wee fib, 'cause I haven't. But I just can't be bothered with this book any longer. It's boring. The first part was quite interesting, a tale of Edna growing up in the stultifying atmosphere of catholic Ireland in the 1930s but then she degenerates into this strange, self-obsessed monologue of observations on the life she has led. And the name-dropping! The names of the rich and famous pepper the pages like bird-droppings, because that's all they are, names. You don't get to find out anything about 'the names' relationship with her, it's just verbal graffiti. This memoir sat beside "The Country Girl Trilogy" on my bookcase as I tried to decide which to read first. Although I knew of Edna O'Brien and her reputation as an exceptional writer, I hadn't read any of her work. So I picked up her trilogy about two Irish girls growing up in the 1950s and '60s, where a woman's behavior and lifestyle were subjected to the harsh rules of an era dominated by family, church and state. Choosing to read O'Brien's fiction first enhances the experiences related in her memoir, and is a direct path to understanding how she could write some of the scenes in which Kate tries to forge ahead despite the antiquated rules of her society, especially those with her husband. In O'Brien's memoir you'll discover that they came from the truth of her own life.Because this is a memoir and not an autobiography, O'Brien uses her poetic talent to relate memories and tell stories about her life and the people she has met - other well-known writers and Hollywood actors and producers, as well as friendships with a couple of former First Ladies. According to an article last year in The New Yorker, O'Brien said, "A lot of memoirs end in catharsis. They're hunky-dory with their mother and father, sister and brother, and I feel that's imposed. You're alone with yourself, and your writing, and the feeling of one's mind fraying, from a lot of things - the weight of time, the wailing of the foxes."Today, eighty-year-old Edna O'Brien lives in London. A remarkable talent.
What do You think about COUNTRY GIRL A MEMOIR (2000)?
A bit disjointed (aren't all memories?), but so beautifully descriptive.
—1499522
Pretty words but not my cup of tea so to speak. Bored me..
—Streak
