Search This Blog









2023 Literary Escapes Challenge





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Lamott's Griping Makes Grandparenting Memoir More Annoying Than Affecting

(Note: While it is certainly not necessary to read Operating Instructions before its sequel, Some Assembly Required, I recommend doing so in order to get a more panoramic view of the relationship between Anne Lamott and her son.)
When Anne Lamott's son (the one whose first year she chronicled in Operating Instructions) becomes a father at nineteen, she deals with it the same way she did her own surprise pregnancy twenty years ago - she journals.
Putting everything down on paper helps Lamott cope with all the anxiety, frustration and stress she feels while watching her only child, Sam, learn how to be a father. At the same time, it gives her a vehicle for expressing the intense love she has for her grandson, Jax ("This is the one fly in the grandma ointment—the total love addiction—the highest highs, and then withdrawal, craving, scheming to get another fix" (40-41). As with Operating Instructions, Lamott's unfailing honesty makes her story intimate, engrossing and illuminating.3 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!




Reading
Solito by Javier Zamora

Listening
My Calamity Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
-
-
-
167. Something Like Home7 hours ago
-
WIP Wrap-up for September 20239 hours ago
-
-
The Letter Tree16 hours ago
-
-
-
Audiobook: Stars in Your Eyes22 hours ago
-
A Traitor in Whitehall1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Sands of Time 552 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sunday Salon: October 1, 20233 days ago
-
Books read in September3 days ago
-
-
The Murderess by Jennifer Wells5 days ago
-
-
-
Reading Recap August 20234 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra3 months ago
-
Weekly Update - What I'm Reading4 months ago
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears5 months ago
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?11 months ago
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
I find myself in turmoil reading your review. I'm sure it's not easy being a grandmother, but it's also not easy being a mother with a disapproving mother/mother-in-law.
ReplyDeleteRita - My thoughts exactly!
ReplyDeleteA friend recommended Operating Instructions, but I found Lamott's non-stop whining and self-pity intensely annoying, especially since she was blessed with a herd of minions who bought her groceries, did her laundry, and tended her baby months after she recovered from giving birth. She's supremely comfortable with allowing people to do things for her that she's entirely capable of doing for herself. I don't find neurotic navel-gazing princesses entertaining, so I won't be reading any more of her work.
ReplyDelete