Mary Karr

Author profile

born

in Groves, Texas, The United States

January 16, 1955

gender

female

genre

Poetry, Biographies & Memoirs

About this author

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Mary Karr is an American poet, essayist and memoirist. She rose to fame in 1995 with the publication of her bestselling memoir The Liars' Club. She is the Peck Professor of English Literature at Syracuse University.
The Liars' Club, published in 1995, was a New York Times bestseller for over a year, and was named one of the year's best books. It delves vividly and often humorously into her deeply troubled childhood, most of which was spent in a gritty, industrial section of Southeast Texas in the 1960s. She was encouraged to write her personal history by her friend, author Tobias Wolff, but has said she only took up the project when her marriage fell apart.
She followed the book with another memoir, Cherry (2000), about her late adolescence a...more

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Mary Karr's Books

Average rating: 3.85 · 40,268 ratings · 3,170 reviews · 14 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Liars' Club 3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 24,110 ratings — published 1995 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lit: A Memoir 3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 9,612 ratings — published 2009 — 11 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cherry 3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 4,274 ratings — published 2000 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sinners Welcome 3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 335 ratings — published 2006 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Viper Rum 3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 183 ratings — published 1998 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Devil's Tour 3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 108 ratings — published 1993	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Abacus 3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 1987 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Liars Club Readers Guide 0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sisters: An Anthology by Jan Freeman (Editor), Emily Wojcik (Editor), Deborah Bull (Editor) 3.41 of 5 stars 3.41 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2009	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Circling Faith: Southern Women on Spirituality by Wendy Reed (Editor), Jennifer Horne (Editor), Mary Karr (Contributor) 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Mary Karr

“A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.”
― Mary Karr, The Liars' Club

tags: family, humor

209 people liked it

“What hurts so bad about youth isn't the actual butt whippings the world delivers. It's the stupid hopes playacting like certainties.”
― Mary Karr, Lit: A Memoir

tags: disappointment, hope, youth

50 people liked it

“Sure the world breeds monsters, but kindness grows just as wild...”
― Mary Karr, The Liars Club

tags: club, karr, liars, mary

39 people liked it

See all Mary Karr's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Readers and Reading: My TBR Pile/List	46	134	Dec 03, 2009 07:41am
The Seasonal Read...: 30.5 (PJ Reads' Task - As Suggested By Tanja - Six Degrees of Separation)	349	361	May 26, 2010 07:44am
Win a copy of LIT by Mary Karr	1	22	Jul 24, 2010 08:28pm
Book Giveaways: Book Giveaway - Win a copy of LIT by Mary Karr	1	8	Jul 24, 2010 08:53pm
Free Book Giveaway: Win a copy of the memoir LIT by Mary Karr	1	10	Jul 24, 2010 09:05pm
Challenge: 50 Books: Katy's 50 books of 2010	10	21	Jan 04, 2011 11:11am

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