false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166672343m/15379.jpg 15379 9 Readers and critics of Rick Moody generally praise the long and lyrical sentences, sarcastic wit, and meandering asides typical of his misunderstood but sensitive protagonists. For Moody fans who have come to appreciate the Holden Caulfieldesque pathos beneath the sense of urgency and big vocabulary in books like <I>The Ice Storm</I> and <I>Demonology</I>, his memoir <I>The Black Veil</I> will offer more of the same. What's different, however, is that this time the protagonist is Moody himself. The book, subtitled <i>A Memoir with Digressions</i>, reads at times like a delicious essay collection outlining Moody's Connecticut childhood (complete with recipes for the perfect lobster roll and significance of the wax bean), and at times like a work of passionate literary criticism. But whether Moody discusses the impact of his parents' divorce, his alcoholic excesses in college and Manhattan, his time at an inpatient psychiatric unit, or his obvious passion for literature, his memoir does what so many current works in this genre do not: it shows the author looking beyond himself, through literature, to a world larger and more spiritual than the one in which he lives.<p>The titular black veil refers to a Hawthorne story (appended) about a New England minister Moody believes may be a relative. Moody's book is not so much about his quest to research the story of the black veil, despite the trek he makes to Maine to do just that, as it is the account of his personal relationship to that story. While die-hard Moody fans may find the book a surprising departure, those who want to know him more intimately will enjoy accompanying him on this personal and intellectual journey. <I>--Jane Hodges</I> 91224 5 2002 The Black Veil: A Memoir with Digressions total:193|5:15|4:48|3:59|2:44|1:27| 193 559 304 23 5 0 false false Fri Dec 12 20:38:07 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 12:32:45 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false true Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 12:28:34 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 13:17:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 07 18:51:20 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 07 18:59:47 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Nov 10 10:43:26 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 10 10:43:26 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Thu Aug 21 10:38:06 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 05 12:11:29 -0700 2008
I literally threw this book across the room once I got to the final string of paragraphs which are merely a list of ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Aug 18 19:01:56 -0700 2007 Mon Jan 19 14:08:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 11:57:34 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 11:57:44 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Thu Aug 23 14:16:06 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 23 14:16:06 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 04 09:56:39 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 09:59:23 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Sun Mar 30 19:52:07 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 30 19:59:48 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Mar 28 06:25:40 -0700 2007 Wed Mar 28 06:26:55 -0700 2007
The memoir parts of the book were interesting, and I reall...more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Nov 07 11:34:17 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 04 05:52:20 -0800 2007
The one thing I got ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 15:15:37 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 05:05:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 11 07:23:16 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 05:52:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Oct 24 20:03:01 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 24 20:05:41 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Aug 19 23:19:31 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 24 20:44:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Oct 26 06:03:33 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 26 06:05:06 -0700 2007
Moody tends to alternately lose or depress me though, so it took me awhile to get through.]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 26 06:44:58 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 07 06:55:34 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat May 26 20:58:11 -0700 2007 Sat May 26 21:32:42 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Fri Nov 07 16:06:51 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 07 16:08:50 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=15379