When it was first published in 1998, At Home in the World set off a furor in the literary world and beyond. Joyce Maynard's memoir bro...
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Jan 04, 2008
Karyn
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Nov 10, 2011
Christopher
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Ugh, lots of mixed feelings about this book. For anyone luridly curious about J. D. Salinger's private life—or interested in psychologizing his fiction—it is absolutely required reading. And I suppose it was a good book because it is a page-turner, but it is literally almost physically painful to read a tell-all memoir by someone who is as clearly emotionally damaged and fucked up as Joyce Maynard is but who genuinely thinks that she has moved beyond all the problems she describes but hasn't.
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Jul 14, 2009
Carmen
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It may be easy to write this memoir off as literary-world gossip since it is pretty revealing in regard to the author's brief affair with one of the most reclusive and renowned writers of our time. Maynard is candid about Salinger, who does not come off well in this depiction, but Maynard is brutally honest about herself as well. She often seems hysterical, exhaustively needy, and obsessed with her past. At the same time, she's a good writer, pretty self-aware, and regardless of the salacious na
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Sep 20, 2011
Alan
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I apologize to anyone who I offended with the review formerly here. I was unaware of the etiology of vaginismus. It does matter what a writer suffers from, even when that writer is insufferable.
Thank you for reminding me. We are often improved by those with regrettable taste.
Lastly, the great writing on whoring while young and desolate, and of course, its inverse, procuring while old and pathetic, is by Wojnarowicz and Duras, not Nobokov.
Thank you for reminding me. We are often improved by those with regrettable taste.
Lastly, the great writing on whoring while young and desolate, and of course, its inverse, procuring while old and pathetic, is by Wojnarowicz and Duras, not Nobokov.
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Aug 31, 2010
Ladywilde
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'At Home in the World,' easily one of the best memoirs I have read in a long, long while. Heck, maybe even ONE of the best. It deals with writer Joyce Maynard's affair with JD Salinger at eighteen and how his influence and ultimately his abandonment of her (completely brutal and heartless) shaped not only her life for years to come, but affected everything else, her relationships, her writing etc etc.
This book was stunning and Joyce Maynard has such a easy, engaging voice. She really doesn More...
This book was stunning and Joyce Maynard has such a easy, engaging voice. She really doesn More...
Feb 21, 2010
Lucy
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I actually liked the second half of this one much more than the first half, which is the part about JD Salinger. Joyce's year with JDS sounds awful--not a single romantic thing about it. If you are a Salinger fan, I'd avoid this book--it makes him sound not like an obsessively private enigma, but like a total creep and weirdo. The last half of the book was far more interesting to me, because it really explored the relationship Joyce had with writing for money--because it was what she felt lik
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Jul 30, 2011
Rebecca
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I quite enjoyed this book. I liked the writing a lot. This book is a memoir and I picked it up because I found the title in an article about J.D. Salinger after his death. The women who wrote this book had an relationship with him when she was like 19 and he was in his 50's. I don't really know what to say. They both had major issues. She has various casual mentions throughout the book about celebrities, which kind of annoyed me. Otherwise, I liked the story and I liked the writing style a lot.
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Aug 03, 2010
Terri
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I know many people will read this because of the connection to JD Salinger and to be honest that's what initially brought my attention to the book. I knew nothing about Maynard, little about Salinger (other than reading his books) and thought this would offer insight into the private and illusive writer, Salinger.
There was a lot of talk at the time about Maynard exploiting her relationship with Salinger which I didn't get at all. The book is filled more with self analysis in my opin More...
There was a lot of talk at the time about Maynard exploiting her relationship with Salinger which I didn't get at all. The book is filled more with self analysis in my opin More...
Dec 17, 2009
Alison
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I love memoirs and this one is fantastic. About a young New England girl who moves to NYC. Any fan of JD Salinger must read this. He is only in the first half of the book, but he represents what so many men tried to do to the women of the Baby Boomer generation. I met Joyce and she is an idol of mine. So elegant.
Oct 20, 2009
Julie at All Ears
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This memoir is the story of author Joyce Maynard's life, focusing mostly on her romantic relationship with J.D. Salinger (yes, the one who wrote Catcher in the Rye). The book covers in great detail, leaving out NOTHING, the bizarre romance between Maynard, a 19-year old Yale freshman, and Salinger, a 53-year old recluse. By the end of this book, I felt that I had spent hours reading a very long issue of a grocery tabloid. There are personal details about both authors' lives that might be juic
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Jun 30, 2010
Sarah
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This woman must have driven everyone around her absolutely nuts. What an odd mix of over achiever and total schmuck. I want to give her credit for portraying her life honestly, but I’m not sure I’m convinced that she is being sincere. She repeatedly discusses her continual inability to portray herself anywhere near reality despite many thinking she was in fact speaking from her heart. What exactly is supposed to make us think that this novel is any different? Quite frankly, by the end of the boo
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May 13, 2008
Susan
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What a wild ride, page turner, swelled head look at the egos of a young talented writer smitten with a legend JD Salinger. Truth is stranger than fiction. And which one of them has a bigger or more vulnerable ego is in the eye of the reader.
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Dec 25, 2010
Caren
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Fantastic story of a young brilliant girl who is too smart for her own good, finally thinks she's found her place with a brilliant reclusive author, and then is suddenly, coldly tossed out. People heard in advance that she was working on a memoir and criticized it before it even came out, which did a disservice because she tells her story (and it IS her story) so well and with such a dispassionate eye. The challenge in writing a memoir is knowing what to leave out and what to put in. She puts
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Apr 06, 2010
Kathleen
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I love the title of this book. How few people actually feel at home in the world, especially when young. Here, Joyce Maynard decides to break her silence on her year long affair with J.D. Salinger in 1971. In light of his recent death, I felt compelled to read what she wrote twelve years ago.
In this book, she continues with her life after Salinger, talks about her unusual relationship with her parents, and tries for some reconciliation. Since Joyce and I are the same age, I especially like More...
In this book, she continues with her life after Salinger, talks about her unusual relationship with her parents, and tries for some reconciliation. Since Joyce and I are the same age, I especially like More...
Feb 03, 2011
Sarah
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I spent the first half of this book so frustrated with the author. She chronicles her life up to age 45 or so and the first half focus's on her childhood with her alcoholic father and slightly strange mother. She writes and is featured in a new york times article at age 17. She then is sent fan mail one letter from the notoriously private JD Salinger and off she goes on a writing then meeting affair (w/o sex). Maynard writes in a way that's readable and it flows. She is so honest and talented.
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Mar 04, 2011
Becky
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First of all, she seems as at home in the world as an elf, make that the restless spirit of an elf who died badly. This book was super-draining to read, mostly because of how endlessly interested she STILL is in her very brief relationship w/ JD Salinger. She would have had more fun w/ a turnip, it seems, and yet somehow this relatively short period in her life became the alpha and omega of her entire existence. The best parts of the book are about her parents, vivid, complex renderings. All els
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Jan 29, 2012
Stacy
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This book was not that compelling to me, but I'm glad I finished it. JD Salinger was quite a jerk!
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Mar 17, 2010
Anna
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It is hard to review. While reading the book, I felt compelled to keep on reading, although some of what I read was hard to read. I was fascinated at the way the author exposed herself--revealing things about herself and her family that I cannot imagine telling. But I imagine this is her catharsis. She had an unusual home life, and her introduction to love, (ala J.D.Salinger) was very painful, both mentally and physically. I can't say it was an amazing read, but I am glad I read it and I am
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Nov 01, 2011
Gill
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Maynard is a first-rate writer, and in this long memoir, she focuses her story mostly on the her teen years until she is into middle age. She's achieved quite a lot of fame in her writing, through her screenplays, novel writing, long career as reporter, syndicated columnist.
How absurd that anyone would attack her for writing about her relationship with JD Salinger when he was 53 and she a teenager. It seems her critics couldn't attack her writing or recollections effectively, so the More...
How absurd that anyone would attack her for writing about her relationship with JD Salinger when he was 53 and she a teenager. It seems her critics couldn't attack her writing or recollections effectively, so the More...
Nov 07, 2009
Lindsay
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I don't know if I can say I liked this. It was disgusting. If you like J.D. Salinger and want to keep on liking him, don't read it. She's a little kooky, but even if you scale for that, he's clearly frightening and disturbed and narcissistic. Read it if you want the inside scoop on Salinger the Enigma, but expect to feel grossed out (and disappointingly unimpressed) for a while after you're finished. Also- there's surprisingly little in this book about Salinger's writing. That was kind of a disa
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Oct 09, 2009
Lydia
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At Home in the World is a meaningful glance into Joyce Maynard’s personal narrative. This account, if needed, will stimulate integrity, and bravery for writers in need of insight. Joyce, whom has a background filled with creative inspiration, was stifled from writing about it in an open and honest way. It was not until many years later, after weathering a dysfunctional family that included emotional abuse, alcoholism, eating disorders, and clinical depression, to spending a life-changing year
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Jan 13, 2008
Maria
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I have owned this book for many years. Recently, I decided to read a book on my own to be read shelves for every new book I pick up through the library or purchase. As I searched my books for something to keep my attention, this one jumped out at me as one that I was very attracted to because of the author. I have enjoyed her writing as I have grown along with her (we are the same age) and felt that what she had to say would be worth spending time reading. I wasn't wrong. At Home in the Worl
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Aug 27, 2007
Kricket
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Reading this was a bit difficult because I do love Salinger's work so very much- I still do, I just love it- and it's hard to read a book about one of your favorite writers being a giant asshole to an 18 year old girl. But that's part of the story. I loved the rest of the story as well, about her childhood, and the sad tale of her parents. But the Salinger part really sticks out.
Maynard wrote another memoir as a teenager which attracted the attention of Salinger (already old enough t More...
Maynard wrote another memoir as a teenager which attracted the attention of Salinger (already old enough t More...
Oct 23, 2010
I started reading Joyce Maynard Memoir, "At Home in the world," as a comploment to another memoir I was reading by Margaret Salinger. So far it has been very interesting. The development of the writer's keen perceptions and sensibilities are distinct from writer to writer. It has been fascinating to follow her through her life experiences and see first hand how she perceived the world. I feel a need for acceptance and fatherly love early on. Not to say her father was not there for her,
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Oct 11, 2007
Cheryl Diane
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This was probably not a book I really really needed to read. I equate reading this book w/watching Entertainment Tonight or some other gossip show. I'm sure it was cathartic for Maynard, but what real surprises did it hold for me? Yeah, not much.
18 year old girl goes to live with 50-something reclusive and once-famous author who convinces her to change just about everything she was or came from to suit his needs. Then, w/in a year, kicks her out. Girl spends next 40 years or so trying to f More...
18 year old girl goes to live with 50-something reclusive and once-famous author who convinces her to change just about everything she was or came from to suit his needs. Then, w/in a year, kicks her out. Girl spends next 40 years or so trying to f More...
Nov 14, 2011
Cathy
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This coming-of-age memoir goes beyond Maynard's writing life to explore the heartbreaks and triumphs of her life growing up with brilliant parents as well as her short romance at age 18 with J.D. Salinger, a subsequent failed marriage, and her struggle to rebuild at mid-life. Maynard has taken a long hard look at herself and made a brave/courageous attempt to tell it how it was. I was fascinated with her account of her life as well as her experiences with Jerry Salinger.
Feb 20, 2010
Wendy
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I had heard a woman who had a relationship with Salinger. I picked it up after Salinger passed away last month. What a tell all. My opinion of Salinger (and the author) is lower than low. I feel bad for Salinger's kids who were coverd in this biography. Salinger was a real weirdo and he got what he deserved with her. It also looks like he got involved with a number of young girls. The author had a number of interesting views of Salinger's characters (Phoebe and Holden).
Oct 04, 2009
"She rivals Erica Jong in the bungling, incompetent pornography of her unchecked desire to disclose. There are like 10 pages in this book about how her pussy was too tight for J. D. Salinger's cock, all written in the language of a Sunday school teacher finding moist inner self through sex education."
After reading Margaret Salinger's memoir, I'm feeling a little burnt out, but how could I not have a renewed interest in J.D. Salinger exploitation thanks to that review?
After reading Margaret Salinger's memoir, I'm feeling a little burnt out, but how could I not have a renewed interest in J.D. Salinger exploitation thanks to that review?
Sep 11, 2010
Alexis
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I picked this up and read it in one sitting. I found the story and the subject matter to be fascinating and kept on looking up information on the Maynard family. Sadly, I related with Joyce's strong need to accomplish and do things and how driven she was.
I was also fascinated by her affair with Salinger. I like his work, but I'm convinced that he is a horrible asshole. Maynard has had an interesting life and I liked the candid nature of this memoir.
I was also fascinated by her affair with Salinger. I like his work, but I'm convinced that he is a horrible asshole. Maynard has had an interesting life and I liked the candid nature of this memoir.
May 16, 2009
Julie
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There was about ten years between the time I read Maynard's Domestic Affairs and this memoir. Though harsh and one-sided obviously, especially toward her parents and J.D. Salinger, I found it difficult not to take her side. That she endured so much so early in life is tragic to say the very least. That her parents thought it appropriate for her to have a relationship with the 53 year old Salinger is reprehensible.
