The Book of Jon
by Eleni Sikelianos
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 80)
Read in October, 2008
I'm biased because she was my professor, but this teeny collection of stuff is incredible. I must say that it felt like it took a while to get going, but then it became the most moving and intensive memoir I have ever held in my hands. A portrait has never been drawn so ambiguously and perfectly ever. Or at least in the things I have read.
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The Book of Jon is vast in its smallness. Writing a memoir about the death of one’s father – or the death of any loved one for that matter – that doesn’t turn saccharine or personal to the point of alienating the reader is a feat that few achieve. Sikelianos pulls it off by using a collage of stories, poems, photos, dreams, journal entries, and remembrances from other family members. Although the book is a mere 116 pages, this pastiche creates an effect similar to attending a rollicki...more
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Sikelianos uses poetic form and rich images to portray her torrid relationship with a brilliant yet broken father in such a light and quick way that the reader is pulled in and moved, while never being beaten about the head with emotion. Sikelianos weaves a beautiful tale about fathers and daughters and the pain and beauty that often accompanies those relationships. This is the best memoir-esque piece I have read. There were times when I was wondering whether Sikelianos was telling her story ...more
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I'm so glad publishers like City Lights are still taking chances on quirky titles like this one! The author, Eleni Sikelianos, has assembled a collection of poetry, fragmented dialogue, deeply personal ruminations, and recollections about a colorful-but-tragic father. Unflinchingly critical -- brutal in spots -- Sikelianos has still managed the tricky (and loving) feat of mining and presenting the redeeming qualities of a father who was, by most standards, a profound failure.
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Read in March, 2008
Just heard a reading from this and a forthcoming book--can't wait to read it. I've been reading Book of Jon and I love it. Structurally and conceptually creative, relevant and unsentimental. I think she said she considers it a novel, but fiction writers and poets don't agree, but I can see the argument for it...multiple threads of one story from beginning to end. I loved it.
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Read in January, 2007
A unique take on the memoir. Definitely an eye-opening read for a writer, and a fantastic look at exploring form and a different approach to telling personal stories. Aside from the book being flat out fantastic, I had the privilege of hearing the author at a reading on the campus of CSUS.
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"Now the snow has melted; light splaying across sage brush, an impossible green, light leaving Mt. Bianco in darkness but draping itself over spike-needled leaves and woody stems and soft brown dirt - as if light loved the ground more than the heights."
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recommends it for:
Everyone
Perhaps my favorite book of Poetry. It also falls into the category of Memoir, I think. The point is, it's big enough for Everything.
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recommends it for:
the living & the dead
Eleni Sikelianos is a _______________.
For that, I am very _________.
For that, I am very _________.
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