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The Center of the Universe: A Memoir
by
Nancy Bachrach (Goodreads Author)
Nancy Bachrach is living in Paris, selling deodorant to the French, when a freak accident kills her father aboard his cabin cruiser, the aptly dubbed Mr. Fix It, in her incongruously named hometown of Providence. Her mother, Lola, the self-proclaimed “center of the universe,” whose medical history reads like the chapter headings of a psychiatric manual, lies in a coma “on...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
April 28th 2009
by Alfred A. Knopf
(first published 2009)
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I won this book on goodreads and it took me a while to start reading simply due to the fact that I was pissed off at FedEx for delivering it to a wrong house down the street, leaving it outside for a week where it was badly water damaged before picking it up and taking it to the right house. I decided not to raise hell over it as it was a gift after all, and still readable even though damaged pretty badly.
I found it to be an enjoyable read, very witty with a uniquely styled writing. One reviewer...more
I found it to be an enjoyable read, very witty with a uniquely styled writing. One reviewer...more
Memorial Day weekend 1983 Bachrach's parents spent the night on their boat, the "Mr. Fix It." Her father's life ends that night and her mother is rushed to a hospital in a coma due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Bachrach is in Paris at the time working for an ad agency. She rushes back to the US. That's where the book begins.
Bachrach's memoir journeys back through her childhood with forced humorous tales of her upbringing by a mentally ill mother and an enabler father in lifelong deep denial. He...more
Bachrach is in Paris at the time working for an ad agency. She rushes back to the US. That's where the book begins.
Bachrach's memoir journeys back through her childhood with forced humorous tales of her upbringing by a mentally ill mother and an enabler father in lifelong deep denial. He...more
This book, similar to Rachel Sontag's House Rules, frustrated me because the author is pretty unflinching about how terrible her family life was and how that affected her siblings and her, yet she still tries to "make it work" with her incredibly difficult mother. Some people will probably feel this book is a testament to familial love and forgiveness, but I felt a little bit like it was an abused person making excuses for her abuser and why she wants to continue a relationship with the abuser....more
Nancy’s mom “Lola” has always been in the edge of sanity. All throughout Nancy’s life, “Lola” has been in and out of the electric chair – trying to get her shocked straight. Now, in her 50′s “Lola” has bigger problems. Her husband dies from carbon monoxide poisoning on their boat The Mr. Fix-It. That leaves “Lola” by herself, in a coma, with her grown children to take care of her. “Lola” wakes up, and like always, isn’t quite there. She doesn’t know how to change a light bulb when it burns out,...more
I sure hope my daughters never write a book like this about me. Of course, I am not bi-polar and I lead a pretty ho-hum existence - comparatively speaking- so perhaps that wouldn't be possible anyway. If one of them DID write it, however, I hope they would be as talented and funny, and have as strong and delightful a mastery of the English language as Nancy Bachrach has. (Though I certainly hope they would be more respectful of their parents!)
The cover blurbs said it was screamingly funny, which I guess it was in places, but only if you have a high tolerance for child endangerment. As a counselor in public mental health I found it a very good read, because I often encounter people with acute psychiatric disorders, and the tendency is to focus on the "identified client," listening to their families only for the information they can give you. It's quite easy to forget that their families have been living with this person, their weirdne...more
I am currently enjoying this book. Nancy Bachrach is a witty wordsmith with a quirky way of looking at life with all of its ups and downs.
I finished reading this book today. It's a true, bittersweet story with an upbeat ending. I love the the wise words on the last page. A good read.
I finished reading this book today. It's a true, bittersweet story with an upbeat ending. I love the the wise words on the last page. A good read.
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When someone tells me that a book is nonfiction "but reads like fiction" my skeptic-meter goes way up. In this case, the story Nancy Bachrach tells flows easily across the pages, though it is not necessarily an easy read. It begins with a horrible accident -- carbon monoxide poisoning of her parents on their boat, which leaves her father dead, and her mother in a coma. The backstory of Nancy's childhood and family history is not any easier, riddled with mental illness, abuse, and what today woul...more
Anyone who has ever lived with the cerebral "elephant in the room" will relate to every word...this is a must read. It erases the feeling of isolation, which often comes with the frantic puzzle that mental "illness" scatters on the family table.
Ms Bachrach exposes herself honestly, revealing many aspects of the burning inferno into which life can toss the children of a parent who struggles within their own type of hell.
It is written in a humorous voice but, her pain can be felt by those that ha...more
Ms Bachrach exposes herself honestly, revealing many aspects of the burning inferno into which life can toss the children of a parent who struggles within their own type of hell.
It is written in a humorous voice but, her pain can be felt by those that ha...more
My mother gave me this book to read. Now that I've read it I wonder if it was a subtle way of telling me how lucky I am to not have had someone else's mother?
The cover of this book threw out a similarity to writer David Sedaris, who I have often found side-splittingly funny. I cannot say the same of this author. I laughed exactly once while reading this. She was more Augusten Burroughs than Sedaris. I found the end of the book the best part. Without spoiling anything, I will just say I agree wi...more
The cover of this book threw out a similarity to writer David Sedaris, who I have often found side-splittingly funny. I cannot say the same of this author. I laughed exactly once while reading this. She was more Augusten Burroughs than Sedaris. I found the end of the book the best part. Without spoiling anything, I will just say I agree wi...more
A strange, funny tale of a mother who, during the first half of her life, terrorizes her poor kids with her mania, and then has an accident that kills her husband and results in her severe brain damage. I enjoyed the author's dry, sardonic tone; without it, this would have been an unbearably smarmy tale of Tragedy, Despair, Hope, and Reconciliation. But I have to say that even more than the nightmarish mom stuff, I really enjoyed her descriptions of working in advertising in Paris, trying to con...more
Wow. This book left me speechless. In the first half, I didn't really like it. The author comes from a crazy family and seems angry when she writes about her childhood. Not really pleasant stuff to read. But then, as her mother slowly recovers from a boating accident, it changed for me and i couldn't stop reading. The way the author and her siblings come to their mother's rescue is amazing. They constantly push the mother and medical establishment. Her recovery is unexplainable. This really is a...more
Very witty and well written. I found myself liking the author so much. I was spellbound. It's true that the events aren't funny at all, are tragic, in fact. And sometimes I thought the author related them with a bit too much emphasis on the seeming comedy. Personally, I'd have liked a bit more information about the medical/scientific aspects of Lola's memory, brain damage, and recovery -- though probably most readers would not. But overall, really enjoyed this book. Would love to see what this a...more
It was a romp despite the detritus of insanity which fell in little bits all over the floor of her house and I am sure emotional home. Delightful wordsmith; I love twisted humor, but the pain is there, and in a sense, it is a testament to love from all 3 siblings. The mother had a horrific illness-brain disease - and it was fascinating to see all the twists and turns her life took her.
I think often times we write off people barely surviving, but these kids didn't; amazing, loving the imperfect,...more
I think often times we write off people barely surviving, but these kids didn't; amazing, loving the imperfect,...more
What makes this memoir different from others of this niche (the my-mother-is-nutty--The Glass Castle, Swallow the Ocean, etc.) is the love that pervades the narrative. This isn't a book about how The Crazy was burdensome to the narrator, even if the narrator has every right to protest a string of strange sacrifices. Instead, it is, in some senses, about the ways in which Lola is loved--by her late husband, by her later half-life partners, and especially by her set of three (seemingly a bit manic...more
A friend of mine recommended this book written by her aunt about her grandmother to me. At first I found it difficult to let myself laugh at "Lola" and all of her antics because I knew someone in the family, so I started to think, "I wouldn't want someone to be laughing at my grandma like that!" But then I realized just how special a case this woman is. She is definitely NOT my grandma and probably resembles few other people's beloveds either.
A really funny story about family and circumstance.
A really funny story about family and circumstance.
This isn't the sort of memoir I usually pick up, but my mom recommended it and I'm glad she did. I found this to be a totally delightful, funny, cringe-worthy, and outrageous memoir of life with a crazy mom. As Bachrach says late in the book, "the material just keeps coming."
Great fun, despite the seriousness of the subject matter (mental illness, neglect, child abuse). That Bachrach didn't bog down in those depressing details reveals a really agile mind and pen.
Great fun, despite the seriousness of the subject matter (mental illness, neglect, child abuse). That Bachrach didn't bog down in those depressing details reveals a really agile mind and pen.
This is a beautifully written, wryly funny story about a tragic childhood. Nancy Bachrach — a woman I once worked with - grew up with a deeply emotionally disturbed, utterly terrifying mother and a father who continuously denied her madness even while repeatedly committing her to mental hospitals. While I recommend it, I wish the author had not maintained so much distance from her true feelings. Everything is made to seem comical, but some things just aren't funny.
I am a big a fan as any of the "my family was crazy and somehow I came through it intact" school of memoir writing.. However, their was a lack of narrative cohesion that made this book good but not great. The characters including the author were not sympathetic which is normally not a deal breaker but with a memoir about crazy families you want to have at least one person to root for. All in all a good book but not amazing
Just picked this up on my way out of town for something to read in the car. It was amusing in spots and nice to see the author's transformation in her perception of her mother. But this is the 3rd book I've read in a month that co-stars crappy, neglectful parents (Glass Castle and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn were the other two) so it's only getting two stars.
Lola is the quintessential Jewish mother, married to Mort. When Mort dies on a boat, Lola unravels. (This hasn't been the first time for Lola.) This dark tale of family loyalty is poignant and hilarious. She recovers from from so many near misses, it will send your head spinning with all her "Lolaisms".
The author, a child of a bipolar mother, chronicles the healing between mother and child. An amazing read that weaves in the past, present, and future with incredible prowess. There are enormous laughs to be had. I read this book quickly and was sad when I was finished.
Have you ever had a friend whose conversational style is an endless stream of one-liners? Gets annoying after a while, right? That's what it's like reading this book. The author has "got a million of 'em", and every event or memory in the book is one-linered to death before moving on. Mostly, the author moves between disturbing childhood memories or family history and the present day challenge of her bi-polar mother's recovery from carbon monoxide poisioning. It's heavy stuff - you need a good s...more
My favourite genre - the dysfunctional mother memoir. Witty and well written with lots of humour and affection towards her family. Interestingly, this one also deals with her father's death and her mother's descent towards death.
A surprisingly well written memoir. The author's philosophy background gives a potentially tragic story depth and perspective. God love all the crazy families.
This was an interesting read. I enjoyed the insights into her childhood, and found myself wanting more of those, and less details about her mother's recovery.
I can;t remeber the last time a book had me LOL. What is amazing is the way Nancy Bachrach found a way to tell her story with such candor and humor.
i don't usually read memoirs; i found this one by accident and it was okay. funny. didn't make me want to read another one though
So the jacket of this book is all about how it's so ha ha ha hilarious. and it IS funny but it's a wicked tragedy . . . so that's weird. It's a memoir so get memoir hat on and don't expect and great take home morals but anyway, I liked this book quite a bit.
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Thought I would not like it but found it strangely mesmerizing.
Thought I would not like it but found it strangely mesmerizing.
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THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE: A MEMOIR
"Bachrach is one of the funniest writers I've ever read, period. Make room on the shelf next to Sedaris, Eggers, Wilsey." --Alexandra Fuller.
"The Center of the Universe" is a mordantly funny memoir guaranteed to make you feel better if you think your family is crazy. The story is so improbable it could only be true: A brilliant woman with a long history of menta...more
More about Nancy Bachrach...
"Bachrach is one of the funniest writers I've ever read, period. Make room on the shelf next to Sedaris, Eggers, Wilsey." --Alexandra Fuller.
"The Center of the Universe" is a mordantly funny memoir guaranteed to make you feel better if you think your family is crazy. The story is so improbable it could only be true: A brilliant woman with a long history of menta...more
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Looks like a good book.
May 27, 2009 07:22am