Rebecca's review
My Detachment: A Memoir
by Tracy Kidder
Rebecca's review
My Detachment: A Memoir by Tracy Kidder
Rebecca's review
rating:
recommended for: introspective readers
I picked up this title because I deeply enjoy Kidder's writing style. Any budding writers wanting to understand "voice," go read all of Kidder's work. I admit to a certain interest in trying to understand the generation of men who did or did not go to Vietnam and when I came across Kidder's memoir had an "oh good" reaction, ready for TK to set me straight on American life, like he did with Home Town. I am a fast reader, and I consumed My Detachment in an evening, though I knew I should have read it more slowly. It is a saddening tome, as Kidder pulls no punches and writes in a more spare style than usual about his disillusionment. His ability to scrutinize his own personality and the pointless human tendency to insist on trying to find meaning in a meaningless situation float like smoke on the reader's consciousness. This book is a masterpiece, as Kidder perfectly follows the old saw of "showing not telling" even when he is methodically and systemati...more
