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Eric Pallant, a former neighbor of mine, when I lived in Meadville, PA, reviewed This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage on his blog and wrote, "This is a collection of Patchett’s non-fiction essays, all previously published. Well-written, autobiographical, unresearched, and self-aggrandizing. Patchett is not only a strong writer, but she knows it and insists that you never forget it." And I think that is fair. Patchett is a strong writer, she tells a story, particularly her story, well. But she i
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This collection of essays is culled from Ann Patchett's work that's been previously published in magazines, etc. It's a nice look into the writer's life and I would particularly recommend it for fans of Patchett's novels. The essays cover many different subjects including her experience in her MFA program (and whether she'd recommend one for you), taking the qualifying exams (mental and physical) for the LAPD, Patchett's love affair with opera, and the story of her long path to a happy marriage.
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I loved it and we are now best friends.
This is a re-read and well worth it. I don't remember why I didn't write a review the first time but it might have been because I knew I'd be reading it again.
Patchett is one of those writers whose style is deceptively clear and simple and makes you think at first that means she's writing easy superficial pieces but oh no no. Deeper than it looks. You'll be reading along a nice little story and then there'll be a couple of sentences that are just..."OH. Oh, THAT's what this is about. Well, wow. ...more
Patchett is one of those writers whose style is deceptively clear and simple and makes you think at first that means she's writing easy superficial pieces but oh no no. Deeper than it looks. You'll be reading along a nice little story and then there'll be a couple of sentences that are just..."OH. Oh, THAT's what this is about. Well, wow. ...more
A pleasant compilation of Patchett's essays. I love her writing. These essays are like sitting down with an old friend.
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Three incredible stories--The Sacrament of Divorce, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, and the Mercies.
Favorite essay- How to Read a Christmas Story.
I haven't read a book of non fiction short stories in awhile. The first few stories are about writing but the following stories cover a wide range of subjects after that. The writing is so lovely and the fact that the audio book is read by the author just makes it better. Some real nuggets of life wisdom and wonderful perspective in these stories.
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I will follow Ann Patchett wherever she goes, forever and ever, amen.
Excellent series of essays on being a writer, among other topics.
Dec 01, 2013
Martin
marked it as to-read
Jan 12, 2014
Melle
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Feb 17, 2014
Nina
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Nov 05, 2014
Sarah
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Oct 24, 2015
Ruth
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Aug 24, 2016
Samantha
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Jul 22, 2020
Chloe
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Jan 04, 2021
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
