Harold Rhenisch answers “This book is disgusting to me. I do not...”

Patricia Barry asked this question about Educated:

This book is disgusting to me. I do not understand why an educated and worldly individual would have difficulty understanding the horrible and violent upbringing that she experienced. It is unbelievable to me that she could not understand the violent situation, yet uneducated upbringing she endured. I have completely misunderstood her manner of education in a life in our country, in this country, how is this possible?

Harold Rhenisch I think partly it was an authorial or editorial choice to present this material in the form of a memoir opening up in time, with a changing level of c…moreI think partly it was an authorial or editorial choice to present this material in the form of a memoir opening up in time, with a changing level of consciousness over the entire period. There are glimpses of the mature Tara here, with a fierce, proud, brilliant intelligence that shows why she survived. I would have liked to have seen more of that (its lack earned the book only 3 stars from me), but look forward to it solidly shining in the next book. Fingers crossed. There's some kinship with the intellectual clarity of Annie Dillard here, presented, however, with a grounding in religious tracts (not Dillard's style, for sure) — which she is quite open about. I'm going to hunt down her thesis. It sounds fascinating. Tara Westover certainly has a way of drawing people to her. I suspect she would be a powerful teacher at the university level.(less)

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