[bksvol-discuss] just submitted: The Kiss by Kathryn Harrison
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 23:23:24 -0400
I just submitted The Kiss by Kathryn Harrison. I did not mark it adult, even
though there are some hard subjects faced, because it was available in my local
library.'
Here comes a true story about A Woman Who Slept with Her Father--prime fodder
for the TV talk show feeding frenzy. Certainly it would be easy to
lump Kathryn Harrison's new memoir, The Kiss into this same category of
titillating topics, but that would be a mistake. There is nothing remotely
titillating
about Harrison's book; instead, it reads like a slow descent into hell--one
that compels and repels in almost equal measure at times. Harrison, who did
not really meet her father until she was 20, takes the reader on a difficult
journey into her loveless childhood, her bouts with anorexia and bulimia,
and, eventually, the incestuous 4-year affair with her father. Her prose is
deceptively simple; her choice of present tense to describe events that occurred
many years ago forces an immediacy--almost a complicity--upon the reader that
heightens both revulsion and compassion.
The Kiss is not for everybody. Some readers will be outraged by its subject
matter; others will find it just too painful to read. But for those who make
it through, this harrowing tale promises the reward of a life reclaimed and a
tragedy transcended.
Book blog:
http://community.livejournal.com/book_cuddler/
I have accepted a seat in the House of Representatives, and thereby have
consented to my own ruin, to your ruin, and to the ruin of our children. I give
you this warning that you may prepare your mind for your fate.
John Adams
E-Mail: amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx
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