Friday, August 10, 2012

The Liars' Club


I told you guys I would be getting back to normal soon. I was actually able to finally finish reading this book (that I started reading, like, 3 weeks ago).


Before I really get into my review too much, I would like to tell you a few things about this book physically. I ordered it online from half.com (since I am cheap and don't like to spend more than $5 on a book). There weren't any "NEW" copies (I'm also a snob and try to buy all new books) so I had to get a used one. 

When it arrived, not only was it CLEARLY used (we're talking water spots that made the pages warp, and old glue had held the sleeve or whatever you call it on the outside of it was visible everywhere.

And it was in LARGE PRINT. I've never owned a large print book. It was very strange for me. Everybody at work commented on it. 

Anyways, moving on.

When I started the book, I wasn't really sure how I would feel about it. The story took a while to really come together in a way that sucked me in. But eventually it did. Here is the breakdown on the back:

"Perched on the swampy rim of the Gulf, Leechfield, Texas, is famous for mosquitoes and the manufacture of Agent Orange, a place where the only bookstores are religious ones, and the restaurants serve only fried food... the place where Mary Karr grew up. 
In The Liars' Club, Karr looks back through younger eyes to a family whose very sanity is threatened by a mother's unimaginable past, a mad puritanical grandmother, a vast inheritance squandered in a single year, endless emptied bottles and the darkness and lies inflicted on an eight-year-old girl. Miraculously, in a voice stripped of self-pity and exploding with antic wit, she takes us on a journey into joy - a wonderfully unsentimental vision that recaptures and redeems a painful past.

I have to say that the condition of the book (the physical condition) kind of added to the story. That sounds a bit stupid, but the fact that it was kind of tattered went along with the overall theme of the book.

This girl grew up with a family situation that I couldn't imagine, and the things she saw at such a young age is crazy. 

Like I said, it was a little bit slow starting out, but after it got going I really enjoyed it.

Overall, I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars. 






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