I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked Ms. Holland's dry sense of humor, both in this book and in They Went Whistling. I lent this memoir to a friend and she is enjoying it too. She remembered the events from her own childhood that Barbara Holland experienced. I was saddened to learn that there will be no more books coming from this author, as she passed away five years ago.
Do you know how a musical genius can always be recognized by his music? Mozart is always Mozart, Beethoven always Beethoven.
Barbara Holland had a real talent in all her books for using ordinary words in ordinary ways that yet allowed her irrepressible personality to shine through.
And this 2005 personal memoir written just 5 years before her death at 77 may be her best book of all.
She is droll, merry, ironic, complicated, iconoclastic, and highly intelligent all at once. And out of the blue, she will toss off an observation or have an insight that is both startlingly profound and yet totally unique.
Here's just one small example of her style: "Mother, dismayed by any conflict, even among the cats, never punished, never raised her voice, but she did take to wandering around the house with a dazed look and a small glass of whiskey in her hand."
Barbara Holland was the real deal. And it shines through here.
Barbara Holland had a real talent in all her books for using ordinary words in ordinary ways that yet allowed her irrepressible personality to shine through.
And this 2005 personal memoir written just 5 years before her death at 77 may be her best book of all.
She is droll, merry, ironic, complicated, iconoclastic, and highly intelligent all at once. And out of the blue, she will toss off an observation or have an insight that is both startlingly profound and yet totally unique.
Here's just one small example of her style: "Mother, dismayed by any conflict, even among the cats, never punished, never raised her voice, but she did take to wandering around the house with a dazed look and a small glass of whiskey in her hand."
Barbara Holland was the real deal. And it shines through here.
I really enjoyed this book. Very interesting life, very well written. Will look for more of this author!
