Jan, 2012 todays post is one of the rare ones that discusses a book ive read. So begins acclaimed novelist darin strauss half a life, the true story of how one outing in his fathers oldsmobile resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a different, darker life for the author. Bestselling author darin strauss will speak about and sign his critically acclaimed memoir, now out in paperback, half a life. I had just turned eighteen, and when you drive in new postadolescence, you drive with friends. Fairly or not, books with the mcsweeneys imprimatur come with certain expectations. Ive just read half a life, darin strauss book about an event in his life when he was still a boy, but driving, that would shape forever the man he would and could become. With half a life, strauss treats difficult subject matter sure to provoke an emotional response, but the book is ultimately as uplifting as it is educational. New york times notable books author and brooklyn resident darin strauss, who wrote parts of his sobering memoir half a life at the bluffton library, is finding that his words have the power to bring sense out of tragedy. More than 20 years ago, darin strauss killed a girl. T his is the story of two cars, moving at the same speed, that. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Sep 19, 2010 i read half a life this morning, grateful for every whitesteeped page. Is the hard hitting and instant opening line of darin strauss s autobiographical account of the events that took place back in may 1988 on a.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Strauss has a number of scenes him chatting up girls at the accident site. Half a life after he killed a girl riding her bike with his car as a teenager, the author delves into the meaning and consequences of that fateful day, and all the culpability, anguish, and regret. Half a life in this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life. The instructions by levin both books published by mcsweeneys. In his last month of high school, he was behind the wheel of his dads oldsmobile. Half a life by darin strauss, interview the daily beast. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his. Darin strauss is the bestselling author of three previous books. Half a life is darin strausss awardwinning memoir about the tragic event that changed the trajectory of his life.
In his last month of high school, he was behind the wheel of his dads oldsmobile, driving with friends, heading off to play minigolf. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read half a life. The washington post a book that inspires admiration, sentence by sentence. The recipient of a guggenheim in fiction writing and numerous other awards, strauss has seen his work translated into fourteen languages and published in more than twenty countries. Half a life by darin strauss, signed abebooks passion for books. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on patreon or at paypal. Strausss parents are quite present in the early part of the book. Darin strauss has 20 books on goodreads with 18307 ratings. Strausss most recent book is half a life, which won the 2011 nbcc award. A memoir by darin strauss 2011, paperback at the best online prices at ebay.
When a book cover foretells that the story inside will be the bravest. Like the part of the brain that isnt automatic is an imagining machine, feeling all possibilities of feelings. These books, along with rahna reiko rizzutos hiroshima in the morning, give me hope that memoir, the form, is finding its center again. Half a life memoir jump to navigation jump to search. Is the hard hitting and instant opening line of darin strauss s autobiographical account of the events that took place back in may 1988 on a road on long island. So begins darin strauss half a life, the true story of how one outing in his fathers oldsmobile resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a different, darker life for the author. You struggle against that push, and start to feel your stomach protest. He speaks to molly guinness about how it made him the writer and. Darin strausss memoir half a life tells the story of his accident, at age 18, with a girl biking on a road near his home in long island. It is impossible not to think of this moment, which appears once at the beginning and again near the end of the novel, when reading strauss s new memoir, half a life. The highlight reel of author darin strauss s life so far includes a few defining dates. Bookclub on bbc 6 music, with nemone and ali catterall, 15th february 2011. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life. Darin strausspreestablished and muchpraised novelist though he islives both up and down to those expectations in half a life, an honest but fatally selfquestioning memoir on the years of fallout from the accidental killing of his highschool senioryear classmate.
In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the. Half a life, a foray into memoir by novelist darin strauss, centers on a. Acclaimed writer benjamin anastass searing, utterly moving memoir of fathers and sons, crushing debt. Strauss the real mccoy readily acknowledges the problems.
Half a life by strauss, darin and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Strauss s most recent book is half a life, which won the 2011 nbcc award for memoirautobiography. In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole. Today i share some thoughts i have after reading darin strauss s memoir half a life. A memoir about guilt, responsibility, and living with the past darin strausss half a life is impossible to put down.
It is, as you must have heard by now, the story of an accidental deaththe story of what happened one day when strauss set out to play some putt putt with his high school friends. Strauss shares the true story of how one high school outing in his fathers oldsmobile resulted in. Sep, 2010 so begins darin strauss half a life, the true story of how one outing in his fathers oldsmobile resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a different, darker life for the author. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading half a life. Published in 2010 by mcsweeneys, the autobiographical story expands upon the this american life podcast episode life after death where strauss publicly discusses the emotional repercussions of being responsible for the accidental death of a young woman. About half a life in this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist darin strauss examines the farreaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life. Ive previously written about dani shapiros devotion and katie rosmans if you knew suzy. Do you think it has a message for people beyond the narrow, carcash one.
In his devastating new memoir, half a life, darin strauss tells of how an accidental death in his teens changed his life forever. Jul 14, 2017 in his devastating new memoir, half a life, darin strauss tells of how an accidental death in his teens changed his life forever. Half a life is a starkly honest account of that fateful moment and his life thereafter. We follow strauss as he half a life is a nakedly honest, ultimately hopeful examination of guilt, responsibility, and living with the past. Strauss the real mccoy readily acknowledges the problems of writing about this event, the result of a moments d. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. For the novelist darin strauss, life changed irrevocably years ago with the accidental death of a high school classmate. Half a life by darin strauss book cover, description, publication history. We follow strauss as he explores his startling pastcollision life the funeral, the queasy drama of a highstakes court case.
Darin strauss born march 1, 1970 is a bestselling american writer whose work has earned a number of awards, including, among numerous others, a guggenheim fellowship and the national book critics circle award. His book, half a life, recounts what it has been like to spend more than 20 years atoning for a tragic incident, summed up succinctly in the opening line of the memoir. It received the national book critics circle award for memoir in 2011. In this memoir, strauss writes about how half a life ago he accidentally killed a woman and how it effected him for the rest of his life. A memoir by strauss, darin and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The books artful design caught my eye before i even began reading.
Half a life is a book by american author darin strauss. Sep 12, 2010 it is impossible not to think of this moment, which appears once at the beginning and again near the end of the novel, when reading strausss new memoir, half a life. Darin strauss has spent a good part of his adult life reliving, regretting and reflecting on a single, splitsecond incident. He was 18, behind the wheel of his fathers oldsmobile. Half a life is a nakedly honest, ultimately hopeful examination of gui. Half a life sits now, on my shelf, beside gail caldwells lets take the long way hometwo memoirs that transcend precisely because they are so quiet, so well considered, so honorable. The washington post wrote that half a life has a universal appeal, calling it a penetrating, thoughtprovoking examination of the human mind. Strauss the real mccoy readily acknowledges the problems of writing about this event, the result of a moments distractiontrying to avoid aestheticizing reality, questioning his own selfinvolvement, admitting to playing a role of contrition, even remarking that tragedy turns a life into an endless publicity tour, a. Darin strauss, author of more than it hurts you, will discuss and sign his heartbreaking memoir about how one outing in his fathers oldsmobile during his last month of high school resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a different, darker life for the author. Half a life, a beyondbrave memoir by darin strauss, offers an intensely personal look at the most agonizing events in the authors life after a tragic accident.
1378 503 349 204 1587 846 699 491 1290 76 1090 843 934 401 617 982 128 647 523 1385 1453 1131 740 292 1256 261 299 787 1323