The Liars' Club

For a certain group of twenty-something women, consumption of, and passion for, The Liars' Club is both a rite of passage and a mode of self-identification. . . . I am lucky I was eight when this book was published. I am lucky I grew up in a world where it colored people's reactions to personal stories, female stories. We all are. Because The Liars' Club is more than an account of a tattered childhood and one brave and brilliant woman's attempt to use it rather than deny it. It is an aggressive tap on the shoulder in a crowded room, a smiling funny face asking its readers: 'Wanna be friends?' --Lena Dunham, from the Foreword The essential American story . . . A great pleasure to read. --The Washington Post Book World Astonishing . . . one of the most dazzling and moving memoirs to come along in years . . . [Karr's] most powerful tool is her language, which she wields with the virtuosity of both a lyric poet and an earthy, down-home Texan. It's a wonderfully unsentimental vision. --The New York Times This is what the memoir is supposed to be. --Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly This book is so good I thought about sending it out for a backup opinion. . . . It's like finding Beethoven in Hoboken. To have a poet's precision of language and a poet's insight into people applied to one of the roughest, toughest, ugliest places in America is an astonishing event. --Molly Ivins, The Nation Overflows with sparkling wit and humor . . . Truth beats powerfully at the heart of this dazzling memoir. --San Francisco Chronicle Karr lovingly retells [her parents'] best lies and drunken extravagances with an ear for bar-stool phraseology and a winking eye for image. The revelations continue to the final page, with a misleading carelessness as seductive as any world-class liar's. --The New Yorker Karr has drawn black gold from the [Texan] mud. --Texas Monthly Karr's God-awful childhood has a calamitous appeal. The choice in the book is between howling misery and howling laughter, and the reader veers toward laughter. Karr has survived to write a drop-dead reply to the question, 'Ma, what was it like when you were a little girl?' --Time Mary Karr is a phoenix. That she arose from any fire to create poetry says as much about poetry as it does about Mary Karr. --Mary-Louise Parker on her favorite memoir, The Liars' Club, in Ladies' Home Journal For a certain group of twenty-something women, consumption of, and passion for, The Liars Club is both a rite of passage and a mode of self-identification. . . . I am lucky I was eight when this book was published. I am lucky I grew up in a world where it colored people s reactions to personal stories, female stories. We all are. Because The Liars Club is more than an account of a tattered childhood and one brave and brilliant woman s attempt to use it rather than deny it. It is an aggressive tap on the shoulder in a crowded room, a smiling funny face asking its readers: Wanna be friends? Lena Dunham, from the Foreword The essential American story . . . A great pleasure to read. The Washington Post Book World Astonishing . . . one of the most dazzling and moving memoirs to come along in years . . . [Karr s] most powerful tool is her language, which she wields with the virtuosity of both a lyric poet and an earthy, down-home Texan. It s a wonderfully unsentimental vision. The New York Times This is what the memoir is supposed to be. Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly This book is so good I thought about sending it out for a backup opinion. . . . It s like finding Beethoven in Hoboken. To have a poet s precision of language and a poet s insight into people applied to one of the roughest, toughest, ugliest places in America is an astonishing event. Molly Ivins, The Nation Overflows with sparkling wit and humor . . . Truth beats powerfully at the heart of this dazzling memoir. San Francisco Chronicle Karr lovingly retells [her parents ] best lies and drunken extravagances with an ear for bar-stool phraseology and a winking eye for image. The revelations continue to the final page, with a misleading carelessness as seductive as any world-class liar s. The New Yorker Karr has drawn black gold from the [Texan] mud. Texas Monthly Karr s God-awful childhood has a calamitous appeal. The choice in the book is between howling misery and howling laughter, and the reader veers toward laughter. Karr has survived to write a drop-dead reply to the question, Ma, what was it like when you were a little girl? Time Mary Karr is a phoenix. That she arose from any fire to create poetry says as much about poetry as it does about Mary Karr. Mary-Louise Parker on her favorite memoir, The Liars Club, in Ladies Home Journal The essential American story . . . a beauty. Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World Astonishing . . . one of the most dazzling and moving memoirs to come along in years. Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times This book is so good I thought about sending it out for a backup opinion. . . . It s like finding Beethoven in Hoboken. To have a poet s precision of language and a poet s insight into people applied to one of the roughest, toughest, ugliest places in America is an astonishing event. Molly Ivins, The Nation 9mm humor, gothic wit, and a stunning clarity of memory within a poet s vision . . . Karr s unerring scrutiny of her childhood delivers a story confoundingly real. The Boston Sunday Globe Overflows with sparkling wit and humor . . . Truth beats powerfully at the heart of this dazzling memoir. San Francisco Chronicle Mary Karr's God-awful childhood has a calamitous appeal. The choice in the book is between howling misery and howling laughter, and the reader veers toward laughter. Karr has survived to write a drop-dead reply to the question, 'Ma, what was it like when you were a little girl?' Time This is the real deal; funny, painful, and hotter than Texas in September. This is what the memoir is supposed to be. Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly Elegaic and searching . . . her toughness of spirit, her poetry, her language, her very voice are the agents of rebirth in this difficult, hard-earned journey. The New York Times Book Review The essential American story . . . a beauty. --Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World Astonishing . . . one of the most dazzling and moving memoirs to come along in years. --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times This book is so good I thought about sending it out for a backup opinion. . . . It's like finding Beethoven in Hoboken. To have a poet's precision of language and a poet's insight into people applied to one of the roughest, toughest, ugliest places in America is an astonishing event. --Molly Ivins, The Nation 9mm humor, gothic wit, and a stunning clarity of memory within a poet's vision . . . Karr's unerring scrutiny of her childhood delivers a story confoundingly real. -- The Boston Sunday Globe Overflows with sparkling wit and humor . . . Truth beats powerfully at the heart of this dazzling memoir. -- San Francisco Chronicle Mary Karr's God-awful childhood has a calamitous appeal. The choice in the book is between howling misery and howling laughter, and the reader veers toward laughter. Karr has survived to write a drop-dead reply to the question, 'Ma, what was it like when you were a little girl?' -- Time This is the real deal; funny, painful, and hotter than Texas in September. This is what the memoir is supposed to be. --Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly Elegaic and searching . . . her toughness of spirit, her poetry, her language, her very voice are the agents of rebirth in this difficult, hard-earned journey. -- The New York Times Book Review