Anne Wellman's Blog

Threads of Awakening: An American Woman's Journey Into Tibet's Sacred Textile Art by Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the beautifully written account of an American woman's journey into the making of textile thangkas, the Tibetan wall hangings depicting sacred Buddhist figures. Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo was so struck by the beauty of thangkas when in Tibet as a young woman that she set about mastering the art, taking years to do so (and receiving a Tibetan name in the process). Leslie recounts not only the fascinating story of her experiences in Tibet but also the history and meaning of the thangka and the Buddhist precepts behind it, setting out as she goes her own growing understanding of Buddhism and how it affected her life. Part of the story is a very hands-on, fascinating explanation of how thangkas are made, difficult to fully grasp at first but gradually becoming clearer, helped by the beautiful pictures of Leslie's work. A wonderful and instructive journey.



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Just published my biography of Anne Tyler. She's been been acknowledged as one of America's greatest living novelists, and is a Pulitzer Prize winner and multiple nominee. An inspiring chronicler of the everyday, Anne has written twenty-four acclaimed works, her first in 1964 when she was just twenty-three, and her most recent in 2022 at the age of eighty. She is greatly loved by her legions of fans all around the world.

But for many decades, Anne avoided all public appearances and publicity. "My life has nothing to do with my writing," she said. In her novels no events came from real life, she insisted, and her characters' traits were definitely not hers; she was far more interested in trying to lead a different life through her fiction than in reliving her own, and wanted readers to believe in the world she had created without wondering if they were reading about real experiences. In any case, Anne claimed, she had led a life so conventional that even her biographer would nod off in the middle of it (I didn't, it was fascinating). But as time went on, Anne was to concede that her own stages of life did emerge within her work—bringing up small children or adolescents, empty nesting, aging, all were reflected in her novels, although only after the period she needed for things to settle in her mind before she could write about them. In many of the later novels her own children were even deliberately inserted as tiny cameo appearances, as were their spouses and offspring, once on the scene. Even strands of her own personality had, after all, found their way in.

This is Anne's life, far more interesting than she ever made out. Most of it was spent in Baltimore, a city ever present in her work and almost a character in itself. Her story reveals the many experiences and preoccupations that surfaced in her writing, which, in addition to the twenty-four novels (not always received with applause), included at least fifty short stories and a little nonfiction. Anne emerges as a woman of great charm, warmth, and humor, but one who spent many years secluded from the world in order to concentrate on her writing, and was far bleaker in her estimation of the human race than might ever be guessed.

The Salt Path
I couldn't get through this. Why on earth would a couple have set out on such a strenuous walk, with no money, when the husband was fatally ill? Why subject someone you love to pain and exhaustion? It made no sense. No adequate reason is ever given and this proved to be a major stumbling block in liking and accepting the book at face value. In addition, the content consists of far too much nature description, in a self-consciously 'literary' style, and repetitive accounts of being cold/hot, hungry and uncomfortable, and meeting eccentric characters, until - who would have thought it - it all ends happily. I suspect there is more to this story than meets the eye, but wish them both well for the future.

A Life of My Own
This autobiography by master biographer Claire Tomalin is predictably well written and highly readable, with the author of 'The Invisible Woman' and 'Samuel Pepys: the Unequalled Self' for the first time concentrating her forensic skills on her own life. The writing is measured, almost factual, making the tragic passages in her life all the more poignant. There are less gripping sections - perhaps too much on subjects studied at school and university, teachers and friends - but these were all part of the journey and of course meaningful to Tomalin. She was at the centre of London literary life at a particular period in our history and reflects this back in the concise, objective prose so familiar from her much loved biographies. A treasure

This comprehensive, well researched biography perfectly captures the enigmatic Katherine Anne Porter, author of the superb 'Ship of Fools' - now sadly less read. Porter was a notorious fabulist, difficult to pin down as to the actual facts of her amazing life, but biographer Darleen Harbour Unrue gets to the bottom of it all. Beautiful and talented Porter wrote prolifically and was a Pulitzer Prize winner. She travelled all over the world, had multiple husbands and lovers (most of them far younger) and lived a long and complex life punctuated by ill health and the tragic loss of her children through miscarriage and stillbirth. This more than competent biography by Unrue draws it all together, warts and all, without resorting to the novelization that creeps into less professional biography - no supposition, no imputing of thoughts or feelings to the subject without a documented basis. There is necessarily a period in any author's life when that life consists of a series of sequestrations to write, and Porter was no different, but Unrue avoids the potential tedium and keeps the reader interested. Unrue also avoids any in-depth analysis of Porter's fiction, leaving readers wanting to find out for themselves. All in all both a tribute to a remarkable literary talent and an exemplary piece of biography.

Portrait of a Family with a Fat Daughter by Margherita Giacobino

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Very well written and well translated story of three generations in rural Italy, billed as a novel although it appears to be very lightly fictionalised biography (the author states that all names and dates are true). The book depicts the gradual rise from poverty of a matriarchal clan and the way in which love influences each generation so that the final descendant, the author Margherita, feels the weight of all the love preceding. Great insights into family and relationships, the joys and sadnesses of some lives compared to others. Far better writing than Elena Ferrante, who merely tells a story and has nothing larger to say.



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Out Of The Woodshed: A Portrait Of Stella Gibbons by Reggie Oliver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Well written and well researched biography of the inimitable Stella Gibbons, still so funny today. Fascinating to discover the subjects of the parody in Cold Comfort Farm - Mary Webb and even D.H. Lawrence - and how prescient Stella was in her futuristic setting. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and impelled to read more of her subsequent novels.



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Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Essential reading for those interested in the modern immigrant experience in America. Huang feels neither fully Chinese nor fully American, and writes with great insight. However, although he is clearly very intelligent and capable of writing in perfect English, he mostly opts for a sweary gangsta style, a hangover from his rebellious youth. Initially this is just about acceptable as a device to convey the atmosphere of those particular years (even if the jargon is mostly incomprehensible) but throughout the book he continually drops back into 'wassup' speak. The man has a law degree and a TV show: this is no longer who he is and it's highly irritating. But if you can overlook this element it's one of the best books I've read about ethnicity in modern America.



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Announcing the publication of my new work 'Monica: A Life of Monica Dickens', the first biography of this prolific and hugely popular writer. As a young woman Monica, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, chose to turn her back on the life of a debutante and become a servant. Her first book, 'One Pair of Hands', was a riotous account of her experiences which she followed up with 'One Pair of Feet', the story of her subsequent years as a nurse. These in their turn were followed by the wonderful 'Mariana' and some far more serious works which saw Monica compared to Charles Dickens himself.
I used to read these books over and over again when I was young and always wanted to find out more about Monica's real life. What was the true story? What did she do next? She wrote a memoir but it was highly selective, and so I began to research writing her biography. Her life turned out to be quite amazing...