The Escape

by Jo-Ann Wasserman

Poetry. "THE ESCAPE is a kinetic maelstrom in which Wasserman's attention is always laconic and precise...prose where diary and fiction slip around each other...a music that is intoxicating and unmistakable in its honoring of the turbulence of being alive in the not so distant present, past and future"—John Yau. "There is much at stake in this 'motherhood, fortune, providence, the stars and then depression...the false Italy' or false anything vs. a real me or you. This book is 'round, soft, sad, expensive, pink'...it is also dark, sharp-limbed, heart-wrenching, hilarious and smart"—Eleni Sikelianos.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Vincent Scarpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When she left, I felt like I was eating ice cream really fast. Cold on the inside. In the notebook, I write that I watch her leaving, getting smaller in the distance. I write that but do not write that I feel sad. Instead I write cold.”

[Reynie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could read 1000 pages of this prose. It drifts so wonderfully

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is astonishing - I've been re-reading it every once in a while and it always floors me, it's so generous with a difficult subject, family history, a mother's death. Also I can't stand sestinas usually but Wasserman's way of doing them is like the rules were never meant to impose on you or make you stay in your lane. Like suddenly there are no lanes and the whole highway is miles wide.