The Memoir Club

by Laura Kalpakian

"In a memoir, the author and the narrator have an uneasy relationship. What does the reader know of the author? That the author lived to tell the tale. What does the reader know of the narrator? That the tale needed to be told."

Six women, each with her own misgivings, take a university extension night class in Writing Your Memoir, looking only for a little bibliotherapy. The following semester, they meet privately at the gracious home of one of the participants. The memoir class becomes the memoir club.

In coming to terms with their losses, with their own guilt-in writing to break through that stubborn, opaque barrier to the past-they forge a new present. And a new future. The teacher, the enigmatic Penny Taylor, steps in at the right moment and steps out before her students can thank her.

In the beginning, grief-stricken Dr. Caryn Henley only goes to the class at the insistence of her longtime friend and colleague, Nell, a woman so loyal that behind her back people call her the St. Bernard. Rusty Meadows wants to write a memoir for her daughter she gave up at birth. Mrs. Francine Hellman wants her memoir to laud her late husband, the scientist Dr. Marcus Hellman, only to find he had a past unknown to her. The elderly, unconventional Sarah Jane Perkins writes to come to terms with the cruelties her rigid mother inflicted on her artistic, bootlegging father. And Korean born Jill McDougall comes to the memoir class to find out who she is, and why she's living in a warehouse with a man who loves ice cream. These students of the memoir achieve what they set out to do, but discover what they never expected.
Along the way, the disparate women come together, reveal themselves to each other and support each other. As they render their pasts in memoirs, they forge a new present and a new future.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Writing

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I found it an easy read in that it kept my attention, I did get confused as each chapter centered on a different one of the six main characters and it took me a while to remember who I was reading about. The novel concerns six women from different walks of life and dealing with a variety of problems, who become friends through taking a memoir writing class through a university extension. What was interesting to me was how quickly the friendships evolved. It reminded me of my own experience in writing classes at I.U. where I formed intense friendships with fellow students. I think it comes from exposing oneself through writing—you have to learn to trust each other.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of women, strangers to each other, take a memoir writing class, and when the class is over, form their own memoir writing club. Looking into the past through the filter of time, is, as they discover, a very dangerous prospect. They make new realizations, and their present day lives begin to change.

The characters seemed incredibly real and vibrant, and the story sucked me in, and made me care about the characters. The only problem with that, is that, in a weird way, it made me protective over their story, and I disliked several of the things the author does:
First of all, the "shocking act of violence" that occurs partway through the book seemed as if it was out of another story. It didn't fit the flow of the book well.
Also, the young characters were really annoying. You can be under 30 and not be self absorbed and snotty. It is possible. The incessant use of the slang term "preggers" all the way through, by one of the under 30 characters was incredibly aggravating.
Also, some of the chapters were in 1st person, and some were in 3rd person, and there seemed to be no logic behind which was which.
Finally, I would have liked a little more closure on what *did* happen to the lady who taught the class. Everyone else's narrative got tied up (I admit I like the bow on the end of the story) except for her.

Despite my critique, this was actually a really absorbing read, and is "girlie fiction" in the best possible way. Every woman, every *person*, feels the urge to look back at their life, through the lens of clarity, and figure out 'what *that* was all about,' and this book is a really interesting look at how that sort of experience might change how you choose to live your life. It also deals nicely with how a group of women can become fast friends, and bolster each other up when they need it. ...Oh! And it mentions madeleine's, which is just too perfect, albeit a little too expected.

*Note that might not interest anyone except for me, and possibly Alisa and Emily*

"I began my teaching career at the age of ten in a one-room schoolhouse in rural Washington State, a town now known as Thornton Euclid, though back then, in the Depression, they were two towns close by one another." p. 89

I read that, and went, 'huh. That sounds exactly like Sedro Woolley, the town I live in, which was originally Sedro and Woolley.'

Next page: "Anyone in Euclid who wanted to go to high school had to go all the way to Mount Vernon, and you had to board there besides, at least during the week. In the Depression people just didn't do that."

I read that and was again surprised, because I *work* at the library in Mount Vernon, which would make Thornton Euclid *have* to be another name for Sedro Woolley. And again later, a verification, when the book talks about the Skagit River flooding. I wonder why the author chose to change Sedro Woolley's name, but not Mount Vernon's?
..."all the way to Mount Vernon." I really *do* have a long commute, don't I?...I wonder if my parents would notice if I took their Prius in the middle of the night, and left them my nearly 10-year-old Hyundai Elantra in it's place... ;)

*Update: Look what Village Books just e-mailed me. Craziness*
INTRODUCTION TO LAURA KALPAKIAN'S MEMOIR CLASS
Time: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:00 p.m.
Location: Village Books
Learn about the writing journey of a lifetime from local award-winning author Laura Kalpakian. Many authors report that writing a memoir is an intensely personal experience that bonds them with fellow writers in ways they never imagined. Laura Kalpakian has taught memoir writing at several universities, including the University of Washington and Western Washington University.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first chapter of this book turned me off, I almost didn't bother reading further, but I did, since I am writing a memoir and I thought I should at least see if I like it once they finally get to the memoir part. The lady who seemed to be the main character was annoying instead of sympathetic--how many times can a person say--I'm big Nell. I'm the St. Bernard. I never give up. When others give up, I don't give up. That got old fast.
The whole book had some major structure problems with balance and point-of-view. I liked how different chapters focused on different people, but it didn't gel somehow. The book was full of grammer glitches that kept catching my eye and kept wondering--did someone edit this? Then in the end it has one lady's whole memoir, which I didn't even read, and a whole chapter that was a first-person rant by the daughter of one of the main characters that seemed just jammed in--it didn't even seem like it belonged in the book.
Then the whole book changed about 2/3's of the way through and it became about something else and then a huge amount of the last part was about two of the characters opening a restaurant. Then at the very end the remaining members do some digging and find out that their teacher might have been a ghost. This book was a big jumble of chick lit-crime-ghost book. It felt like a disjointed, strange combination.
The characters were mostly sympathetic and the book held my interest, so I gave it 2 stars and finished it. I never really settled into the book and just enjoyed it, there were too many distractions and problems--big and small. It could have been a really good book with some major editing.
Anyway, that's my opinion.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give half stars, I'd give Laura 3-1/2 for this one. I know her and she writes some amazing prose. But there's always some part that either drags for me, or maybe it feels too neatly tied up at the end. And that was my problem with this book. It ties up too neatly at the end. There is this huge "holy cow!" event a little over two-thirds of the way through the book and then.... it just never really recaptures the energy after that and the story continues for a little too long. And then there is the magical realism element that I'm not sure I'm down with or not. That magical realism... either it gets you good or it just leaves you going, "what is that all about?" I think if you're going to go for it, you have to go a little more full throttle so it isn't this dangling particle at the end. But the different characters are well developed overall, the tangle of the plots leading up to the "holy cow!" is very well done and captivating, and the one really complete memoir is any novelist's dream of a stand-alone short story to sell in advance to help sell the whole tamale--and wildly different from the rest of the book. Very strong, vivid piece. She's going to hit the nail just right one of these days because all her books have such interesting quirks and plots and settings and twists--perhaps it is her own personal preference to neatly tied-up endings that holds her back--though I know she admires many a book with endings that leave you wanting or aching....

[Marcia Voss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, and I haven't loved a book in a long, long time. As a former English teacher, I found Penny's(the teacher's) instructions interesting albeit a bit confusing to follow if I were a student. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I enjoyed each chapter being written in the voice of each of the memoir writers. I did confuse who was who at times but quickly found myself where I was meant to be. The varied personalities of each woman were fascinating as were the memoirs they wrote. I was especially drawn to the woman whose home became the gathering spot for the continued memoir writing after the actual class ended. I could "see" Francine welcoming the women into her "picture-perfect living room", her "masterpiece" of a home." I could hear the clink of the china as tea was served and imagined the discomfort of the women unused to such fuss. It was easy to assume that Francine was a woman schooled in good manners and very accustomed to serving elite guests with flair and elegance. It was the actual "making of Francine" that held my attention to the book's conclusion. And she was just one of the women I was free to shape where my imagination carried me. The Memoir Club speaks primarily about and through women, but their experiences are full of joy and tragedy every reader could relate to.


Marcia

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

If books were television shows, this one would be a daytime soap. Early in my career as a stay-at-home mom, I found myself addicted to the soaps. I finally had to discipline myself by refusing to turn on the tv during the day. I must find the discipline to do the same thing with book soaps; I must never put the book on my wish list...just seeing the cover and reading the blurb on the back sets me in motion to reading them and nothing will stop me from reading to the end.

Absolutely nothing wrong with book soaps, of course. But with so much wonderful book PBS out there, I must be good and cull the soaps from my wish list. After all, so many books, so little time.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book which is very well and lovingly written. Especially given the past few years when memoir writers have been accused of falsifying their accounts, this is a very relevant book. But more than that, the author does a masterful piece of work in interweaving the lives of very different people into each other, through a single class in memoir writing. It always interests me not just to find out where people came from, but where they are going, and this book satisfies that urge very well.

Highly recommended.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. Liked the use of a "how to write a memoir" tool throughout the book to weave the people's stories together. Some of the stuff at the end was kind of a stretch. Like the Memoir professor being an angel. Pretty hokey. I think I got this book at the Dollar Tree - it was definitely worth $1!!

[Joanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aaaaaarg! Chick Lit! I find myself sucked in by competent writing and a smart quote or two, only to wake up knee deep in vacuous characters who make lifelong friendships, reconcile with their families, find everlasting love, and congratulate one another on their platitudinous growth. Again - Aaarg!

[Mady · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning I didn't really know what was a 'Memoir' and I wondered if all those people wanted to write a book. But then I got it and made me wish I could do something similar. I loved to get to know a bit more of all those people's lifes.

[Megan E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set in Portland, Oregon with 6 women who are the “members” of a memoir club that evolved out of a university extension course. My attention faltered with this book several times because there were so many narrators, the original 6 women, plus several more of their relations, friends and ancillary people who the author adds in somewhat randomly. Sometimes I didn’t even know who was talking at the start of a new chapter.

I almost gave up about one third of the way through because it took forever to get through 6 chapters of the “first drafts” of each woman’s memoir and her reflections. But having nothing better to read on hand I pressed on.

My fortitude was rewarded with a very unexpected dramatic shift in plot 2/3 through. This plot upheaval cements the bonds of the memoir club women in response to the crisis. That dramatic event - and the more active roll the women take in their own lives from that point forward - did make it worth finishing despite some of the point of view problems.

I wouldn’t recommend this book, unless you really like lots of protagonists. I usually like ensemble character stories but this one had too many; it got confusing. Who are they all and why can’t they operate their own lives with more direction? Well…

Nell is a “St Bernard” best friend trying to rescue Caryn who grieves the devastating loss of her family in a plane crash. Francine is a sixty-something widow who wants to commemorate her husband Mark as a great man of science; his career became her life’s work. Jill, the Empress of Ice Cream, has
a longtime boyfriend, Colin who adores her. Yet as an adult child of adoption Jill’s still searching for what’s missing in her life. Rusty is a middle aged woman wrestling with a past she can neither bare to remember nor forget. Sarah Jane is a octogenarian who survived both a home-wrecking flood and a mother without a nurturing soul. Finally, Penny is the odd instructor who pushes them all to dig deeper to uncover their voices, tell their stories and in so doing, set themselves free.

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

May a 3.5* book. NOTE: this is a novel, not a memoir.
I happen to love memoirs and love writing so when I saw this on the library shelf I picked it up, never having heard of it before. The book follows 6 strangers who meet in a member writing class and become friends. For the first 2/3 of the book, the story is told from the points of view of each of the classmates and I liked how it included excepts of their own memoirs so that we got to know their stories. The last 1/3 of the book I got confused and somewhat disappointed as suddenly the story was narrated by other characters, related to but not part of the memoir class. It felt inconsistent with the rest of the the book's style. There also was a bit of mysticism/unreality that didn't sit well with me towards the end. But, when it returned again to one of the classmates and her memoir, which I liked again and I did want to read and see how it all turned out. If you like writing or memoirs or just interesting & disparate characters, I recommend this book.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this book, women coming together in a memoir class, revealing their lives through their memoirs, and then deciding to continue as a memoir club after the class ends. They find they are pushed to reevaluate their lives as they revise their memoirs according to instructions by the mysterious Penny Taylor, the teacher who somehow has no past life (or present or future, apparently). There are many revelations, strained relationships, and grievances between the characters and their families that come to light.

I enjoyed the book but there were way too many characters and each chapter focused on one of the women in the club and their entire families; as these characters were added to the mix, it all became rather confusing. It was difficult figuring out who each chapter was about as they were never identified up front but slowly revealed in the chapter. I found that a bit discombobulating. Overall, it was fun to read but it could have been a lot tighter, and minor characters need not have been introduced by name.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book sounded as if it was right up my alley, with the memoirs and the 'collection of strangers assembling together for some random reason and learning Valuable Lessons About Life' theme, which I have already said is one of my favorites. And I enjoyed this book most of the way through and was invested enough in the characters to finish it even when it seemed that a sudden mass of random plot devices were thrown in there towards the end. But not enough to look up anything else by this author.

[Rebecca Gernon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was good the characters interesting but far too many to keep track of. There were six main characters with children, spouses, ex spouses, and new spouses and the writing switched between different people so that I often started a chapter and wondered who this person was that I was reading about. As for what happened to Caryn, I will not spoil the book for the reader but I found that a bit other worldly and jarring. The ending and epilogue seemed to wrap up, many loose ends, but left several characters incomplete, especially Amy.

[Morri Mostow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very touching story, masterfully written, with a surprising touch of the supernatural, which Kalpakian handled quite deftly (my only quibble being that she said a little too much instead of letting the reader come to her own conclusions.) I also liked the excellent memoir writing pointers that the "instructor" provides to the students, which the author has provided in handy boxes for easy review.

[Barbara Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura Kalpakian writes with a scalpel. She cuts cleanly into her characters, dissects their flaws and truths, and finds their essential healing. In the aftermath of a horrific, inevitable event in this novel, there was a moment in the hospital when I literally gasped with both heartache and joy. "Of course," I thought, then had to reread the passage to completely absorb the impact.

This is the third novel I've read by Laura Kalpakian. Such gifts.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly enjoyed it, but maybe i’m just being biased because i love stories based around female friendships. Although it became confusing at times, i liked how every chapter was written in a different characters POV it really gave you an insight into each of their lives. It allowed the reader to form a connection with each of them. In my opinion, the author does a great job at bringing these characters to life.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot going on. Some of the memoir work from the characters is exceptional; left me wondering if that many people who take a night class can write that well.
But each person's past life experiences really take turns as they support each other through past and present sharings. Lots of revelation, tensions and unusual outcomes. Pretty interesting.

[Sophia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seemed like it had a solid premise, however it added too many characters for too short of a book, with some not really having any closure. It was multi pov, but it also jumped around with first person and third person. The author also didn’t seem to know what she wanted to write in terms of a bigger picture. But

[Steve Castley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The memoir Club is a well crafted and enjoyable read. The characters were well developed and all quite different. It is well worth the read.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would have got a higher rating from me if it wasn't so poorly edited!! I have never read a book with more errors; it was very distracting!

[Lawanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprising, pleasantly so. I like her writing. For example, “I know how to wallpaper the truth with a few well-pasted falsehoods,”

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just okay.

[Erica Richmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

A easy read with engaging characters.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several years ago. Loved the premise. Still have very fond memories of this book and what a writing group does for the characters. Could do without the violence at the end.

[Dianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well. Certainly interesting plot -ideas-twists. But, on the whole, I'm not even passing this one along. Not a go for me.

[Carolyn]

AMAZING BOOK

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the way this book traced the lives of students of a memoir writing course as they reconciled with their pasts and learned to treasure the present.

[Tayler K]

What a gorgeous cover, and I don't even normally like pink.