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Tesserae: A Memoir of Two Summers
"Tesserae: A Memoir of Two Summers stands above much of the crowd in its commitment to ask, 'What is it to remember?' Mathias B. Freese, tenderly plaiting a web that spreads from Woodstock, Las Vegas, Long Island, and North Carolina, locates friends and family, lovers long since gone, desire and passion sometimes quenched sometimes unrequited, and the harrowing agony that comes from that most soul-crushing word of all, regret. But Tesserae is not a work of sadness and grief. Rather, it is an effort from a trained psychotherapist adept at understanding the feelings that we all have. The quiescence found has a staying effect upon the mind; this memoir lingers in the reader's memory for some time." -- Steven Berndt, Professor of American Literature, College of Southern Nevada
- GenresMemoir
236 pages, Paperback
Published February 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 10, 2016
Tesserae: A Memoir of Two Summers was a book I went into a bit blind. I was curious to see how the author was going to deal with these really difficult and heavy themes of heart break and regret, and when it comes to reflecting on memories. It was going to be an interesting memoir which more so focused on one main character and dealt with the main conflicts that happened to them in their life. Therefore, I think I could only recommend this to character driven readers and not plot based ones. But this was still a pretty decent read.
I liked when we got to see the interview between the protagonist of the novel and his therapist. We basically are present throughout their session and it was interesting to see how that went down. We get one at the beginning of the book, and one towards the end where we can see how much progress he has made. I also especially liked that after the interview we got the analysis of the session from the therapist. I don’t know much about the professional personally so seeing how it worked out and what the therapist managed to pick up in the conversation and his actions really did intrigue me. It was all new, but pretty cool.
As for the memoir itself, I found that it was intriguing, but at the same time a little repetitive. It was interesting in that I have never read from a more honest narrator. He shows the best and the worst of himself, and believe me when I say the worst of him is pretty bad. But he tells it with unabashed honesty so that the reader can make up their own mind of his actions. You can clearly see how he deeply he expresses his feelings of regret, and the author has mastered communicating that to the reader. The narrator sometimes even lets another voice take over the memoir in order to not be biased in the retelling of events.
Another thing about this memoir that made me so interested was that I have never read a book which went into the detail behind an unhealthy affair so much. We could see his reasons for doing it, and how skewed they were, yet as a reader we had the understanding that the main character couldn’t see it. I’m sure we’ve all been in similar situations ourselves, and the author managed to portray that difficult perfectly. I also was informed on the situation in Woodstock in the past. I’ve never looked into that history before, so that was all new and unfamiliar to me. I always love learning new things, and even though I don’t agree with the lifestyle that was pursued back then around there, it was so cool to discover it.
The only downside was that at times this book feels repetitive. It’s quite a few pages long and it’s about these two main situations – the affair and Woodstock. Maybe not so much with the latter scenario, but after hearing about the affair for a while I was tired of it being brought back up continuously. It was a significant moment in the protagonist’s life, and while I could understand, it didn’t change my thoughts on me wanting a bit less of it.
Gif summary:
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This review and others can be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/20...
I liked when we got to see the interview between the protagonist of the novel and his therapist. We basically are present throughout their session and it was interesting to see how that went down. We get one at the beginning of the book, and one towards the end where we can see how much progress he has made. I also especially liked that after the interview we got the analysis of the session from the therapist. I don’t know much about the professional personally so seeing how it worked out and what the therapist managed to pick up in the conversation and his actions really did intrigue me. It was all new, but pretty cool.
As for the memoir itself, I found that it was intriguing, but at the same time a little repetitive. It was interesting in that I have never read from a more honest narrator. He shows the best and the worst of himself, and believe me when I say the worst of him is pretty bad. But he tells it with unabashed honesty so that the reader can make up their own mind of his actions. You can clearly see how he deeply he expresses his feelings of regret, and the author has mastered communicating that to the reader. The narrator sometimes even lets another voice take over the memoir in order to not be biased in the retelling of events.
Another thing about this memoir that made me so interested was that I have never read a book which went into the detail behind an unhealthy affair so much. We could see his reasons for doing it, and how skewed they were, yet as a reader we had the understanding that the main character couldn’t see it. I’m sure we’ve all been in similar situations ourselves, and the author managed to portray that difficult perfectly. I also was informed on the situation in Woodstock in the past. I’ve never looked into that history before, so that was all new and unfamiliar to me. I always love learning new things, and even though I don’t agree with the lifestyle that was pursued back then around there, it was so cool to discover it.
The only downside was that at times this book feels repetitive. It’s quite a few pages long and it’s about these two main situations – the affair and Woodstock. Maybe not so much with the latter scenario, but after hearing about the affair for a while I was tired of it being brought back up continuously. It was a significant moment in the protagonist’s life, and while I could understand, it didn’t change my thoughts on me wanting a bit less of it.
Gif summary:
[image error]
This review and others can be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/20...
July 6, 2016
Tesserae are small pieces that make up a mosaic. I found Tesserae to be an insightful experience of the process of examining one’s life and inner being. This takes a lot of self awareness. Readers who are introspective and enjoy thinking may appreciate Mr. Freese’s musings. Some of his short chapters repeat bits of his life, so this book seems to be a series of meandering short stories. Freese focuses on the meaning of two summers he spent at Woodstock during the late 60s. This is not about the famed Woodstock Music Festival, which was held about 60 miles from Woodstock, NY, but about the little town itself, which was an artist colony. “Woodstock isn’t so much a place as a feeling of discovering freedom from growing up in the repressed 50s.”
Freese is a damaged soul, a self-described guilt-wracked curmudgeon nearing the end of his unaccomplished life. I, however, found him to be a most interesting character, a good writer, and highly intelligent with insightful perspectives. He is very hard on himself, and I hope he finds peace as well as the love he craves. He is not an unloveable man, and his writing is intimate and confessional, drawing the reader in as a friend. I found many bits of wisdom to chew on and remember. “Maybe I write because it is in the word that we find our worth,” he says. He has many worthwhile words.
Freese is a damaged soul, a self-described guilt-wracked curmudgeon nearing the end of his unaccomplished life. I, however, found him to be a most interesting character, a good writer, and highly intelligent with insightful perspectives. He is very hard on himself, and I hope he finds peace as well as the love he craves. He is not an unloveable man, and his writing is intimate and confessional, drawing the reader in as a friend. I found many bits of wisdom to chew on and remember. “Maybe I write because it is in the word that we find our worth,” he says. He has many worthwhile words.
August 3, 2016
Tesserae follows the author from his birth in 1940 to 2015 and around two pivotal years in Woodstock (the town not the party). Matt recounts different events in his life but circles round to how Woodstock made him feel and drew him back from time to time.
I like how this story is put together. It feels just like you are talking to someone as they recount their life. Matt has several stories that circle through different parts of his life. Matt doesn’t feel that he has accomplish much in his life as he tells his story. I think we all feel like Matt if we looked back on our life like he does.
But the real gems are the different events he lived through, the adversary that he faced, and trying to pass that knowledge on. That is what really makes this book great. Life is not easy but that is how it shapes us. And just hearing another person’s stories helps unite us as we all struggle with our own lives.
This is a great story and one that I strongly recommend everyone read.
I have been lucky enough to receive Tesserae for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I like how this story is put together. It feels just like you are talking to someone as they recount their life. Matt has several stories that circle through different parts of his life. Matt doesn’t feel that he has accomplish much in his life as he tells his story. I think we all feel like Matt if we looked back on our life like he does.
But the real gems are the different events he lived through, the adversary that he faced, and trying to pass that knowledge on. That is what really makes this book great. Life is not easy but that is how it shapes us. And just hearing another person’s stories helps unite us as we all struggle with our own lives.
This is a great story and one that I strongly recommend everyone read.
I have been lucky enough to receive Tesserae for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
March 1, 2016
The collection is part-memoir part-adventure-novel. By using his experiences on those two summers in particular, and interspersing the narrative with the past of the past and the future of the past, Freese has created a marvellous book. The thing that will stay with me, is how very intimate the book is. It is a deep-dive into the author’s innermost fears, dreams, insecurities. He talks of his first love, his wife, a failed marriage, and his intense but brief relationship with his daughter. He talks of these events as if talking to a friend, and it took a lot of stepping back on my part to not feel upset and embroiled in it all.
from https://cupandchaucer.wordpress.com/2...
from https://cupandchaucer.wordpress.com/2...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews