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Fishing With Tardelli: A Memoir of Family in Time Lost
A literary meditation on memory, time, love, and loss Fishing with Tardelli contemplates the relations among four parents -- mother, father, stepfather, and a Brazilian fishing companion -- and the author. Over marriages and remarriages, fathers and mothers become stepfathers and stepmothers, and brothers gain and lose stepbrothers and half-brothers, sisters and half-sisters across two continents. The various homes become part of Besner's internal geography; memory, dream, story, fable become permeable layers folded over bald facts baldly stated. Beginning with an older man's recollections of himself as a young teenager fishing with Tardelli in the bay in Rio de Janeiro, the memoir reflects on time lost and time regained. The narration ranges across the mid-'40s in Montreal, where two couples marry, divorce, and remarry in a new configuration; proceeds to Rio de Janeiro in the mid-'50s, when one of these newly formed families emigrates; and returns to Montreal in the late '60s and early '70s. After a 50-year interlude, Besner returns from Western Canada to the pandemic moment in Toronto.
- GenresNonfiction
152 pages, Paperback
Published May 24, 2022
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 17, 2022
Review of Fishing with Tardelli: A Memoir of Family in Time Lost written by Neil Besner
Review written by Cindy Crane for ECW Insiders, March 15, 2022
Because of the word ‘memoir’ in the title, I was anticipating a book that conformed to the common definition of ‘memoir’ versus autobiography: “Autobiography is defined as a book-length depiction of one’s entire life and “memoir” as depicting a specific aspect of that life.” (Roach Smith, Marion. The Memoir Project (p. 26). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.).
The word ‘memoir’ misled me, therefore, reading this book left my linear mind spinning. Besner introduces many characters and uses minimal dialogue, which made his characters more difficult to love. He travels back and forth in time, as evidenced by his use of phrases such as: “as I have related, as I have said, explained, or mentioned” at least twenty times. The book is structured in such a way that he weaves back and forth throughout his life as if each incident wasn’t important in and of itself.
Besner does at times have an excellent writing voice, and at times he uses some great imagery, such as the quotes that follow:
“Memory’s confidences, quotations from memory, are not to be trusted. But neither is the lockstep arrogance of chronology. Who can apprehend the passing of time? Is memory a loom that shuttles and weaves across chronology? Returning, wilfully and skilfully, unerringly and relentlessly to imagined beginnings?” (p. 35) and “Until time became a place. Until vines of language entwined around each other, more ivy, kin to the vines climbing the back of my grandparents’ house on Argyle. To myself I clothed my hallucinated return to Montreal from LA in mystical robes.” (p. 114).
When I reached the back matter, I found a better title: Fishing with Tardelli: A Literary Meditation on Memory, Time, Love, and Loss. We do see these themes in the book. Besner writes about many interesting experiences that have universal themes, therefore I would love for him to take each of these four topics and expand each into a memoir. I think they would all be compelling. If the reader knew the book would be a literary meditation to begin with, the probability is that reading the book would not leave one’s head spinning.
Review written by Cindy Crane for ECW Insiders, March 15, 2022
Because of the word ‘memoir’ in the title, I was anticipating a book that conformed to the common definition of ‘memoir’ versus autobiography: “Autobiography is defined as a book-length depiction of one’s entire life and “memoir” as depicting a specific aspect of that life.” (Roach Smith, Marion. The Memoir Project (p. 26). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.).
The word ‘memoir’ misled me, therefore, reading this book left my linear mind spinning. Besner introduces many characters and uses minimal dialogue, which made his characters more difficult to love. He travels back and forth in time, as evidenced by his use of phrases such as: “as I have related, as I have said, explained, or mentioned” at least twenty times. The book is structured in such a way that he weaves back and forth throughout his life as if each incident wasn’t important in and of itself.
Besner does at times have an excellent writing voice, and at times he uses some great imagery, such as the quotes that follow:
“Memory’s confidences, quotations from memory, are not to be trusted. But neither is the lockstep arrogance of chronology. Who can apprehend the passing of time? Is memory a loom that shuttles and weaves across chronology? Returning, wilfully and skilfully, unerringly and relentlessly to imagined beginnings?” (p. 35) and “Until time became a place. Until vines of language entwined around each other, more ivy, kin to the vines climbing the back of my grandparents’ house on Argyle. To myself I clothed my hallucinated return to Montreal from LA in mystical robes.” (p. 114).
When I reached the back matter, I found a better title: Fishing with Tardelli: A Literary Meditation on Memory, Time, Love, and Loss. We do see these themes in the book. Besner writes about many interesting experiences that have universal themes, therefore I would love for him to take each of these four topics and expand each into a memoir. I think they would all be compelling. If the reader knew the book would be a literary meditation to begin with, the probability is that reading the book would not leave one’s head spinning.
September 10, 2024
I really didn't care for this book. The way the book was written was challenging to follow the people in his life and the locations as he jumped around. I wanted to know more about Tardelli. I guess I was suppose to know who the author was before reading this book. I'm really not curious to learn more about him.
How did this book find me? I think this was a book in an Audible sale and I found it on Hoopla.
How did this book find me? I think this was a book in an Audible sale and I found it on Hoopla.
May 25, 2022
Fascinating memoir. Unique family situation. Insightful journey through generations and cultures. There is a rhythm to Besner’s writing that drew me in and kept me reading. Perhaps this rhythm evokes the sounds of the natural environment of Brazil… the cadence of Brazilian music … the time spent on water. I couldn’t put the book down until I had finished it.
February 23, 2022
I just couldn’t get into this. Something about it just didn’t grab me. The writing felt quite forced and I think this put me off. Had to give up 20% of the way through
June 29, 2023
A sort of meandering tale, sailing out into the ocean of memory; a narrative that becomes more and more choppy as it goes.
Reading the book, I found a multitude of similarities and coincidences that connected with my own life—which Besner would probably find amusing, given his own predilection for noting these things—so it was an interesting read, for the most part, but I feel that it was allowed to fall apart and lose focus, becoming more like a series of musings and bits & pieces. Example: the entire "Coda" seems rather out of place and, on top of that, it seems to begin mid-story in reference to a 'she' we haven't even been introduced to yet (she is not even given a name until the 11th paragraph of the Coda, and pages go by before we find out that 'she' is his current wife).
I appreciated the candour within the pages of this book but, at the same time, the ease and matter-of-factness in mentioning some things left me uneasy(?) and unable to truly connect with the author. I'm not sure what it is, exactly... maybe a deep, slow undercurrent of violence. And not so much "time lost" as "lost". Hard to describe.
So, I never got beyond those OCD coincidence-bridges. I'm not entirely sure the author did either. He somehow seems more interested in noting details than in detailing the notes, if so to speak. There was a lot of recounting street addresses, for instance, but little to no mention of his own children, or reflections about his parenting of them versus his own upbringing, or the impacts of his briefly noted divorces and marriages (on them or himself). In fact, his children are not even in the family tree that's provided—a strange thing, for a book devoted almost entirely to memories of parental figures.
This "Memoir of Family" has a very strange, distracting, almost complete absence of some family (as well, if I've gathered correctly, whole years of life and places lived). It strikes me that it would be better described as 'a memoir of my most influential parental figures', or somesuch, considering it is arranged into chapters focusing on these (Marinheiro Manuel Tardelli, Senhor Valter, Dona Judite, Mort the Sport).
In any case, a well-written little book, with interesting vignettes, especially of his childhood in Brasil.
This review was written based on the Advance Reading Copy from the publisher.
Reading the book, I found a multitude of similarities and coincidences that connected with my own life—which Besner would probably find amusing, given his own predilection for noting these things—so it was an interesting read, for the most part, but I feel that it was allowed to fall apart and lose focus, becoming more like a series of musings and bits & pieces. Example: the entire "Coda" seems rather out of place and, on top of that, it seems to begin mid-story in reference to a 'she' we haven't even been introduced to yet (she is not even given a name until the 11th paragraph of the Coda, and pages go by before we find out that 'she' is his current wife).
I appreciated the candour within the pages of this book but, at the same time, the ease and matter-of-factness in mentioning some things left me uneasy(?) and unable to truly connect with the author. I'm not sure what it is, exactly... maybe a deep, slow undercurrent of violence. And not so much "time lost" as "lost". Hard to describe.
So, I never got beyond those OCD coincidence-bridges. I'm not entirely sure the author did either. He somehow seems more interested in noting details than in detailing the notes, if so to speak. There was a lot of recounting street addresses, for instance, but little to no mention of his own children, or reflections about his parenting of them versus his own upbringing, or the impacts of his briefly noted divorces and marriages (on them or himself). In fact, his children are not even in the family tree that's provided—a strange thing, for a book devoted almost entirely to memories of parental figures.
This "Memoir of Family" has a very strange, distracting, almost complete absence of some family (as well, if I've gathered correctly, whole years of life and places lived). It strikes me that it would be better described as 'a memoir of my most influential parental figures', or somesuch, considering it is arranged into chapters focusing on these (Marinheiro Manuel Tardelli, Senhor Valter, Dona Judite, Mort the Sport).
In any case, a well-written little book, with interesting vignettes, especially of his childhood in Brasil.
This review was written based on the Advance Reading Copy from the publisher.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews