Stories About My Family You Might Relate To
March 15, 2017
The latest collection of essays from the actress and author.The ostensible connective theme for this diffuse volume is family, and Gurwitch (I See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50, 2014, etc.) returns to her family of origin frequently, often lighting down just long enough to make a joke or tell an outrageous anecdote. Then she takes off on a stream-of-consciousness stroll that leads her nimbly away from dealing with stronger feelings. According to her frequently repeated stories, she grew up in a difficult environment, with a mother who often confined herself to her room and a father whose crooked business dealings made for frequent moves and even more frequent financial problems. However, rather than delving into the repercussions of this childhood, Gurwitch mostly tells jokes. A couple of the more affecting essays concern the author's attempts to find an appropriate living situation for her sick and aging parents. She went so far as to move temporarily into the apartment next to theirs in a retirement community in Miami. More often, Gurwitch shies away from negative emotion in favor of humor at the expense of others. The formula of many of the essays is the same: the author briefly enters a new community, makes fun of it, and/or explores the political consequences of it on a superficial level. For example, she attended a weekend summer camp for adults, populated with campers with nicknames like -Huggy Bear- and -Popcorn-; unsurprisingly, she found it insufficiently ironic. She also went to a party for -a skin care company that rhymes with the words 'far gone, ' - and she uses this anecdote as a jumping-off point for criticizing multilevel marketing. Though frequently amusing, Gurwitch's essays aim at easy targets and back off from complex thought.
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March 15, 2017
Most of the essays in writer and actor Gurwitch's (I See You Made an Effort, 2014) latest collection are about her extended Jewish family, specifically her aging parents, who have myriad health and financial problems. In spite of the money difficulties, Gurwitch, her sister, and her cousins inherit land off the coast of Alabama, near where her family is originally from. When she visits, she discovers that the island is known as Massacre Island and will likely be underwater in the not too distant future. Which is pretty much a metaphor for her family. The funny, sarcastic, but sweet essays cover everything from Gurwitch's younger years as a theater person to her moving her parents into a retirement community. There are a few surprises, tooan adventure in an adult sleepaway camp and a dabble in a UFO cult, for example. Gurwitch's breezy writing style, even while mixing in social commentary, keeps the book relatable and readable throughout. This will sit comfortably beside books from Sloane Crosley, Laurie Notaro, and David Rakoff.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)