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Almost A Family: A Memoir (2011)

by John Darnton(Favorite Author)

3.39 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0307266176 (ISBN13: 9780307266170)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Knopf

review 1: Almost a Family is the memoir of John Darnton's journey to discover his father who died as a war correspondent when he was 11 months old. I was excited about this book initially, thinking it would be an interesting look into the world of journalism through the life of one man in the war era. As I read it, I realized that while I did learn much about journalism of the era, I also got a lot more about the life of the author than I anticipated--how he met his wife, his job, etc. Much of the book focused on his childhood, how his life was impacted by the death of his father. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I expected. It really is a tragic tale, not just because of a father's death that left a young family alone. But a tragic tale in how the decisions we make in life h... moreave far-reaching impacts. The life Barney Darnton knew in the 20's was hedonistic, amoral, and self-serving. Many lives were shattered and broken as affairs tore relationships apart, and drinking became a way of living. The Darnton's were no exception as ugly events from the past would be revealed or revisited. Mr. Darnton's decision to leave his family for the position during the war would leave the family alone, the wife struggling to raise her boys and live a fulfilled life. Her struggles as time moved on would have far reaching impacts on her sons, another sad tale of a broken lives and shattered dreams. I did finish the book, and I'm glad I read it, but I doubt I would read it again. I gave it 3 stars mainly because I felt the focus tended to shift a bit too much towards the author's life here and there (of course, it is a memoir), and also because in the end it seems that even with the facts unraveled, the book appears to glorify the father as a real hero which I didn't think appeared to be the case.
review 2: Author John Darnton was a reporter for the New York Times for over 40 years, winning a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of martial law in Poland in the early 80s. He brings the clear eye of an objective journalist to this memoir about his family. Darnton never knew his father Barney, who was also a reporter for the New York Times. When World War II broke out Barney left for the South Pacific as a correspondent for the Times, leaving behind his wife Eleanor, son Bob and son John, who was less than a year old. Early on Barney was killed by a piece of shrapnel when an American bomber mistakenly bombed the ship Barney was on. The first part of the memoir describes growing up with a rather idealized picture of Barney and coping with life without him. The family's standard of living gradually decreases, driven by Eleanor's investment in a women's news service that ultimately fails and her decline into alcoholism. Over the years John gathers small impressions of Barney, through his mother, his parents' letters and stories from Barney's journalist friends, but it isn't enough to bring his father to life. When he retires from the Times John decides find out as much as he can about his father, bringing to the task his considerable skills as an investigative journalist. Fortunately Bob had interviewed a number of Barney's friends and family 20 years before with the idea of writing a book that he never completed. As many of these people had died it was a very useful source for John. He delved into legal records, old news stories and papers. He tracked down some of the remaining people who were Barney's contemporaries and even travelled to New Guinea and the site of Barney's death. John comes to know the man behind the idealized ghost he'd grown up with and lays it out for the reader, baring his own soul in the process. In a way it's a heartbreaking book - that for most of his life John lived with a ghostly idealized image of Barney. As children most of us discover that our parents are not perfect, that they have faults and make mistakes, but for a good part of John's life this side of his father was missing This journey of discovery is eye opening, sad and ultimately a satisfying trip. less

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