Rate this book

Perfectly Miserable: Guilt, God And Real Estate In A Small Town (2014)

by Sarah Payne Stuart(Favorite Author)

2.91 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1594631816 (ISBN13: 9781594631818)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Riverhead Hardcover

review 1: I grew up in Concord. So I felt that this book, notably the first chapter, nostalgic and evocative, especially since I am staying with my Mom who still has a house near Thoreau Street, the train, and the Concord River. We both had a great time driving around nearby neighborhoods looking for the homes Stuart was lucky enough to own for a short time. I enjoyed her history lessons about the Concord Authors, and her stream of consciousness style that satires the eloquent nature of the town. Learning about the craziness of Bronson, and Louisa's reasons for writing Little Women, encourages me to check out some of works listed in the bibliography and, perhaps, read Moods, which has been sitting on my shelf for years ever since I bought it at Buttrick's Mansion while playing touri... morest. Very funny but also very depressing because I too adore and covet the many mansions that grace this historic town (and had the chance to see inside them). But I also felt there were chapters of navel gazing I could skim, particularly the ones where Stuart exposed her family skeletons. I was eager to return to her impressions of Concord, which she does with enthusiasm, in a chapter titled God and Real Estate (a must read for Concord survivors). Fortunately, while I recognized the specific references she made, such as swimming lessons at Walden Pond (I too learned to swim there, but unlike her, I enjoyed them), Concord could have been any town in New England and merely served as a back drop to her unloading of guilt and pain regarding her inadequacies in the eyes of her family, which was much to her imagination. Just to clear the air, Concord isn't as uptight as she makes it sound. There are a lot of nice people here.
review 2: I had wanted to read this book because its subject is Concord, MA. I had enjoyed spending a week in Concord for a Thoreau workshop. I did enjoy the references to Concord, but I felt the author offered less insight than I had hoped for. She is somewhat self-indulgent. She refers to writing other books that mine her own experiences. She does not seem deep enough to write multiple books about herself.//The author is from a well-connected family. This only confirms my lack of respect for groups like Daughters of the American Revolution. Way back, your ancestor might have tried a pioneering experience; what have you done lately? less

Download links for: Perfectly Miserable: Guilt, God and Real Estate in a Small Town

Advertising