I've got a confession to make, one that leaves me ashamed. I love memoirs. I know you're not supposed to; they're sentimental, full of crap, and above all, self-indulgent.
But I love them anyway. The first memoir I remember falling in love with was Jerry Stahl's Permanent Midnight. A tale of drug addiction and other general depravity, I came to it through the Ben Stiller movie of the same title. Both are great. Funny, harrowing, and touching.
Then I fell in love with David Foster Wallace. Well, not with most of his fiction, I never got through Infinite Jest (have you seen this book? Over a thousand pages about a tennis prodigy?). But I loved A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, especially the memoirish title piece, about a trip on a cruise ship. Made me scared to go on a cruise, mostly because I'd probably prove to be dorky enough to enjoy it.
At about that same time I read a bunch of David Sedaris (Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked) and the Sarah Vowell book, Take the Cannoli: Stories From the New World. Both of these authors specialize in short-form memoirs. Like the rest of of the books listed here, both are alternately funny and sad, or both at the same time.
Then came the greatest memoir ever: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Dave Eggers is brilliant. I wish I was Dave Eggers (except for the parents dying part. No thanks).
At that point, my fate was sealed. My name is Matt, and I'm a Memoir Junkie.
Article comments
1 - san
A Staggering, Heartbreaking Work? You can like memoirs. Just not that memoir.
2 - Matt Moore
Why not?
3 - andy
Hmmm, I thought the first half of the book was an enjoyable read - and then found the second half dragging a bit, as if he were searching about for the interesting bits. Ah well.
4 - Mark Saleski
ah...self-indulgent?! who cares?!!
i also tend to pick up memoirs of 'unknown' people. they can be very intimate.
i did read "A Supposedly Fun Thing..."...pretty funny. though i did get tired of all the run-on footnotes.
5 - san
Matt: I hated it. But you're entitled to like whatever you want. And I think no less of you, if it matters. Here's a secret: I'm hooked on Elizabeth Wurtzel's memoirs. I'm not exactly in a position to judge, am I?
6 - san
Matt: I hated it. But you're entitled to like whatever you want. And I think no less of you, if it matters. Here's a secret: I'm hooked on Elizabeth Wurtzel's memoirs. I'm not exactly in a position to judge, am I?
7 - san
I got a freaking "rebuild failed" error, so nobody trash me for double posting, 'kay.
8 - Matt Moore
Ok, I won't make fun of your Wurtzel thing if you don't make fun of my Eggers thing. Deal?
9 - san
Deal. Have you read Eggers relatively new self-distributed novel? I'm curious. I do love the title.
10 - Matt Moore
They put a chapter of it in the New Yorker a while back, but I haven't bought the book yet. If it's not at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon it's kinda a pain to get.
The chapter seemed interesting.
11 - Matt Moore
Oh, yea, Mark... I love run-on footnotes. God, how I dig the footnotes! It's like forbidden knowledge, stuff they didn't really want you to learn. I love them in Wallace, Eggers, hell, I love it when Slate does a sidebar.
12 - JohnnyLunchBox
David Foster Wallace is a f-ing genius. I'd hate to see his psychiatric bills however.