Townie

Reading Townie: A Memoir by Andre Dubus III really put me in a 70s mood. A lot of the book is set during the 70s when Dubus grew up in Massachusetts. He mentions several times wearing his Dingo boots and leather jacket, his long hair pulled back in a ponytail. I totally wanted to rock that look, but it's still too hot, so I went for the 70s girl version he mentions a lot with a halter top. And though I really, really, really wanted to wear some flares (obviously)...I haven't bought any yet :(

Halter top - American Eagle, Belt - Primark, Jeans - Hudson, Rainbow wedges - Target

And are you feelin' me on these wedges? Because I thought I was kind of crazy thinking they were 70s-style, so you know what I did? Googled "70s style rainbow", checked out the Images, and literally saw these wedges! Ha, take that.

But how awesome is the book?

Completely engrossing. A 4/5!

I fell asleep reading Townie: A Memoir Friday night, actually holding it like a teddy bear, and read it all day Saturday. Why?

The writing is fantastic--clean, simple, gets to the heart of the matter. Dubus is a wonderful storyteller, taking you from boyhood to around the publication of House of Sand and Fog, then his father's death. The transitions of the second and third part threw me off a bit, and the sections from the airport and the train were a bit clunky, but I got back into the rhythm with Dubus eventually. Maybe because he always ended up back at home, and I feel like those parts are when he's his truest self, when he writes his best, writes about himself and his family the best.

Something else I liked, but what I also surprised me, was seeing the book become an homage to his father and their relationship. Toward the end of the book, he talks about avoiding a joint interview with his father and says, "What got lost in this public reflection of us were deeper truths, not just of my life so far, but his too. And what got lost was my mother, who had stayed."[end of paragraph] Of course I was happy seeing past the public reflection, and he does talk about his mother at various points in the book, but she still gets lost. You see a lot more of the interactions between father and son (even when they're being buddies) than you ever do between mother and son. Not that that's wrong--Dubus can make his books be whatever he wants them to be--but I just thought she sounded like an interesting person. And that sentence stuck out to me. Was that an apology to his mom for this book? Is he saying something to himself--why am I so wrapped up in my father? But oh boy, am I glad Dubus was so wrapped up in his father, and started to ease off the violence. The violence was hard to read sometimes, but seeing the healing too was rewarding.

Oh yep, maybe you're wondering, but this outfit is from Sunday. On Saturday, I stayed inside to avoid the hurricane, and didn't get out of my gym shorts and T-shirt get-up all day.