Assembling My Father: A Daughter's Detective Story [Paperback]

Anna Cypra Oliver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2006

Anna Cypra Oliver’s strikingly original book offers both a moving story of self-discovery and a vivid record of a turbulent era. In the late 1960s, Anna’s father—a charismatic man from a cultivated Jewish background—and her equally urbane mother joined a countercultural enclave in Taos, New Mexico. There, amid the chaos of hippie life, their marriage foundered. Shortly after their breakup, Anna's father comitted suicide. Anna was five years old.

Twenty years later, the discovery of some old photographs launched Oliver on an obsessive quest to learn more about her father. She unearthed a forgotten journal, home movies, even a tape with her father's voice on it, and interviewed all those who knew him. The act of reconstructing a life would not only change her perceptions about her father and the turmoil of her childhood but would ultimately transform her understanding of herself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Growing up, Oliver had no real interest in learning the details of the life of her father, Lewis Weinberger, or the circumstances of his suicide (which happened in 1974, when she was a toddler and he was 35). Luckily for readers, her interest is piqued when she is in her 20s. Oliver's careful detective work spans decades, probing worlds as different as Jewish Queens, N.Y., in the 1940s, and Taos, N.Mex., in its late-'60s heyday of hippiedom. As Oliver digs through memorabilia and conducts interviews, she learns her father was much more than a deeply flawed individual: he was also a drug user and a drug smuggler. She relies on her father's journal and sparse personal effects (including home movies and his favorite books and records) to present a portrait of a tormented genius (Lewis was a failed architect), although the most memorable descriptions come from family and friends. After an emotionally draining afternoon spent with two of her father's boyhood buddies, Oliver writes, "In the space of an hour, my father has gone from a... man who committed suicide while on drugs to a sophisticated man of intellect who was a hero to his friends." Oliver's memorial to her elusive dad—and the way researching and writing it changes her own identity—is unforgettable. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Assembling My Father is not a conventional memoir. Oliver tells her father’s story in bits and pieces, as widely varying as the possessions of his that she picks up during her quest. Some reviewers felt the work’s haphazard organization suited its subject matter; others craved more structure, or found some elements of the collection less engaging than others. All agreed, however, that Oliver rendered her search for her father’s identity with affection and bravery. The search for an absent parent is a well-worn topic, and Oliver deserves high praise for making it fresh.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (August 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618619321
• ISBN-13: 978-0618619320
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,596,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent memoir and first book, October 5, 2004

By 

L. Mckinley (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Assembling My Father: A Daughter's Detective Story (Hardcover)

Prior to reading "Assembling My Father" I was lucky enough to attend a writer's workshop with Anna Oliver in Boise, Idaho, and I must say she is an incredible woman. She is not only intelligent and insightful, but also extremely well read- all of which show up in her writing. In "Assembling My Father," she experiments with style and form, including extensive primary records such as pictures, news articles and writings from her father's journal which add to the overall theme of a "detective story." The inclusion of Anna's own tale of personal growth alongside her discoveries of her father's untimely demise create a depth of emotion and a unique poignancy. This is a must-read for anyone interested in writing memoir, especially family history, or for anyone who is interested in the counterculture of the 60's and 70's. I cannot reccommend it enough.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and totally engaging, August 21, 2007

By 

carolyn7000 (Minneapolis, MN, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Assembling My Father: A Daughter's Detective Story (Hardcover)

This book is fascinating--it says it's a detective story, and it is, but with a twist--it's a detective story about people, and why they do what they do. It's a mystery where the writer tries to unravel how choices and fate and relationships and everything else all twist together to make and change lives, sometimes in sad ways. To me, it is the most interesting sort of mystery ever.

Which is why reading this book was such a total delight. It's like spending time with a really intelligent, engaging person dissecting events and following shreds of evidence, and there's this sense of loss when it's all over--you kind of want to stay engaged. A most excellent read!!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 26, 2004

By 

MacHogan (Iowa City, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Assembling My Father: A Daughter's Detective Story (Hardcover)

I often randomly choose books to read, without reading reviews or recommendations. Sometimes that method backfires and I'm stuck with a stinker, but not in this case - I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Perhaps it was the writing, perhaps it was the loss of my own father when I was very young (probably a combination of both) - this book touched me in a personal way that no other book has for some time.