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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing and wise., June 27, 2008
This review is from: A Broom of One's Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning, and Life (P.S.) (Paperback)
This book is funny, wise and superbly written. Peacock is a novelist who has earned her living by cleaning houses, and her account of this has worlds to say about the writing life and how to cultivate it, and also about the rich, often overlooked tapestry of society, with the great themes that are underfoot. The house is the embodiment of the self, some phenomenologists have said, and this is what Peacock notices as she cleans them. With keen perception, she looks at dirt and clutter, show places and hidden places, colors and accoutrements, and sees the shapes of lives unconsciously expressed. In their houses people tell about themselves nakedly, albeit inadvertently. Peacock tells about herself too, openly but consciously. About these themes of life she is often funny, and sometimes acerbically perceptive, but also kind and understanding. Aspiring writers will find the book enormously refreshing as she writes about a universal struggle of the artist: how to earn a living doing something as base as dirt, and also honor that life in such a way as to transmogrify it into the stuff of art. She tells how, she shows how to do this.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Book That Will Sweep You Off Your Feet, June 25, 2008
This review is from: A Broom of One's Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning, and Life (P.S.) (Paperback)
Nancy Peacock's new book, A BROOM OF ONE'S OWN, is a true gem. The clever title evokes Virginia Woolf and delves into the challenges faced by most creative artists--namely, earning a living to support one's work and finding the space and solitude to create that work. Each of the essays in this collection starts with an anecdote about housecleaning, and each piece moves smoothly toward a description of some aspect of the writer's life. The writing is seamless and clear and evocative. As other reviewers have noted, there is a great deal of wisdom--and often humor--in these short essays. Peacock speaks to all of us, whether or not we are artists, and whether or not we clean our own houses. A BROOM OF ONE'S OWN is that rare book that entertains the reader at the same time that it teaches.
I am tempted to say that A BROOM OF ONE'S OWN reminds me of other books that address the creative process--books like Annie Dillard's THE WRITING LIFE or Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD--but the writer that Peacock reminds me of is May Sarton. I thought of Sarton's JOURNAL OF A SOLITUDE when I read Peacock's book. Both writers are intent on exploring the nature of solitude and how it nourishes us. Like Sexton, Peacock is a writer capable of revealing truth through the description of common objects and simple actions.
Peacock's two earlier books--LIFE WITHOUT WATER and HOME ACROSS THE ROAD--were novels, and both were acclaimed by critics. Peacock is a natural storyteller, and the characters in her fiction are as real and true to life as the homeowners depicted in A BROOM OF ONE'S OWN. Hopefully, the publication of A BROOM OF ONE'S OWN will send readers back to these wonderful novels.
A BROOM OF ONE'S OWN will sweep you off your feet.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book!, May 24, 2008
This review is from: A Broom of One's Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning, and Life (P.S.) (Paperback)
This book came to my attention by chance about a month ago. I'd never heard of Nancy Peacock, but I bought this book anyway, intrigued by the subject and approach. I am so glad I did that, as this is a wonderful book. I could really not put it down (and being a mom to two preschoolers, that's saying A LOT). Each essay is an engaging, well-written, funny and poignant journey into Nancy Peacock's generous spirit, humble heart and incisive mind. I am a writer too and I appreciated all the things that Peacock writes about the writing life, but those who are not writers will love this book too. Like most good books, this book manages to be utterly universal while telling a very specific, personal story. A Broom Of One's Own is a riveting and lovely thing. Buy it and read!
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