Court of Memory (Nonpareil Book) [Paperback]

James McConkey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1993 | Series: Nonpareil Book (Book 71)

These sequential meditations by one of our most skillful writers constitute a unique genre-part autobiography, part introspection, part observation, part narrative-in which a life is continually re-examined in the light of experience and time. Taking personal experience as his core, McConkey builds upon it to reveal connections and create an encompassing "court of memory." WE come to know him, his family, his friends, and in the process we recognize elements of our own lives as well. The nexus through which these words pass is the writer's memory. His opening quotation from St. Augustine tells much about both the man an his vision: "All this I do inside me, in the huge court of my memory. There I have by me the sky, the earth, the sea, and all things in them which I have been able to perceive... There too I encounter myself."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a wonderful book. McConkey makes of his own life... a thoughtful, powerful and vivid work of art." ---Annie Dillard

"James McConkey speaks to the reader with poignant force, illuminating ordinary life... There is no voice lik his alive today." ---May Sarton

"Among the most convincing and moving autobiographies ever written." ---Newsday

Product Details

• Paperback: 273 pages
• Publisher: David R Godine (October 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879239832
• ISBN-13: 978-0879239831
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,968,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Master of Language and the Human Soul, October 3, 2000

By 

"witthoft" (Lexington, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Court of Memory (Nonpareil Book) (Paperback)

McConkey's collected stories brought together under the title Court of Memory is one of the finest examples of American literature. McConkey draws on his own life, or as he put it, uses himself and his family and friends as characters in his stories. His language is both rich and simple: his stories reflect the inner life of a deeply sympathetic human being. After reading them your own life, loves, and friendships seem deeper and more significant. He never whines, he never rants. But the beauty of landscapes, of seemingly casual events, will forever be more real to you after you have read this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cuts to the Magic Heart of Life -- An Absolute Wonder, July 10, 2010

By 

M (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Court of Memory (Nonpareil Book) (Paperback)

One of the best memoirs I've ever read. Life-affirming, rich, inventive, confident, honest to the core. Everyone should know about it, but that won't ever happen, so why don't you instead just be happy to be one of those that does know about it and read it and feel the same gratitude that I do? So good.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Memoir, March 20, 2003

By 

Ellen (northern MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Court of Memory (Mass Market Paperback)

Court of Memory is one of the finest memoirs I've ever read. James McConkey is an incredibly accomplished writer and thinker of great grace and empathy. I've been a voracious reader my whole life, and only discovered McConkey this winter, in a book about crafting memoirs edited by William Zinnser. Although he's a professor at Cornell, McConkey seems to be little known, and this is a terrible loss--he seems to me to be one of our finest living American writers. If I could single-handedly change this situation, Iwould!