Customer Reviews

John Chancellor Makes Me Cry

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The evening news has always drawn me like a magnet - but sometimes watching it is soul wrenching. Past months have been particularly poignant. Mass murder in the name of God and parents murdering or abusing children entrusted to them, and on and on, it all become cumulative. I knew I had to replace my copy of JOHN CHANCELLOR MAKES ME CRY and re-read it. Isn't it too cool when a book is even better the more you read it? Can I recommend this book enough?

Ms. Siddons' foray into non-fiction is an excellent introduction to the depth of feeling and emotion in the many fine books she has written since. There is something that touches me on every single page of this year long glimpse into the life of this very REAL lady. Weather, stepchildren, cats, suburbs, politics, it's all there, along with a delicious slice of Maine and summers on the seashore. "On fast-darkening twilight patios, when you are thrumming with sunburn and clean and still damp from a shower, in fresh cotton and on your second tall drink, it can steal away your workday soul." I find myself again and again in this deliciously emotional piece of non-fiction. "I am a natural if sadly undisciplined and haphazard hostess." "Do not go gentle into that good night." Her love of words, her politics, her empathy make for one of the best reads EVER. Please read this, and love it for me?

I came late to discovering Anne Rivers Siddons. Since I did, I have read everything she's written and am never disappointed. So I was delighted to find, upon reading her early work, "John Chancellor Makes Me Cry," that she has been good from the beginning. Her characterizations have only improved over the years. Her books are not easy reads or mind candy; they are absorbing, thought-provoking and totally consuming. I can hardly wait till the next one is published

After reading the first of many addictive books by Siddons I couldn't help but wonder what she was like as a person, what kind of life she had lead that made her such a wonderful writer. Reading this book gives me such a good idea of where she got many of her ideas and nuances for her very vivid characters. I can see her in all of them now and I am thankful for the glimpse into her real life and her real feelings. It is a very rare treat for anyone who admires her writing and wants to know what makes her tick. Very courageous of her!!

This is my first book by Anne Rivers Siddons. I must say she has a fine way with words and story-telling. However, I expect this group of stories played better in 1975 than it does today. Siddons portrays herself as awfully childish in almost every essay, crying buckets of tears and fretting over the most superficial aspects of life. If you like the modern-day southern belle genre, you might enjoy this, but if you like your women a little gutsier, steer clear.

Of all the Anne Rivers Siddons books, this first is her only non-fiction and for some reason it remains my favorite. Without the devices of plot and character to get between the author and her audience, Ms. Siddons tells the stories that matter the most to her: the death of a beloved grandfather, the look of Atlanta in the spring, the lunacies inherent in the advertising industry and most of all a life well loved and well lived with her husband, menagerie and home.

These short essays that are somewhat dated with their references to issues that were prominent in the 1970s. However, the joys and tribulations of everyday life recounted here are timeless and the language is thoughtful, witty and heartfelt. The book is a joy to read and re-read and I give copies away like Gideon's disciples distribute bibles.

I cannot say Ms. Siddons is my favorite author or this is my favorite book (although they are whenever I'm re-read JCMMC). I can say her essays have become the dearest of friends.

I have recently found Siddons works,and have read 6 so far. They engross the reader, take him into the story, and keep him there to the end. I would love to know more about the author, and exactly how she totally captures the audience. Thank you ms. Siddons for many engrossing hours.