From Library Journal
Van Wert (English, Temple Univ.) alternates between theme and place as he reminisces about the events and localities of his life in these essays. In "Memory Links," he begins by exploring memories and insights about golf, recounting his teenage attempt, like Ethan Frome, one winter night to crash his sled into a tree on a golf course. Another essay, "Texas," recounts a visit to Texas with his best friend and the charm the state held for him. The most poignant account, "Michigan," features a return to his roots, a summer visit to the family cottage in Michigan after the breakup of his marriage left him a single father with three young sons. Here he watches his city-bred boys relax and enjoy the simple fun of fishing, swimming, and playing in the woods. The strength of this book lies in Van Wert's attention to detail and his ability to convey the essence of a place through a few carefully chosen images. In addition, he is able to connect the physical setting to the memories it evokes and to view past experience as a source of energy. Recommended for all libraries.
Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This memoir was justifiably the winner of the Associated Writing Programs Award for Creative Nonfiction. It is a moving remembrance of the author's circuitous experiences in places as diverse as Spain and Saigon, Maine and Michigan. Van Wert knits together the narratives of his life, trying to bridge the past to the present. He remembers a Michigan boyhood with a hawkish father; how will his sons remember him? The essays take us along as Van Wert recalls neighborhoods, families, foreign exchange programs, homesickness, a failed marriage, single-parenthood, resurrected friendships, and, always, the cycles of life. Everywhere he looks, Van Wert finds the stuff of stories in settings. A golf course holds memories of a high school reenactment of Ethan Frome and Mattie Silver's tragic sledding. A trip to Indiana brings back lessons learned as effectively in Vietnam as in graduate school. This is a memory book written with candor, wisdom, intimacy, and admirable literary skill. The reader will quickly understand why Van Wert's heroes have always been writers. Patricia Hassler
