The Pleasure of their Company [Hardcover]

Doris Grumbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2000

A delightful literary memoir by the acclaimed author of FIFTY DAYS OF SOLITUDE.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"We see only what we look for in need," notes novelist and memoirist Grumbach, quoting Roger Fry at the end of this new collection of meditations on, among other things, turning 80. While Fry was commenting on the human ability to experience art, Grumbach's concern is our ability to remember and appreciate life. In her recent memoirs (Extra Innings, etc.) and meditation daybooks (Life in a Day, etc.), Grumbach has turned from fiction to highly personalized, often idiosyncratic ruminations on the past and on the role of prayer and contemplation in everyday life. Here, she combines the two forms to produce a provocative, beautifully crafted personal history and meditation on death. Remembrances of friends who have died--Kay Boyle, Dorothy Day, May Sarton--mix with a nostalgia for the past without becoming sentimental or dogmatically traditional. Grumbach's stories and observations are always unusual and astute: she recounts being sexually assaulted by Bertrand Russell, wonders about the propriety of Gordon Lish's intrusive editing techniques and notes May Sarton's feat of "projecting a noble, unselfish... generous and warm-hearted public persona, entirely unlike her true self." After reading this slim volume, readers will be convinced that Grumbach's private self is as intelligent and generous as her public persona. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Venerable novelist, literary editor, columnist, and reviewer Grumbach has penned her fourth memoir. Her reminiscences are interwoven with concerns about the preparations she is making for her 80th birthday party at her home in Maine. While considering who to invite, she recalls family and friends, living and dead, and muses about her satisfying career as a member of important literary circles. She quotes from favorite books, gossips about fellow authors, and writes candidly about her loving relationships with her longtime lesbian helpmate and her ex-husband. This collection of wise ramblings reveals a vibrant and perceptive older woman who has lived the fullest of lives and delights in sharing her surprising and meaningful observations. Recommended for public and academic libraries. [Grumbach has won the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement presented by the Publishing Triangle.--Ed.]--Carol A. McAllister, Coll. of William and Mary Lib., Williamsburg, V.
---Carol A. McAllister, Coll. of William and Mary Lib., Williamsburg, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press; First Printing edition (May 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807072222
• ISBN-13: 978-0807072226
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #628,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Wonderful Coming of Age (80) Memoir, June 29, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Pleasure of their Company (Hardcover)

Doris Grumbach provides a warm reflection on what it means to live life beautifully. "This is the summer of my unexpected content. In a very real way, I find that I am living with my dead friends." At first she is saddened by how many good friends have passed on, yet soon she realizes that the friendships remain alive in her, her memories, and in books and articles that they wrote or enjoyed together.

This awareness grows as she plans her own 80th birthday, an event that she would normally have not looked forward to. Instead, she makes a lot of new beginnings. She trades in her old car for a year-old Toyota. She takes on a kitten as a pet. She shops for new clothes for the party. She has the yard redone for the party. She returns to a long abandoned manuscript for a novel. And she frets a lot about getting ready for the party.

While all this is going on, she rereads her favorite books, examines what others have said about turning 80, and reminisces. That's when she begins to enjoy herself with her wonderful friends of the past.

Few of us have reached 80, yet most of us have met someone who has. Like all milestones, it offers a chance to reflect. These wonderful thoughts, so beautifully expressed, are a gift to us all that we can begin to enjoy -- even though we may be younger or older than 80.

I remember giving my Father a bottle of port that was very old for his 80th birthday, and asking him questions about what happens to port with age. He kept answering that it gets better, and that insight helped him to many new beginnings in his 80s.

I often encourage people to adopt a ageless perspective on their lives. Enjoy the optimism of youth, tempered by the experience of maturity, extended by the connections of age, and expanded by the time to explore regardless of your current chronological age. This book is written in a way that is very consistent with that stallbusting mindset.

Regardless of your age, you can learn valuable life lessons from The Pleasure of Their Company.

Enjoy!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enchanted garden party, September 5, 2000

By 

"blissengine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pleasure of their Company (Hardcover)

As Grumbach is planning her 80th birthday party, she reflects on friends both living and dead as well as writers and books and assorted artists that've given her joy over the years. A graceful and sometimes humorous memoir about coming to terms with aging and about how the dead live on in and around the living. Grumbach's style of writing is as crisp as the weather in Maine, and equally embracing.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pleasure of Her Company..., May 22, 2000

By 

Lisa Shumicky - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pleasure of their Company (Hardcover)

It is always a pleasure to be in the company of Doris Grumbach and spending time in the pages of her newest (slim) memoir is no exception. Nearing 80, Grumbach plans a party for her friends and in the process, introduces us to influential friends who are no longer with us & are therefore unable to attend her gathering. The book is filled with quotes and reflections about the aging/old age process-- both the positives and the negatives. After reading her book, you'll want to "chain" to the authors she cites (May Sarton, Thomas Merton, Virginia Woolf) and wish you had received an invitation to her party.