Sister Age [Paperback]

M.F.K. Fisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 1984

In these fifteen remarkable stories, M.F.K. Fisher, one of the most admired writers of our time, embraces age as St. Francis welcomed Brother Pain. With a saint to guide us, she writes in her Foreword, perhaps we can accept in a loving way "the inevitable visits of a possibly nagging harpy like Sister Age" But in the stories, it is the human strength in the unavoidable encounter with the end of life that Mrs. Fisher dramatizes so powerfully. Other themes -- the importance of witnessing death, the marvelous resilience of the old, the passing of vanity -- are all explored with insight, sympathy and, often, a sly wit.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Exact, unsparing and blessedly free of sweeteners" -- Newsweek

"A quietly moving collection by one of America's most eloquent writers"

-- The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Not only the best book she has ever written, it is one of the best anybody has written on [the] subject."

-- The Cleveland Plain Dealer

From the Back Cover

"Exact, unsparing and blessedly free of sweeteners" -- Newsweek

"A quietly moving collection by one of America's most eloquent writers"

-- The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Not only the best book she has ever written, it is one of the best anybody has written on [the] subject."

-- The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 9 edition (May 12, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394723856
• ISBN-13: 978-0394723853
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #901,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a fine collection of stories, August 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Sister Age (Paperback)

Having read about, but not having read, any of Fisher's previous books, I looked forward to reading this collection of short stories and short essays. Her original metaphors tickle a word lover's fancy: "Her firm, rounded old face as impassive as a postcard of Krishna" and "as untroubled as a dot of plankton." In 1936 in Zurich, Fisher bought an old oil painting of a woman she dubbed Sister Age. "I was going to write about growing old. ... I was going to learn from the picture. ... I planned to think and study about the art of aging for several years, and then tell how to learn and practice it." This volume, written when she was in her 70s, is the only effort she ever made to fulfill that ambition. She makes no direct statement about aging except in her Afterword, and there the valiantly borne disappointment is clearly stated: "Our housing is to blame," she said from her loneliness and separation from her children and grandchildre! n. She blames high-rises, cost of large homes, and socioeconomic events for the phenomena of old people living alone, not being touched, not basking in the daily light of children's smiles. Fisher's stories delight and baffle from time to time, and her view of old age as a lonely time, when one has to halfheartedly figure out what to do with one's time, travels from page to lonely page. It was rather like a black comedy without a punch line.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The final articulation of thoughts, March 23, 2000

By 

Manola Sommerfeld (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sister Age (Paperback)

I love the autobiographical touches of this collection. My favorite story is "The Second Time Around". I had many times thought of the naive generosity that Americans exhibit in contrast to Europeans, but had never been able to put this into words, until i read this story. I did not care much for parts of the book (the ghost tales, for example), but overall it is a worthy collection and an enjoyable read.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars this is a really weird book, December 30, 2010

By 

m morrissey "Mary morrissey" (L.A., CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sister Age (Paperback)

I haven't finished it either the word that comes to mind to describe it is "precious". But I don't really quite know what to think of it. If you want to read something completely "unlike" then pick it up for a penny! (Whatever the lady's thoughts about death and aging, she dead now, so you might as well buy the .01 priced volume.) I looked her up on wikipedia and she was very lovely, but I can't help thinking a bit of a blowhard. I imagine that perhaps dear Djuana Barnes could relate to this prose.