Cherry is a continuation of Mary Karr's first memoir The Liars Club and is just as touching and poignant and oh-so very well written. She is now a teenager in the late 60s and early 70s and back living in the small town of Leechfield, Texas. It is difficult to fathom the emotional traumas she endured and my heart often ached for her in her loneliness. She was ostracized for her love of literature and poetry; it was just not understood as anything other than her wanting to be 'uppity'. But I cheered her tenacity and felt drawn in as if she were sharing her innermost thoughts with just me. There were times I really didn't want to put the book down for fear of leaving her alone, letting her down. I wanted to reach into the book and give her the comfort she so longed for. Thank goodness then for the therapeutic healing of written words.
"The words and sentences you take into your body are no less sacred and healing than communion" pg 135
A fabulous book!
2 comments:
I didn't know there was a sequel - I loved The Liar's Club.
I also love the quotation you chose to use in your review.
Yes, and her newly published 'Lit' promises to be just as good. I think I liked Cherry better than Liars Club just because she was older and better able to communicate her story and insights. Very moving.
I loved that line too! She has so many throughout her book I had to underline them with a pencil . . . but I always came back to that one as my favorite.
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