"The Liars Club: A Heartfelt Memoir by Mary Karr"

Kitty: Basically the book was a downer. I've heard it praised for years and was assigned it for a class but not my cup of tea at all.

United States on Nov 15, 2023

Amazon Customer: love an honest look at one's own stories. well written and well expressed. good book, go read it.

United States on Sep 04, 2023

Love2Read: This author crafts every single word when writing a sentence. Keeps you riveted to her writing. This book was a breeze to read. Could barely put it down. I read it three years ago and I am still recommending it.

United States on Jun 21, 2023

Brian J: My daughter liked it

Canada on Mar 09, 2023

EB: How to even summarize this book? Mary Karr's childhood could have been anyone else's excuse for a thrown-away life of drugs, of ending up in prison, of forever being a victim. And her accounting of her childhood in Texas and Colorado -- at ages six and eight, if I understood correctly -- could have slumped into driveling bitterness. But Mary Karr is an individual of perceptive humor and forgiveness, so she survived and thrived. Mary Karr rose above the temptations that picked apart her parents, little by little, and emerged with the scars and the tales to prove it.

And what tales they are. With her stalwart older sister Lecia forever looking out for her, Karr navigated a tricky path from one school to another, from one neighborhood to another, one abusive relative to another.

But far from pulling the reader into the sort of depression one thinks would be the result of such a life, Karr offers a cool accounting of even the most horrific details, and splashes a bit of levity into otherwise dark corners. Her descriptions of people and places, her ability to capture the dialect she grew up around, and her unerring sense of pacing make this book worthy of every award it...

United States on Dec 14, 2022

Cliente Amazon: Te mantiene el interés en su lectura

Spain on Dec 07, 2020

Amazon Customer: Leitura altamente intrigante. Escrita direta, cativante. Memorável.

Brazil on Jan 07, 2020

Kiervol: I almost didn't read this because of the intro by Lena Dunham (I'm not sure if this feature will allow me to edit the spelling of her name, so sorry it is incorrect). I've actually read her book as well, but I'm not in the mood for her voice right now, and it put me off. I was wrong. Her intro was lovely and the book is life changing. Karr's voice is unique and loveable, self deprecating and extremely interesting. Her story is both shocking and totally relatable. Some parts of the story were so relatable that it could ruin my day, or cause me to lose patience with my kids, or fill me with sadness, but it is so so good. Like I often do, I'll probably buy a hard copy of the book now so I can look at it on the shelf, read small parts, and remember that good writing comes in surprising places.

United Kingdom on Mar 14, 2017

Nina Cornelsen: If your family is normal, or even quasi-normal, then "The Liar’s Club" will showcase a whole new cultural experience for you. Mary Karr’s memoir describes her 1960s childhood with her sister Lecia in hilarious, horrific detail. For our reading entertainment, the profoundly dysfunctional Karr family takes the proverbial stage in "Leechfield," Texas (a pseudonym for the Port Arthur area). Leechfield is a lower-middle class town where the land and the air, and a lot of the people, smell like oil.

Per Mary’s telling, her mother (whom she simply calls Mother) is a tortured artist, full of inner grandeur, and stifled by the bounds of poverty. She’s philosophical, passionate, and brilliant in her own ways, but she’s immobilized by mental illness and alcoholism. Her artistic flamboyance is so out of place in Leechfield, no one knows what to make of her, and the community writes her off as lunatic. But their assessment doesn’t seem unfair. Mother’s wildly destructive behaviors are the primary thrill factor of the book. Only the glowering, disapproving grandmother can subdue her, to the astonishment and disappointment of young Mary.

Mary’s father (Daddy) is the...

United States on Feb 04, 2016

BAZZA: I caught up with Mary Karr via Rodney Crowell and the excellently produced country CD "KIN" which came out early in the year. Rodney wrote the melodies and sang and produced various country stars while Mary wrote the lyrics to the songs.Titles like "Momma's On A Roll" and "If The Law Don't Want You Neither Do I" are representative of the themes of the album which all stem from Mary's harsh upbringing in the East Texas post rock 'n roll years. Not far from where Rodney was experiencing his "Chinaberry Sidewalks" and his own turbulent teens. She makes you laugh at the antics of her parents in their rawhide community and shows a remarkable memory for the twists and turns that a growing kid goes through just trying to keep her spirit from sinking down with every sunset over the dusky prairie. Fresh as a blueberry pie cooling on the window ledge.

Germany on May 13, 2013