The Amateur (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Wendy Lesser
- First Published: 1999
- Type of Work: Autobiography
- Time of Work: 1952-1999
- Setting: California, New York, and England
- Principal Characters: Wendy Lesser
- Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography, Essays
- Subjects: Language or languages, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Authors or writers, Literature, Art or artists, Linguistics or linguists, California, West, U.S., England or English people, Criticism, Publishing or publishers, Pacific Northwest, Philanthropy or philanthropists
- Locales: California, New York, England
This is a remarkable book in many ways, not the least of which is its clever construction. Wendy Lesser has married the autobiographical narrative to the personal essay with intriguing results: a collection of twenty-four short essays that provide a clear, unobtrusive chronology of her life while focusing on a range of topics that go far beyond the merely autobiographical. As in the best writing of this kind, there is a finely judged balance between individual revelation and general reflection, as if we have been invited to witness the writer’s experience yet encouraged to think even...
[The entire page is 1780 words long]
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