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This Must be the Place
This Must be the Place
Maggie O'Farrell | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
O'Farrell spans half the globe to give us a fascinating and dramatic look at loss, secrets and relationships in her newest novel. Read what I think were this book's strengths and weaknesses in my review here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2016/12/31/here-there-and-maybe-nowhere/ (Sorry, Maggie - I can only give it 3.5 stars out of five.)
  
I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death
I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death
Maggie O'Farrell | 2017 | Biography
9
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Moving, harrowing, well-written
I Am, I Am, I Am is a memoir by award-winning British author, Maggie O'Farrell. It is subtitled Seventeen Brushes With Death, and in describing these (mostly, but not exclusively, her own) experiences, O'Farrell also, of course, shares many other important moments of her life. As well as describing the situation that led to them, the physical effects they had on her and those close to her, she also notes the change in attitude they caused.

There is a deep sense of violence faced by a woman's body, which is apparent in her experiences. She describes near misses with vehicles, a mugging, juvenile encephalitis, the birth of her first child, near drownings, a knife-throwing act, dysentery-induced dehydration, and an encounter with a murderer.

The section about her miscarriages is deeply moving. She questions why it isn't discussed and why it is given little exposure. She explains how mothers end up feeling isolated because of the little care given to those who have experienced it. Her voice and pain shines through at this particular point.

As with her fiction, O'Farrell’s prose is often exquisite. This is a privileged peek into the life of an amazing author, a moving and fascinating read.