Memoirs

I am reading memoirs at the moment. I bought five of them - The Mistresss' Daughter by A.M. Homes, Somewhere Near The End by Diana Athill, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby, Antigona and Me by Kate Clanchy and A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I haven't read Joan Didion's book yet but I've read the other four. I think the one that I've enjoyed most is Kate Clanchy's book, closely followed by A.M.Homes. I was very disappointed by Diana Athill. The book is really very slight and doesn't have much depth to it. There are some interesting thoughts in it but altogether I find it strange that it should have won a major award. The Diving Bell is perhaps the most tragic of the books and there is some wonderful writing in it. And yet some how I didn't feel that I had come away understanding what that experience is really like - perhaps he couldn't find words to describe such hell and perhaps I should be grateful that he didn't try.