Alice McDermott is a beautiful writer. Her novels are quiet tour-de-forces that delve deep into the lives of regular people. In this collection of essays about literature and writing, the reader gets a glimpse into her process and thoughts about the state of literature today. Though at times her voice and attitude sound a bit old fashioned, these essays are a pleasure to read.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars (3.5 STARS)
2021; Farrar, Straus and Giroux (audiobook: Macmillan Audio)

I did a mix of this one on audio and physical book (from the library). I wanted to see (visually) some of the concepts and writings that McDermott explained. I was a bit sad to see/hear that someone other than McDermott narrated the book. Not being able to take a writing course by McDermott, it would have been cool to hear her voice as she lectured. I did enjoy the book, as it was musings on writing fiction from McDermott’s experiences. I have only read one book by McDermott (That Night) but all her novels are on my TBR. If you are interesting in writing, or like the behind scenes look, I would say try this one. It is on the shorter side so not a huge commitment.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I LOVED this book. Like the George Saunders book "A Swim In The Pond in The Rain", this book is a gift from an exceptionally talented and skilled writer to all writers everywhere. Ms McDermott treats us to themes that she views as important to writers, offers to her students, and are deeply meaningful to her. She has collected quotes, sentences, paragraphs that speak to the reader in eloquent and insightful terms. It's not quite like sitting at her feet in a classroom but it's as close as I'll every get to having her as a teacher.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Anyone, not just writers or students, but anyone interested in good literature and how words put together got to be good literature, will enjoy this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to an audio version of this book. Ms Dawe is a wonderful narrator and it was a joy listening to her.

I think any author or vivid reader will like this book
This book is written for both established writers and starting out writers. The finer point of writing a fiction novel are discussed and explained.
I listened to the audio version. Angela Dawe did such a great job. Showing determination in “how to” in her voice that I could just picture her in front of a classroom making sure all the student understood what she was talking about.
I’m not a writer and have no intentions of been one but I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it gave me a better appreciation of the better written fiction book and it was fun to listen to the examples given.

Beautiful love letter to the art of writing and reading. I wish I knew more of the literature referenced as it would have deepened my understanding of the author's ideas, but it isn't necessary for comprehension. In this work we are given a collection of essays ranging from crafting the first sentence and it's weight to examining the life of a writer. Many reviews state that this book is for writers or a handbook for writers, but I think it is equally, and possibly more so, for readers. For this book gives you tools to understand the craft of writing just a little more. People who love the act of reading will enjoy this collection of essays.

Audiobook was well narrated and enjoyable to listen to.

McDermott has assembled a delightful collection of essays on the topic of writing. Just like we all become really animated when talking about something we love, the essays are lively and interesting, and you can tell the author loves writing about writing.

I’m not really sure what I expected from this book, but I didn’t love what I got. I only made it to about 15% of the audiobook before I threw in the towel. I couldn’t ascertain any sort of format to the book - just seemed like she was free associating thoughts about fiction, maybe, and throwing in little story excerpts from different books.
Since I don’t have time to listen to an entire book in one sitting, I have to stop and start, naturally. Whenever I would start back up with this audiobook, I would have absolutely no idea what the narrator was talking about and have to rewind. And even then, I usually still didn’t know. I don’t have a lot of patience for that kind of thing, so I’m moving on.
Thanks to #netgalley and #farrarstrausandgiroux for this ARC of #whataboutthebaby in exchange for an honest review.