Member Reviews

Helen Helen Helen. I guess I'm a Helen Garner fan, after all.             Normally, I am not a diary reader. It feels intrusive, I guess? Generally, because they are released after the writer is no longer with us. This is not the case with How to End a Story.

   Not only is this extremely intimate and vulnerable, but reading about the ups and downs of relationships, the torturous slow demise of one, it is also celebratory and revealing. We are along with Garner on ups and downs in her career and awards. The doubts that lingered even after successful milestones. Revealing in the aspect of the social attitudes of the times. When I say the times, it spans many years. It's a time capsule, from mentioning the disaster at #Chernobyl to the drowning of #JeffBuckley. 

   Honestly, this was a pleasure to read, and I think you could even start with this book if you've not experienced Garners magic before.

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How to End a Story is a collection of Helen Garner's diaries. It feels strange to review someone's innermost thoughts and details of their disintegrating marriage. Emotions are laid bare, and the writing comes from a very vulnerable place. Helen Garner is a gifted writer even in her journals, and I feel fortunate to have fairly recently discovered her. Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC.

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I loved this collection! I saw that Jamison had done the forward and was intrigued. I laughed, felt the raw emotions through silly thoughts and journaling bad times. The journal entries are pretty short but very insightful to what is going on at the time in Gartner’s life. It kind of reads like a twitter at times. I wish I took more time instead of inhaling it.

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