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The Longest Chapter

The Longest Chapter

Literary fiction, poetry, first editions, classics…

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Category: Memoir

Living the Russian language

July 18, 2018 ~ The Longest Chapter

Laura Esther Wolfson's collected essays tell the story of her life as a translator and interpreter. They are as creative and memorable as the book's title, "For Single Mothers Working as Train Conductors."

21 good books for the summer

June 21, 2018June 21, 2018 ~ The Longest Chapter

On the advent of the longest day of the year and the true beginning of summer, here's a list of books to cherry pick for your summer reading. They are riveting, involving, devastating or simply delightfully satisfying. But if you're looking for new releases, they're not here.

Why “Black Boy” still matters

February 27, 2018May 11, 2018 ~ The Longest Chapter

Published in 1945, Richard Wright's classic childhood autobiography vividly reveals what it was like growing up black and poor in the Jim Crow South long before the Civil Rights Movement. It’s an unsentimental but moving and distressing travel back in time that should not be missed.

The power of books and giving one’s time

February 13, 2018 ~ The Longest Chapter

The beauty of this memoir lies in large part with Kuo's soul-searching about the Mississippi Delta region.

My most given books

December 8, 2017 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 4 Comments

A comment during an interview with author Mark Helprin turned my thinking to the books I’ve given most as gifts. Here they are.

My two favorite memoirs this year

October 6, 2017October 30, 2017 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 2 Comments

Benjamin Taylor and Joyce Johnson lived dramatically different young lives, but their stories similarly and movingly capture two iconic times in history: the Beat Movement and November 22, 1963.

What we see — and don’t see

May 17, 2017May 17, 2017 ~ The Longest Chapter

Mary Gaitskill's new essay collection "Somebody With a Little Hammer" peels down to that core of truth we tend to overlook.

All the world’s abandoned places

April 13, 2017 ~ The Longest Chapter

"Imagine Wanting Only This" by Kristen Radtke is a graphic memoir new this month.

The books I gave this holiday season

December 29, 2016December 29, 2016 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 2 Comments

Here are six books I selected and wrapped with a bow to surprise and delight my friends.

When I talk to you

November 22, 2016November 22, 2016 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 2 Comments

Marceline Loridan-Ivens' memoir "But You Did Not Come Back" is an intimate letter to her father, who died in Auschwitz. It's brief -- only 100 pages -- and deeply moving.

French lessons with extraterrestrials

October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 ~ The Longest Chapter ~ 8 Comments

I've always wanted to be fluent in French, so when Lauren Collins released her memoir about marrying a Frenchman and learning his native language, I jumped in to read it. Here are some thoughts about Collins' "When in French: Love in a Second Language" and my ongoing struggle with French lessons.

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