The Collected Works of Jo Ann Beard (Paperback)

A writer always at the top of her game ... she brings to bear a poet's precision, a novelist's empathy and an essayist's concentrated thought Violence and death are balanced by hard-won, transcendent joy in Beard's remarkable stories The stories are essays, the essays are stories. Even when they are not literally true, they contain the kind of truth that great fiction thrives on ... the collected works here make me - as a reader - delirious with admiration and - as a writer - furious with envy Beard has a distinctive, arresting voice, whether she is evoking the frustrations of early childhood, describing desolately beautiful landscapes, or comparing notes with friends about breaking marriages As controlled and convincing as art Jo Ann Beard's work impresses me no end. Funny without being sitcomish, self-aware without being self-absorbed, scrupulous without being fussy, emotional without being sentimental, pointed without being cruel - I could go on and on with these distinctions, all in Beard's favour, but instead I'll just say that she is a fantastic writer, an Athena born fully formed out of her own painstaking head Beard's curiosity and amazement are contagious Jo Ann Beard is a remarkably modest writer, a kind of literary celebrity ... readers who become fans of her work view it with the kind of amazement associated with human and literal stars Jo Ann Beard is a formidable talent. Her writing is darkly moving, full of audacious narrative surprises, and, at times, unexpectedly - almost unbearably - suspenseful A towering talent ... Perhaps instead of an essayist we should think of her as a poet-naturalist, wedding intuition and observation, and forming from this union something unaccountably yet undeniably real Brilliant, like nobody else Reading Jo Ann Beard is like setting out on a walk with a curious and intelligent friend who is determined to show you how seemingly unrelated things share a secret kinship Generous, beautifully observed, compassionate and, at times, genuinely funny Beard's power comes from phrasings and insights that aren't just screaming for likes. Few writers are so wise and self-effacing and emotionally honest all in one breath... she effects an intimacy that makes us want to sit on the rug and listen [Beard's] books are worth the wait. A master of sensory details, she also writes with humor, melancholy and a love of animals that never borders on saccharine... In her work, even everyday moments gleam with significance A master of creative nonfiction, Beard explores life's most salient moments through facts that she sometimes fractures Intimate, intelligent, intense - and ultimately comforting Charged with fine detail... Beard is so good at what she does... In Beard's book, writing works like compound interest, each experience building on the last, which built on the one before This writer has blown my mind. The Boys of My Youth and Cheri feature some of the finest writing I've read in many a moon. Obsessed