Her father, who was forced out by his wife's parents, left the family when she was six months old. She had her own internal demons which left Kathryn abandoned, neglected, forgotten. She always felt invisible to her mother and wanted only to be seen and loved by her. The focal point of her life had always been her mother and father, who had married young after becoming pregnant. Incredibly brave and poignant recounting of the author's dysfunctional relationship with her entire family. * I purposefully rely on Kathryn’s first name here to give her a breathing presence because of all she went through as a child and young woman. Have you read the book? If so, what do you think about the storyline?įlawed or not, it’s a book you will never forget. But I am wondering if the through-line of the book is damaged or distorted by trying to make it “about the mother” at the end.
I don’t think there can be a satisfying ending in the face of the tragedy that occurs in the book. Or is the forgiveness on Kathryn’s part because Kathryn realizes that as her father ruined her life, he had done so with her mother’s? Is that forgiveable? Forgiveable enough to make the book about the mother? She abandoned her daughter to be brought up by a mentally ill grandmother. The book is dedicated to the mother: Beloved 1942-1985.īecause the book was so successful, I have to conclude that it is possible to twist and tweak to give a story the sort of long-range perspective the writer desires. There is a forgiving and coming-together of mother and daughter when the mother is dying. But the twist is that, near the end, the relationship with the mother is made central. And, finally, it moves to how their relationship ended. The story continues by showing how Kathryn was caught like a fly in the father’s web when they met as adults. She grew up without him in her life, witnessing him in the house as if he were a ghost. It begins with how the father developed as such an obsession in Kathryn’s mind. The book’s arc seems to take an odd twist. People who despise the tell-all nature of many memoirs villify her for exposing a taboo subject. There are others who question her motives for making her family’s story public.
There are many who sympathize greatly with Kathryn for what she went through and others who wonder why she was compliant. One of the fascinating things about this book has been the response of critics and readers. The tense is present, making the reader feel as if events are happening “right now” and “always and forever.” The writing is hypnotic, reflecting the way Kathryn felt drugged or poisoned by events and by the power of her father’s personality. She accomplished it–painfully–in the midst of predation and neglect and without even a pretense of protection from anyone.
KATHRYN HARRISON THE KISS READ ONLINE HOW TO
But mainly it’s Kathryn’s story* and how she negotiated growing up and learning how to be a woman. It was a New York Times bestseller when it was originally published in 1997 and has been read by many.The Kiss is a very disturbing story. I find it so hard to write a review of this book that I can’t help but wonder how Kathryn Harrison wrote it.