The Books That Mattered: A Reader’s MemoirFrye Gaillard’s first encounters with books were disappointing. As a child he never cared much for fairy tales – “stories of cannibalism and mayhem in which giants and witches, tigers and wolves did their best to eat small children.” But at the age of nine, he discovered Johnny Tremain, a children’s novel of the Revolutionary War, which began a lifetime love affair with books, recounted here as a reader’s tribute to the writings that enriched and altered his life. In a series of carefully crafted, often deeply personal essays, Gaillard blends memoir, history and critical analysis to explore the works of Harper Lee, Anne Frank, James Baldwin, Robert Penn Warren, John Steinbeck, and many others. As this heartfelt reminiscence makes clear, the books that chose Frye Gaillard shaped him like an extended family. Reading The Books that Mattered: A Reader’s Memoir will make you study your own shelves to find clues into your own literary heart. |
Contents
Once Upon a Time | 3 |
Southern Voices | 21 |
Across the Divide | 40 |
The Power of the Truth | 58 |
Darkness | 76 |
Just Telling a Story | 94 |
Poetry Prose and a Sense of Place | 111 |
Forgotten Histories | 129 |
Family Values | 147 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
admired Ahab Alabama Albert Murray Alex Haley Atticus Finch Baldwin beauty became began best seller Bragg century character civil rights Conroy course dark death discovered Edgerton eyes face father Faulkner feel fiction Flannery O’Connor girl Grapes of Wrath H. L. Mencken Halberstam Haley Harper Lee Harper’s heart Herriot Huck Huckleberry Finn Huey Huey Long human Indians journalist journey Kennedy Kill a Mockingbird King King’s knew land Larry later Lee’s Lillian literary living Long look mother moved Murray’s Naslund Negro never night novel Number ofthe passion perhaps published Pulitzer Prize racial rage remember Robert Penn Warren Sanders Santini Scottsboro seemed Sena sense simply slave South Southern Steinbeck story talk tell things thought Timerman told town truth Twain understanding understood violence wanted William Faulkner Willie Morris woman words writing wrote young