Lit

A Memoir

By: Mary Karr

Narrated by: Mary Karr

Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Lit follows Mary Karr's descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness - and her astonishing resurrection. Karr's longing for a solid family seems secure when her marriage to a handsome, Shakespeare-quoting poet produces a son they adore. But she can't outrun her apocalyptic past. She drinks herself into the same numbness that nearly devoured her charismatic but troubled mother, reaching the brink of suicide. A hair-raising stint in "The Mental Marriott" awakens her to the possibility of joy, and leads her to an unlikely faith.

Lit is about getting drunk and getting sober; becoming a mother by letting go of a mother; learning to write by learning to live. It is a truly electrifying story of how to grow up - as only Mary Karr can tell it.

©2009 Mary Karr (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Astonishing....One of the most dazzling and moving memoirs to come along in years." (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times)

Finally! One for the "Win" column

I have made some really poor choices since joining the huge club of audiophiles. I've downloaded some real stinkers and mediocre titles that made me groan with regret within the first 3 chapters - then force myself to listen to the rest either because I wanted to punish myself or I wanted to hold out hope that it would get better if I just kept going. This book goes in the "win" column - fantastic flow and descriptive enough to really take hold of the imagination without going overboard. The last 4 chapters fell out of the groove a bit - but that doesn't cancel out the enjoyment I experienced listening to the rest. The language is sharp and shocking in some sections - which I really appreciate because it's real and I'm no stranger to sarcasm, satire, and cynical rants - I guffawed glee several times. Thank you Mary Karr - you freakin' rule

Compelling.

As a memoir, this ranks up there with the best. The author successfully navigates the parallel paths of intellectual elitism, drugs, sobriety, family, relationships, sex, religion, financial dysfunction and everything in between. Her writing is smart and not always direct, and her language is surgically precise. This is not a sparse, lean style - it's more complex and indirect and you have to pay attention. Things are more rhythmic and measured as the book progresses, but the beginning chapters are not at all linear. Well worth the effort to stay the course, however.

Mary Karr as a narrator sounds rather harsh at the start - but after a few chapters one gets accustomed to the "lived in" voice. It's not a nice, crisp and correct "designer" narration - but it's emotionally riveting and very well matched to the material.

I am only giving this book 4 stars because of the lengthy epigraphs at the start of each chapter. Most of them are annoyingly long and oblique, and I started resenting these passages for taking up so much space in the book. When you like a listen, every minute counts, and I didn't think the quotes did anything to enhance the story. But, bottom line, this was excellent!

More than just an alcoholic tale

I loved Mary Karr's other two memoirs (which I read in print)and was so excited to see this one out and in her own voice. She explores this time using small moments which she captures so well- Her prose are poetically descriptive. She is brutally honest about her alcoholism without dwelling so much on the gore of her drinking. I found myself identifying with her as a modern mother and wife but you don't have to either to appreciate this story. She does talk about finding god which I thought would be annoying but really wasn't.

Recovery from Alcoholism Story - Not Much More

I read Mary Karr's "Cherry" and thought it quite good - witty, sad, interesting, a page turner. So I decided to get this one. I didn't read the description because I was fairly sure I would like anything she wrote. Well, she has a wonderful way with words, but unless you are personally in recovery or perhaps a current drinker who is flirting with the idea of quitting, the book is not really all that interesting. Halfway through I was beginning to wonder how much longer I could bear to listen to her endless self-pity, self-criticism, and whinging about what a bad mother she was to her toddler. The market is already quite saturated (pun intended) with these womens' memoirs about getting sober - think "Turnabout" as a classic (and better) example, or Susan Powter's book about her own struggle with the demon drink. This one doesn't seem to offer anything those don't, save for a beautiful or creative turn of phrase here and there.

The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the author's digressions about her wacky mother. Drinking problems are a dime-a-dozen, but not everyone has a senior citizen mother who would use the phrase "I'm locked and loaded for bear," to her boyfriend's threatening babymama. That, and others, just cracked me right up. Ms. Karr is also queen of the poetic simile; alas, none spring to mind at the moment, and although I haven't read any of her poetry, I am sure it is quite good.

Overall, however, the story is tiresome: fortunate, brilliant woman who has managed to scrabble her way out of her "trailer park existence" (her words) drinks too much and finally gets sober and starts believing in god. Blech. Also, with my apologies to the author, I don't think she was the best choice to read this extended essay. Her voice drips with bitterness, sarcasm, scorn, and contempt, even when she is talking about the NICE things that happened to her. It's hard to listen to after a while.

Get this from your local library; don't waste your credits.

Rule #1: Authors should not narrate their own work

Mary Karr's is not an unfamiliar nor unsympathetic story: a poet/wife/mother/alcoholic struggles with her disease while trying to manage her life. Often witty, sometimes downright funny, and certainly well written, the volume suffers from lack of editing; we get anecdote after anecdote of Karr getting drunk, managing to find her way home and berating herself. Rinse and Repeat. It gets tiring and tiresome. In terms of listening, I stand by my conviction that it is the VERY rare author who reads his/her work well. The narration is unpolished and at times halting. If you must read this book, I'd buy it in paper.

Well written but self indulgent.

This well written book is annoyingly narrated by the author. Her "tough girl" voice is irritating, particularly in the beginning. It sounds as if the publisher walked into a biker bar and picked one of the patrons to read this book.

That being said, the author is a skilled storyteller and a master at metaphor. However, the book is little more than a well written, self indulgent diary of what she seems to feel are her justified failures after a childhood she, more than anyone else, feels was the worst ever. Though I thought the book was well written, I was not terribly absorbed in the story. One could hear the same thing by attending a few AA meetings.

Unbelievablely moving

Listening to this, I came to live in the author's struggles and triumphs. It had me in tears at the end. I wanted it to go on and on. I recommend it in the strongest terms possible.

This was my favorite listen of Karr's books

I've read a few times that it's a bad idea for authors to narrate their own books, and I have to say now that I've listened to all 3 of Karr's, I think that's mostly right. I first read Liar's Club and then listened to it, to Cherry and then Lit. The first was a hard one to listen to, but the second was better and the third was best of all. I hope now that Karr is really comfortable at narration -- and really good at it -- that she will do some more. She is one of my all-time favorite authors.

Just don’t

I have been buying a lot of memoirs that have to do with quitting alcohol. They have helped me tremendously, and then I bought this one. The prologue was so extraordinarily difficult to understand that I just skipped it after halfway through. I suffered through chapter 1 thinking I had been listening to this book for probably three hours when I looked and realized only 43 minutes had passed. The extreme overuse of literary elements distract from any meaning. Also, the author is reading her own book which, for me, really wasn’t a good choice. She reads with no expression, no voice, nothing. Just awful.

Honest, raw, funny, sad

Mary Karr is as wonderful a narrator as she is a writer. I haven't read the first two installments of her memoirs (though I will now) but it didn't matter in terms of "getting" her, her life, her past, etc. This is an honest, raw, fairly gritty memoir. Karr has a great sense of humor and unflinching honesty as a writer and memoirist. I was enthralled.