Synopses & Reviews
Written between 1977 and 1990, universally acclaimed when they appeared in Godine hardcover, and exploring subjects close to home and close to the bone, these twenty-two diverse essays reveal the spiritual strength and shrewdly lyrical prose for which Andre Dubus has been recognized worldwide.
Personal but never indulgent, sensitive but never maudlin, these forays into Dubus's past and present conjure up small worlds: a Catholic boyhood in Cajun Louisiana, the transcendental quality of baseball, the luck and slipperiness of life, the precarious business of making a living by writing. These worlds are presented in a voice that is as powerful as it is poignant, that never flinches from the stark realities that have so colored Dubus's recent past and personal life. Especially moving are his descriptions of his children, his wrenching account of the 1986 automobile accident that cost him his leg, and of the ensuing struggle for his spiritual and physical survival.
Broken Vessels is a book that, in its scope and sympathy, its grace and courage, never fails to startle with the sudden impact of quiet truths, passionately felt and powerfully expressed.
Review
"Sparing few of life's messy details and contradictions, these 22 deeply personal essays, dating from 1977 to 1990 and strongly reminiscent of the author's fictional themes, offer an unflinching view of one man's search for truth....A beautifully written, moving, and altogether wonderful book." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"There comes a point when the reader feels the writer is too confessional, a moment when Mr. Dubus stands before us so naked and alone that we have to fight the urge to turn away, embarrassed, because the pain is too much to bear. And then we read how 'the physical pain of grief has become, with time, a permanent wound in the soul' that is followed by a realization of 'the transcendent and common bond of human suffering, and with that comes forgiveness, and with forgiveness comes love.' Lacking Mr. Dubus's faith, I still feel immensely grateful for sentences like these." Leonard Kriegel, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Dubus writes with searing candor, grace and tenderness in these autobiographical essays." Publishers Weekly
Review
"In his first work of nonfiction, Dubus explores territory that is both familiar and previously uncharted. Personal and conversational, these twenty-two essays have a sympathy and scope that never fail to startle with the sudden impact of quiet truths passionately felt, powerfully expressed. Broken Vessels is, by its end, an overall victory....Its best essays are more than that; they are lessons for life." Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
Andre Dubus is celebrated for his ability to depict the subtlest of human emotions in his characters, and when he turns to nonfiction, the resulting insights are no less illuminative. Especially moving are his descriptions of his children, his wrenching account of the 1986 automobile accident that cost him his leg, and of the ensuing struggle for his spiritual and physical survival. Broken Vessels is a book that, in its scope and sympathy, its grace and courage, never fails to startle with the sudden impact of quiet truths, passionately felt and powerfully expressed.