family and childhood

I came from an industrial town in Tennessee, and Allison Glock's wonderful story of her grandmother, who lived in that kind of environment, really resonated with me. Aneita Jean Blair's life is not the kind that usually gets the full biographical treatment, especially from a granddaughter.

The second outstanding part about this book is the writing. Lines such as "Just walking through the house required lurching effort," written about the death of a family member, make the story more real.

Having read some of the reviews here on Amazon, I cannot understand the hostility that some people convey about this book. My favorite line from an angry reader was this one: "I think if you right (sic) a book you should actually know what you are talking about."

That line--complete with spelling that shouts ignorance--says it all. Allison Glock does know what she is talking about, and tells it very, very well.

Allison Glock has fashioned a lovely little book about her grandmother growing up in West Virginia during the Depression and World War II.

The author shares with us anecdotes, both happy and sad, about the hardscrabble existence of those days where working in a pottery factory was how people made their living and social life was pretty much confined to one's holler or at best the next one down the road. Nobody of that generation ever left town except to fight in a war.

Glock is especially adept at describing the townspeople and their feelings, drawing the reader into the story and enabling us to feel so close to the characters. The section describing Petey Dink is especially touching.

Kudos to author Glock. She has done a marvelous job. This book reminded me of David Baldacci's recent novel, "Wish You Well." Whereas his book is a work of fiction concerning tough times for a family in Virginia, Glock's accounting of her grandmaother's life is all the more interesting because it is true.

Keep on writing, Allison. You are very good.

Glock, a writer-at-large for GQ, makes her book debut with this memoir of her maternal grandmother, Aneita Jean Blair (1920-92). Drawing on Blair's stories as well as family photographs, Glock portrays the harsh environment of her grandmother's longtime home, Chester, WV, a pottery factory town sandwiched between the Appalachian Mountains and the Ohio River. It was a hard life, with alcohol as solace. While Glock offers fine descriptions of small-town, working-class life during the first half of the 20th century-paying particular attention to the Great Depression and World War II-this is more an insightful portrait of a woman who struggled and survived. A classic beauty, Blair was difficult, and Glock takes pains to re-create her relationships with her family, girlfriends, many boyfriends, and husband, Don. Blair's sexuality, in fact, drives many of the anecdotes. The early death of her brother, Pete, is also poignantly recounted, as is the senility and death of her husband. Recommended for public libraries