family and childhood

When writing a memoir, authors are advised to write the first draft as if everyone is dead - and then to prune the damaging parts in subsequent rewrites. Perhaps Mason pruned a bit too much. This otherwise lovely and affectionate memoir of how it was to grow up in a small, working-class town in Kentucky in the 40s and 50s is a bit long on respect and caution - and a bit short on grit.
Otherwise, I loved it. I grew up in Kansas in the 50s and can relate to the pace, small-town values, and lack of danger (except from the "evil Communists" and "the bomb") that Mason portrays as such inherent parts of her roots. Her language, esp in the first part of the book focusing on her own childhood memories, is rich and multi-layered and pulls readers into every scene right along with her. In the rest of the book, she uses the techniques of creative nonfiction to weave a background narrative that spans the lives of three generations of women within the community.
A worthwhile read; it won't change your life, but it might make you think, and it's certainly a pleasant trip to take with this accomplished author.

Bobbie Ann Mason has written an honest and wonderful book dealing with her growing-up years in Western Kentucky, with her leaving the rural life and entering the urban world, only to return in her later years to Kentucky. The book will trigger a lot of similar memories in many readers, and should take its place alongside books by Russell Baker and others as a true and accurate picture of bygone eras.

Indispensible to serious readers of Mason's fiction, this memoir is true to family and community life in Western Kentucky (despite what other reviewers might say).