Sorry for the sporadic postings of late. Life has gotten increasingly busy in the last few weeks with school and work.
The book that I read recently that I want to share with you is “The Empathy Exams” by Leslie Jamison. It is quite different from all the other books that I have reviewed on here.
1. It is Creative Nonfiction (If you haven’t heard of this genre before, look it up because it’s brilliant. I mostly write in this genre).
2. It is a book of essays, primarily personal and journalistic.
3. I had to read it for class, not for myself.
My professor shared a review of the book with us that said that each essay is worth reading individually, but not compiled together. I have to agree. Since I had to finish this book in two weeks, I had to read one essay after the other without much pause. By the end, I started to feel overwhelmed by her personality, which is strong and not very much like mine.
But many of the essays are worth reading by themselves. The first one, “The Empathy Exams” tells of a trying time in her life using the framing of her experiences of a medical actor. I would also recommend “The Immortal Horizon” and “Fog Count” as they are connected by one character, even though they aren’t really connected by plot.
The essays that I felt could have been revised more or thought on a little more are “In Defense of Saccharine” and “Devil’s Bait.” Although both of them were interesting, “Saccharine” was too long and seemed too experimental in form to really make sense and “Devil’s Bait” made me a little irritated with Jamison because she preaches empathy, but didn’t really practice it.
Leslie Jamison is only in her 3os and “The Empathy Exams” won the 2011 Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize. Yes, her essays do have flaws, but I think it is utterly remarkable that a woman who is only a decade older than me was able to win such a prestigious prize. I think that by the time she reaches her 40s or 50s, she will truly be an amazing writer who has both an amazing grasp of form and a wonderful understanding of how to portray herself.
Furthermore, this book helps me realize that I really can be a writer if I practice. If she can be successful, I can. I just have to write, write, write, write, and then write some more.