In "Failure," he recounts receiving a negative review of his novel, and in "The Body," he gets sullen when his son trounces him on the tennis court. Atlas's strength lies in his extensive literary allusions, and each of these essays is buoyed by examples from both well-known and obscure authors, which often serve to augment the lackluster revelations ("The rich, the powerful, the well-known made it because they had the drive to make it"; "Depression is like an illness--it is an illness"). Thoughtful but self-conscious, these pieces seem more like exercises in catharsis than meditations on a period in life when we are "on the verge of reaching our limits." The author evaluates his rites of passage-both the successes and the failures, from his 25th anniversary to his father's death-with good humor, affection, and honesty in this "generational memoir." An amiable book, some sections may seem short on specifics and long on generalizations, even to the point of being preachy.

 HarperAudio 0060763345 / 9780060763343
Audio CD New Condition 

Price: 16.17 USD