Family : American Writers Remember Their Own

Rating:
Summary: My thoughts on the book
Review: "American Writers Remember Their Own" was composed of many captivating stories, each unique in there own ways. It was definately an intresting, entertaining read. It was a book I enjoyed ands did not mind having to read. It was a good book because of the collection of writings were written from different people, each with different ethnic backgrounds. It contains several different writing styles and is a good way to learn more about them. I liked how most of the stories are written with such specific details of memories and family events. When I think of this book there are certian stories that automatically come to mind. I really enjoyed Alice Hoffman's story, Advice from my Grandmother. It was interesting to read a story written in grammer B and to read about the grandmother's good advice. Another one of my favorites was Jose Raul Bernardo's Happy Blue Crabs. It was interesting to see the bonds of a family and to read about a boy's rite of passage into manhood. The growth and maturing of Jose throughout one short event in his life. Overall I enjoyed the majority of the stories in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Family: American Writers Remember Their Own
Review: Different from any college textbook I have ever read, Family: American Writers Remember Their Own, is at a personal level to the reader. The individual stories about the writers' family members are written to be familiar to oneself. My favorite story was Happy Blue Crabs by Jose Raul Bernardo. Jose Raul's grandfather, Maximillo, is a chef and since his family ate meat everyday, he would only cook seafood at his restaurant. One special evening, Maximillo invited Jose Raul into the kitchen with him. As a rule, Maximillo would only cook for men, as he himself was a man's man who had a "large passionate appetite for everything important in a man's life: caiman hunting, deep-sea fishing, great sex, and, of course, great food" (p 57). As a bonding experience, Jose Raul and his grandfather prepare a meal for the men. While in the kitchen, Grandpa Maximillo tries to explain to Jose Rail about the "ahhh moment" in one's life and how it can change your entire view of the world. "sometimes a sentence goes beyond just being clear. It becomes radiant. It illuminates your life. It may even change your life for good. And when that happens, that is poetry. That experience. That moment in your life" (p 61). This story is at a personal level for readers because it describes an event in every person's life: the point where both yourself and your parents recognize you as an adult. The reader will enjoy this book not only for the interesting and humorous stories, but also because he will be able to relate to the stories.

Rating:
Summary: Family: American Writers Remember Their Own
Review: Different from any college textbook I have ever read, Family: American Writers Remember Their Own, is at a personal level to the reader. The individual stories about the writers' family members are written to be familiar to oneself. My favorite story was Happy Blue Crabs by Jose Raul Bernardo. Jose Raul's grandfather, Maximillo, is a chef and since his family ate meat everyday, he would only cook seafood at his restaurant. One special evening, Maximillo invited Jose Raul into the kitchen with him. As a rule, Maximillo would only cook for men, as he himself was a man's man who had a "large passionate appetite for everything important in a man's life: caiman hunting, deep-sea fishing, great sex, and, of course, great food" (p 57). As a bonding experience, Jose Raul and his grandfather prepare a meal for the men. While in the kitchen, Grandpa Maximillo tries to explain to Jose Rail about the "ahhh moment" in one's life and how it can change your entire view of the world. "sometimes a sentence goes beyond just being clear. It becomes radiant. It illuminates your life. It may even change your life for good. And when that happens, that is poetry. That experience. That moment in your life" (p 61). This story is at a personal level for readers because it describes an event in every person's life: the point where both yourself and your parents recognize you as an adult. The reader will enjoy this book not only for the interesting and humorous stories, but also because he will be able to relate to the stories.

Rating:
Summary: Review of Family American Writers Remember Their Own
Review: Family American Writers Remember Their Own is a book filled with stories of family members of various authors. These stories take you on a ride through an author's life and the people they have been surrounded by. Some of these stories will make you laugh and some will make you cry. Many of them you will be able to relate to as you remember your own family members and the time you spent with them. One of my favorite stories found in this book is Advice from My Grandmother by Alice Hoffman. This is not really a story, but rather several pieces of advice that a grandmother gives to her granddaughter. The thing I liked most about this story was that the grandmother provided a different way of looking at things causing you to evaluate various things in life. Another story that caught my attention was Happy Blue Crabs written by Jose Raul Bernardo. In this story the author remembers bonding with his grandfather as they are preparing a meal for a party and what he learned from him. This story was special to me because it made me remember the times when I would help my grandmother in the kitchen and how that would be our time to bond. Whether you are old or young Family American Writers Remember Their Own contains something for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: my thoughts about "family"
Review: I feel that the most important thing in any person's life should always be their family, I know mine always has and always will. There is nothing that I hold closer to my heart. This book, "Family: American Writers Remember Their Own," is for anyone who feels as I do that every relative, alive or passed, lives on forever, through memories, stories, pictures, and other belongings they left behind. Most people can recall family gatherings during which their relatives spend hours on end telling stories of a favorite deceased uncle, cousin, parent, and so on. Even if it is the same stories each gathering, they never get old or boring. They seem to be even more interesting or funny each and every time. The memory is an amazingly wonderful and powerful thing. It has the ability to bring passed on friends and family members back to life, to revive them. Such stories as are told in this remarkable book are our way to keep relatives and friends alive forever, to keep their teachings, stories, and beliefs as vivid and extraordinary as when first told or taught.
I cannot explain the extent to which I enjoyed and even cherished this collection of stories. It was assigned to me as part of the curriculum in my freshman English class at Florida State University. As with most books assigned in school, I dreaded it because I thought it would be boring and tedious to read it. However, once I read the first story assigned I was deeply moved and inspired. I truly grew to love the book and looked forward to reading the remaining stories. All of the stories are great. The tales seem to put you right into the story. They make you feel as if you are part of the family that is being talked about, as if it is your grandmother or father.
A couple of the stories stand out for me. One of them is "Advice from my Grandmother," by Alice Hoffman. The story is told in a truly unconventional style from the point of view of the author's grandmother. It recounts a series of random advices that the author was given by her cynical, caring grandmother. Most of them are simply hilarious. Yet, they also hold much truth. The grandmother tells Alice such things as, "Keep secrets well. Don't lie, but never tell the whole truth.", Don't kid yourself-nothing lasts forever.", and "All people are created equal-black, white, Chinese, Moroccan, it doesn't matter. Equal. Everyone." My personal favorite is, "Women can do anything men can do and more, but is this any reason to tell men the true story? Let them think what they think." Many of the advices given in this story are ones that I hold as very valid in my own life. I feel that there is something in this story for everyone.
Another great story is "My Famous Family," by Marion Wink, which tells the story of a twenty-year old young man who is in search for family relatives who were in one way or another famous. During his research he found that the founder and publisher of the "Rolling Stone" magazine was his cousin and that his great-grandfather was connected with Charlie Chaplin. I found this story very delightful. Most people, and I am no exception, can recall being a child and telling friends about their larger then life father or big brother. Making up stories about how they where heroes or famous in some way. Reading this story brought me back to those times.
"Family: American Writers Remember their own," is an exceptional book that I would recommend to anyone with a love for family. It will surely bring back forgotten memories in anyone who reads it. I am truly grateful that I was given the opportunity to come across such a wonderful collection of literature.

Rating:
Summary: my thoughts about "family"
Review: I feel that the most important thing in any person's life should always be their family, I know mine always has and always will. There is nothing that I hold closer to my heart. This book, "Family: American Writers Remember Their Own," is for anyone who feels as I do that every relative, alive or passed, lives on forever, through memories, stories, pictures, and other belongings they left behind. Most people can recall family gatherings during which their relatives spend hours on end telling stories of a favorite deceased uncle, cousin, parent, and so on. Even if it is the same stories each gathering, they never get old or boring. They seem to be even more interesting or funny each and every time. The memory is an amazingly wonderful and powerful thing. It has the ability to bring passed on friends and family members back to life, to revive them. Such stories as are told in this remarkable book are our way to keep relatives and friends alive forever, to keep their teachings, stories, and beliefs as vivid and extraordinary as when first told or taught.
I cannot explain the extent to which I enjoyed and even cherished this collection of stories. It was assigned to me as part of the curriculum in my freshman English class at Florida State University. As with most books assigned in school, I dreaded it because I thought it would be boring and tedious to read it. However, once I read the first story assigned I was deeply moved and inspired. I truly grew to love the book and looked forward to reading the remaining stories. All of the stories are great. The tales seem to put you right into the story. They make you feel as if you are part of the family that is being talked about, as if it is your grandmother or father.
A couple of the stories stand out for me. One of them is "Advice from my Grandmother," by Alice Hoffman. The story is told in a truly unconventional style from the point of view of the author's grandmother. It recounts a series of random advices that the author was given by her cynical, caring grandmother. Most of them are simply hilarious. Yet, they also hold much truth. The grandmother tells Alice such things as, "Keep secrets well. Don't lie, but never tell the whole truth.", Don't kid yourself-nothing lasts forever.", and "All people are created equal-black, white, Chinese, Moroccan, it doesn't matter. Equal. Everyone." My personal favorite is, "Women can do anything men can do and more, but is this any reason to tell men the true story? Let them think what they think." Many of the advices given in this story are ones that I hold as very valid in my own life. I feel that there is something in this story for everyone.
Another great story is "My Famous Family," by Marion Wink, which tells the story of a twenty-year old young man who is in search for family relatives who were in one way or another famous. During his research he found that the founder and publisher of the "Rolling Stone" magazine was his cousin and that his great-grandfather was connected with Charlie Chaplin. I found this story very delightful. Most people, and I am no exception, can recall being a child and telling friends about their larger then life father or big brother. Making up stories about how they where heroes or famous in some way. Reading this story brought me back to those times.
"Family: American Writers Remember their own," is an exceptional book that I would recommend to anyone with a love for family. It will surely bring back forgotten memories in anyone who reads it. I am truly grateful that I was given the opportunity to come across such a wonderful collection of literature.

Rating:
Summary: A Book Worth More than a Glance
Review: I give this book four stars because it struck my curiousity as to what the chapters were about from the very beginning. This book was given as an assigned source of reading for my college English class, but it provided a good basis for different forms of writing, as well as lessons to take on in daily life situations. In one chapter written by Jose Raul Bernardo, "Happy Blue Crabs," the deeper side of the book is shown by telling a story of the bonding between Jose and his grandfather. This was a way of teaching how to write from a personal aspect, and what incidents were worth emphasizing. I liked this chapter because it helped me with the papers I was writing, since they had to do with family as well. It gave me a more broad view on how I could write out my ideas. Another chapter, "Advice from my Grandmother," written by Alice Hoffman, was used by our class to illustrate how to write in Grammar B, a form of writing that I figure most of the students and I had never previously used. The difference(between Grammar A and Grammar B) is how the sentences are structured and presented--in Grammar B, it is a way similar to that of a conversation, but more like a monologue than dialogue. This chapter also helped me with my compositions. I was able to radically revise a paper with the help of Alice Hoffman. Overall, I consider "Family" a great source for a student who is searching for something that takes English to a different level--a more personal level. Since the chapters in the book are true stories, it is helpful to see how people express nonfiction into an interesting journal entry that is worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: A Substitute Family
Review: I was assigned this book as part of the required reading for my college english class. I can honestly say that I exspected it to be awful. I was sure that the stories would be boring and completly impossible to read. Fortunatly, I was proven wrong very quickly. The uniqueness of each of the stories in this book is evidence of how differently people can experience their familys. As a college student I have recently moved out of my parents house and am experiencing a life without family for the first time. This book really made me appretiate them and all their quirks. The piece that touched me the most was Edwidge Danticat's "Papi". Being of Haitian desent myself I could recognize some things in her life that I had also experienced. This book was fascinating from cover to cover. I felt as if I got a glimpse into the most private aspects of the writers' hearts. I recommend this book to anyone who isn't able to be with their family for one reason or another.

Rating:
Summary: Stories that are comforting
Review: Unfortunatly, I didn't have the opportunity to read every single story but I did read a majority of them. I found that several of them were very personable and you could actually relate to the characters. Many of the situations were realistic as well. My favorite story was actually the first one in the book, Advice from my grandmother. The author wrote in grammar b, which is a unique writing style. It was extremely humorous and educational. I actually used that style of writing in one of my own papers for school and it was very effective. Another story I enjoyed was, "Papi." This was really entertaining and I enjoyed the moral of the story. Others throughout the book had morals as well which was really nice to read about. While this book had many great characteristics, some of the stories did tend to be rather lengthy and I became bored with the story. I can relate this book to Chicken soup for Soul because of the different stories the ytell by different authors. This is not a page turner type of book. It is more for a person who does not have a lot of time but enjoys reading because you can read some stories and complete them in a short amount of time. This may be good for someone who only likes to read occasionally. Ohter books you may read half way through and then not come back for several months and forget what you read. Here you can begin a new short story.

Rating:
Summary: For Inspiring Writers
Review: When I first began to read this book, I thought of all the sweet memories these authors were having for their family. However, as I delved into the book, I realized it contained a more valuable resource. Each of these authors has a different writing style that conveys their thoughts in the best of ways. This is especially true with Alice Hoffman's "Advice from my Mother." She does not write in complete sentences, but instead, she writes whatever pops out of her mind at the time. It is unique, yet understandable. It is a very effective way to tell a story. Another story that I found very interesting was Jose Raul Bernardo's "Happy Blue Crabs." This author remembers the first time he cooked with his grandfather. The family is Cuban, and therefore Jose writes a few words in Spanish and informs his audience of how to pronounce them. This fond memory makes the reader feel exactly how Jose felt at the time, yet does not confuse them with the different language. These are just a few stories in the book that have a creative touch to them. Through this book, I have discovered new ways to write stories, but still sound interesting. I suggest this book to anyone interested in seeing different writing techniques, or even if you are just in the mood for touching family stories.