Doris Goembel

Did not meet my expectations

Revisado: 02-02-20

My expectations of a memoir include: 1) If the circumstances of childhood are truly unusual, then how did those circumstances uniquely manifest in the writer's adulthood? What was learned, or later un-learned, from that circumstance that is different from the life lessons of the other 99 million people who have survived childhood? 2) When a large portion of the story is retelling a hardship or pain, what is the objective of the telling, besides looking for a metaphysical hug from the reader? What perspective grew out of that experience? 3) If the memoir promises to connect the reader to one or more significant historical events, that promise demands a more extensive telling of the event than a brief, "XXX happened at the same time I was growing up."

"Mozart in the Garden" disappointed me on all three of these counts.

While being served repeated anecdotes of (not uncommon) physical deprivation and unhealthy living skills of his childhood, I don't feel I know anything about the man who lives now, or how that shaped him. Nor do I sense an appreciation for the women of his young life who survived with the only coping skills they had.

A significant share of the book is dedicated to the remembrances of events of 100 years ago. Stories of a 1900 hurricane, told to a child in the 1960s, then as remembered by the man another 60 years later in 2020. A historical event for which I would have gladly accepted a few old news photos and clippings in exchange for the abundance of Liggett family album photos peppered throughout the book.

I experienced this book through a combination of hard copy and audiobook, the media combination that permits me to switch back and forth as my day progresses. Sadly, the content did not live up to the grace and convenience of the delivery media.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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