It's difficult to make an evaluation of this book. Perhaps the way to approach it, at least right now, is through a simple list of pros and cons:

PRO:
• Unique
• Evocative
• Poetically charged
• Unsettling

CON:
• Impenetrable
• Self-absorbed
• Willfully opaque
• Nonsensical

Cf. review of Susan Wheeler, Assorted Poems. Both are overtly "poetic" documents that force the reader to make judgments regarding the value of highly associative / subjective verse. ( )

A special book in my collection. I'd say this is "intersubjective" literature. A personal poetic representation of life lived and experienced. ( )

In 1980, Hejinian published the first version of this book, containing 37 sections, each with 37 sentences. The format of the autobiography reflected Hejinian’s age at the time of it’s writing so it follows that this version, written 8 years later, is longer by 8 sections and has been edited so that each section now contains 8 additional sentences. More than a formulaic exercise, the format of the book creates its own sense of chronology, providing the reader with something solid to cling to while exploring the unconventional approach of this autobiography. Hejinian seems more interested in the language used to convey memories and emotions and events than in transmitting the facts of her life. Perhaps that is because the language is the transmission, the filter, the translation of the reality. And because memories themselves are so illusive.


I feel as if I floated through this book, more than I read it or understood it. Fragments, patterns of phrases and images, richness of words and more a sense of poetry than of prose, this book reminds me of how elusive the combination of memory and language can be in autobiography. To quote the author, “If reality is trying to express itself in words it is certainly taking the long way around” (105). The route taken provides a tremendous experience. I highly recommend this book. ( )

This book is pretty awesome. It's 47 pieces with 47 sentences, each dealing with a year in her life. It's very postmodern and not easy to crack at first, but patterns show up and it becomes a fun read. Tons of great lines and insights. "We took a trip as if that were part of the baggage we carried." And of course, "One would not read the book unless one already understood it." ( )

One of the few writers that seems to "get it" in terms of catching everyday life in minimal observational writing.