I've read five of Richard B. Wright's novels, including his surprisingly successful debut, THE WEEKEND MAN, and his best known one, the best-selling CLARA CALLAN, which won pretty much all of Canada's most prestigious literary awards. So I'm a confirmed fan, and very much enjoyed this memoir about his childhood as a dreamy kid, the youngest of five, growing up in a small Ontario town in the 40s and 50s. After college, where he majored in Radio and Television Broadcasting, he took some very low-paying jobs with small newspapers and radio stations, before landing a job in publishing with Macmillan's of Canada. He married, had a child, and took a year off to write. The happy result was THE WEEKEND MAN, which launched him as an important young writer in Canada, and a literary life that had its ups and downs. His books never made him wealthy, so he spent many years teaching in a private school. Wright was several years older than me, and Canadian, yet there was plenty here I could relate to, especially the books and writers he read and admired.

While A LIFE WITH WORDS (2015) was informative, entertaining - and often funny too - my enjoyment of Wright's story was marred by the knowledge that he died in 2017, after a fall and a subsequent stroke. He was 79. I was also a bit disappointed at the end of his narrative, which just seemed to trail off, concluding with a transcript of a speech he delivered at a college commencement. But I'm glad the book was published and I got to read it. And I'm even gladder that there are still several more Wright novels I haven't yet read. But I will, I hope. Because this guy was a damn fine writer. RIP, Richard.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )