In this dazzling, hilarious memoir, bestselling author of kinflicks lisa alther chronicles her search for the missingoften mysteriousbranches of her family. Alther wrote the bestselling novel kinflicks, and this is a memoirish companion piece, a firstperson narration of her attempt to find out if she is a melungeon. It is the size and scope of the territory alther claims which is impressive. She has also written two nonfiction books, kinfolks. Click download or read online button to get kinflicks book now. She has now published six novels, a novella, a shortstory collection, a. I started to have a hard time reading this book and was skimming due to content and language. Kinflicks, lisa althers first published novel, is a funny, realistic account of a young woman growing up in the 1960s and of her struggle to come to terms with her mothers approaching. Few books have captured the traumas, random absurdities, and tender moments in a life like kinflicks. Washed in the blood is a threepart historical novel concerning the earliest european settlement of the southern appalachians.
She is the author of seven additional works of fiction, a memoir, and a narrative history of the hatfieldmccoy feud. The book jacket encomium by doris lessing, perhaps the most respected woman novelist writing today and an acknowledged feminist, praises kinflicks as a book that no man could have written. It was althers first published work, and the subject of considerable prepublication hyperbole. American novelist alther kinflicks and french artist gilot life with picasso converse on an array of topics including their vocations, cultural differences, fashion, and family h. Alther is the author of six novels, kinflicks, original sins, other women, bedrock, five minutes in heaven, and washed in the blood, as well as a small number of published short stories and many magazine articles. With a charming voice, a wonderfully dry sense of humor, and an abiding gift for spinning a yarn, bestselling author lisa alther makes an impartial, comprehensive, and compelling investigation of what actually happened in the feud between the hatfields and mccoys, masterfully setting the feud in its historical and cultural contexts, digging deep into the many causes and explanations of the. Finally, her third novel kinflicks was published and became a bestseller translated into 16 languages. Bestselling author lisa althers classic comingofage novel set amidst the changing times of the 1960s american south g. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. After her new novel publishes in june, she will have published 12 books in total, eight of which are.
Bouncing from one identity to the other, she adopts the values, politics, lifestyles and even sexual orientation of each new partner she finds. For a first novel, it elicited remarkable critical praise indeed. Today, fine lines proprietrix lizzie skurnick writes about kinflicks, lisa althers 1976 spineteaser. A new novel, funny, wise, moving, true, as only lisa alther can write she had me laughing at 4 in the morning doris lessing, set on a cruise ship, about a woman, a doctor in charge of the ships clinic, recovering from the loss of her longtime. Bestselling author lisa althers classic comingofage novel set amidst the changing times of the 1960s american south growing up in tennessee in a family of privilege, ginny babcocks world is seemingly idyllic. The melungeons are a multiracial appalachian population group saddled with obscure origins and unkind mythologizing from without. Lisa althers raucous novel kinflicks 1976 was all the rage among my high school set for its. Shirley conrans lace is a feminist bonkbuster books. Not to mention the fact that the book is witty as all getout. About women gives you a feeling of access to the shared salon of two brilliant women it whets ones appetite for good talk about womens lives.
Read kinflicks by lisa alther available from rakuten kobo. No other writer has yet synthesized the coming of age in the 60s as well as ms. Meet ginny babcock the forerunner to bridget jones its the 1950s and 60s in hullsport, tennessee and ginny babcock is coming of age. The essential problem with those nearly 600 pages, susan wood wrote in the washington post book world, is that they present every cliche youve ever heard about the south or about the political movements of the last two decades as though they are really, truly true. Flouting of every imaginable social convention from female stereotypes to the value of education.
In this wise, funny and ultimately heartbreaking story, lisa. I just finished reading althers coming of age novel again, at age 58, and enjoyed it from a different perspective, but with the same relish. Kinflicks ebook by lisa alther 9781453205877 rakuten kobo. I originally read kinflicks when it was first published. Her father was a surgeon and her mother a homemaker, and she grew up with three brothers and a sister. As you probably know by now, this kind of witty and zestful baby boomers comingofage story is a glut on the literary market but in my opinion kinflicks is far above the norm in quality. Lisa alther is the bestselling author of five novels, among them the critically acclaimed kinflicks, and a family memoir, kinfolks. When this girl, from a good home finally allowed herself to be degraded by her boyfriend, who ordered her to her knees in front of his open pants i had had enough. Find this book on abebooks, an amazon company, offers millions of new, used, and outofprint books. The hilarious odyssey of ginny babcock, a southern peach gone rotten. She was born in kingsport, tennessee, in 1944, one of five children in a closeknit family influenced by. Orginally published in 1976 and rereleased as a virago classic, lisa althers kinflicks remains remarkably fresh and provides the perfect read for a plane ride into another time zone. It is a long booklisa alther takes her time but at tleast the reader is not left with questions due to things insufficiently explained. Somerset maugham, in that it is a comingofage novel that not only as a result, a novel like kinflicks.
I wrote for twelve years and collected 250 rejection slips before getting any fiction published, so i guess outside reinforcement isnt all that important to me. Lisa althers wonderful first novel her large, hilarious, serious, and powerfully affecting story of a young american womans uproarious tumble through the fads and shocks and essential experiences of the 60s and 70s has created a ground swell of advance excitement and admiration, exemplified by the letter from doris lessing on the back of the jacket. She is widely known for her first novel, kinflicks 1975, a feminist comingofage narrative that broke new ground in terms of what could be written and talked about. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Novelist alther kinflicks, herself a child of appalachian east. Her tragicomic novels, which feature feisty lesbian characters, have become international bestsellers and have been translated into several languages. Readers looking for the humor and dash of kinflicks will be. Kinflicks by lisa alther and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Althers first novel, kinflicks, was published in 1976, followed by original sins. Kinflicks 1976 is a novel by american writer lisa alther. Kinflicks and millions of other books are available for instant access. When kinflicks was published in 1976, its author, lisa alther, was compared.
A very funny book, not at all savage, about serious matters. No man could have written it, but it is very far from being a womans book, and it made me wonder what tom jones would be like, written now. Who or what part did barbara spear webster play on murder she wrote. When kinflicks was published in 1976, its author, lisa alther, was compared with doris lessing and j. The hilarious odyssey of ginny babcock, a southern peach gone rotten, was a manual of selfdetermination and irreverent pleasure for 70s feminists. Lisa althers wonderful first novel her large, hilarious, serious, and. Falling off the family treethe search for my melungeon ancestors 2007. Kinflicks, original sins, other women, bedrock, five minutes in heaven, and swan song are contemporary novels. She has written eight novels, among them kinflicks, a feminist comingofage chronicle. I very much like this book, am sure alther will be recognized as a strong, salty, original talent.
Lisa althers first novel, kinflicks, must have been a daring enterprise in its time 1976, especially for a female writer. Her voice is droll, funny, and perfect for the topic. After fourteen years and 250 rejection slips, lisa alther got her big break when her debut novel, kinflicks, was accepted and published, becoming. In lisa althers hands, you get to witness ginny babcock grow from a little girl into a middleaged woman, and you experience the death of her mother at an early age. Kinflicks by lisa alther book cover, description, publication history. That first published book, kinflicks, came out in 1976 and was a bestseller, alther said. Over the course of 14 years, alther wrote two novels and 15 short stories.
I was in my early twenties and could readily identify with ginny, whose young life view was constantly in a state of upheaval. Kinflicks reminded me a lot of one of my favorite books, of human bondage by w. Extended track length will prohibit the ability to burn to a. S hirley conrans lace is to be republished this summer, 30 years after it became the ultimate escapist fiction, for a generation of women. We dont know when or if this item will be back in stock. The man who has no inner life is a slave of his surroundings, as the barometer is the obedient servant of the air.