Sometimes You Have to Lie

Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle

Pro: learning about the unconventional author's life, the story behind one of my favorite books.

Con: the writing style with its extraneous whimsy and weird formal-kitschy tone. The swoony, verbose analysis of Harriet was so at odds with Fitzhugh”s dry humor, it was not at all a good match. Flights of fancy, like long descriptions of what Fitzhugh MIGHT have worn to a dinner party, felt like padding. (This is rampant in biography, I find.) Plus the lack of editing, down to the level of subject- verb agreement, was quite egregious.

Overall worth reading, though, because it's the only truly frank and honest book on the subject, who is really fascinating – though no reproductions of Fitzhugh”s artwork, why not???