Review by: ExplodeaHippie
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This is an autobiographical work written by Annie Dillard, relating her experiences as a child and adolescent in Pittsburg in the mid 20th century. Her writing is clear and philosophical- but she is telling a story, not listing facts. She carefully develops and relates the inner and outer lives of the main protagonist, herself, as she slowly becomes conscious of her own existence. As children, we start by becoming aware slowly of the outside world. At the same time, we also become aware of ourselves and our own inner reality. It is only later on that we realize with a thrill the connection of the inner reality which centers and the outer reality which we can observe. Dillard describes this experience as like slowly stepping into a hot bathtub and watching your skin merge with the reflection of your ankle. We are all becoming aware of how we and the self we know are contained in the world around us. This story of childhood is a story of the inner self slipping into the outer self which is surrounded by the world and the universe- and this act of fitting oneself into the world is the most important part of growing up. An American Childhood is a story of how one grows up in this country- and though our own experiences are not the same as Dillard's, we can nonetheless relate to the atmosphere in which she grew up, permeated by fictional landscapes and the determined and quirky American life. We, too, know the feeling of growing up and reaching escape velocity, know the feeling of slowly merging into the world and remembering that one is not merely an observer but a part of the here and now. This insightful and well-written text is certainly worth the read. Ok for BOC pass KJ. |
