Half a Life (memoir)
Encyclopedia
Half a Life is a book by American
author Darin Strauss
. It received the National Book Critics Circle Award for memoir in 2011.
episode entitled "Life After Death," in which the author addressed the effects of a high school traffic accident: a bicycling classmate swerved in front of his car and was killed. Although it was determined he could in no way have avoided the accident, the book details Strauss' attempts, over half his life, to come to terms with his feelings of responsibility.
, writer and critic Robert McCrum
called the book "a masterpiece....'Half my life ago, I killed a girl'. You'll rarely get a better first line. What follows—Strauss's precise, honest and rigorous account of a fateful road accident and its harrowing aftermath—fulfills every hope aroused in the casual reader. What starts as an 18-year-old's carefree outing in his father's car leads to the death of Celine Zilke, a classmate, followed by a court case (this is America). Simultaneously, however, there is redemption. Crystal, and with many facets, Half a Life deserves celebration." In the Chicago Tribune
, critic Elizabeth Taylor called it "a book that inspires admiration, sentence by sentence...This is memoir in its finest form." Writer Dani Shapiro
, in The New York Times Book Review, found the memoir "elegant, painful, stunningly honest." She continued, "At the center of this memoir thrums a question fundamental to what it means to be human: What do we do with what we’ve been given?" A critical favorite in the UK, Half a Life was called "one of the best books I have ever read" by Ali Catterall on The BBC, as well as "precise, elegantly written, fresh, wise, and very sad ... indicative not only of a very talented writer, but of a proper human being” by Nick Hornby
Half a Life was widely excerpted—in GQ, on This American Life
, and in The Times of London and The Daily Mail (UK), among others.
for autobiography.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author Darin Strauss
Darin Strauss
Darin Strauss is an American writer based in Brooklyn, NY. Strauss's memoir Half a Life won the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award for memoir/autobiography.-Biography:...
. It received the National Book Critics Circle Award for memoir in 2011.
Summary
Strauss, a novelist, recounts how his life was profoundly altered when a car he was driving struck and killed a fellow high school student.Plot
Strauss' memoir grew out of a 2008 This American LifeThis American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
episode entitled "Life After Death," in which the author addressed the effects of a high school traffic accident: a bicycling classmate swerved in front of his car and was killed. Although it was determined he could in no way have avoided the accident, the book details Strauss' attempts, over half his life, to come to terms with his feelings of responsibility.
Reception
Half a Life was enthusiastically received by critics here and abroad. Writing in The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, writer and critic Robert McCrum
Robert McCrum
Robert McCrum , is an English writer and editor. He served as literary editor of The Observer for more than ten years. In May 2008 he was appointed Associate Editor of the Observer and was succeeded as literary editor by William Skidelsky...
called the book "a masterpiece....'Half my life ago, I killed a girl'. You'll rarely get a better first line. What follows—Strauss's precise, honest and rigorous account of a fateful road accident and its harrowing aftermath—fulfills every hope aroused in the casual reader. What starts as an 18-year-old's carefree outing in his father's car leads to the death of Celine Zilke, a classmate, followed by a court case (this is America). Simultaneously, however, there is redemption. Crystal, and with many facets, Half a Life deserves celebration." In the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, critic Elizabeth Taylor called it "a book that inspires admiration, sentence by sentence...This is memoir in its finest form." Writer Dani Shapiro
Dani Shapiro
Daneile Joyce "Dani" Shapiro is the author of five novels and the best-selling memoirs Slow Motion and Devotion. She has also written for magazines such as The New Yorker, The Oprah Magazine, Vogue, and ELLE....
, in The New York Times Book Review, found the memoir "elegant, painful, stunningly honest." She continued, "At the center of this memoir thrums a question fundamental to what it means to be human: What do we do with what we’ve been given?" A critical favorite in the UK, Half a Life was called "one of the best books I have ever read" by Ali Catterall on The BBC, as well as "precise, elegantly written, fresh, wise, and very sad ... indicative not only of a very talented writer, but of a proper human being” by Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
Half a Life was widely excerpted—in GQ, on This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
, and in The Times of London and The Daily Mail (UK), among others.
Awards
Half a Life received the 2011 National Book Critics Circle AwardNational Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
for autobiography.