milandeep's review against another edition
4.0
“I still take my emotional temperature a couple of times each hour.” says Nick Lyons in his memoir “Fire in the Straw”. He has been in so many different professional roles that it is hard to define him. He served in the army, was a teacher, an editor, a book publisher and a fly-fish catcher.
To fight the boredom in those lazy days of peacetime army service in France, he turned to books and was captivated. “I had been so stunned by the simple revelation that this could be that thing called literature, something that could haul me into its world and wake every part of me.” He started studying literature after returning from his army stint in France and soon discovered that all he craved was words. Hoping to become a writer, he took a small room in Greenwich Village but found himself lonely and inadequately prepared. He decided to go to college again. During this period, he was guided and mentored by a few good teachers who saw the potential in him and his love for reading.
After his marriage to the painter, Mari and four kids in quick succession he was struggling to make ends meet as a college teacher and started working as an editor and a ghost writer. While supporting his young family he piled up debt and kept working hard to pay it off.
He loved teaching and shined in his newly started publishing house which became a stepping stone for many writers, like Jon Krakauer. He also wrote books about fly-fishing.
He was born after the death of his father and was aloof from his mother and always wondered how his life could have been if he was loved and guided by his father.
I had never heard of Nick Lyons before, but the subtitle of the book “Notes on Inventing a Life,” got me intrigued. He is a great example of how a person can fall in love with literature even if he has not been a reader as a child. What is admirable about him is that how he completely transformed himself after getting a discharge from the army. He did not want to be defined by one thing but to be “a person with diverse talents and desires.” He learned the tricks of the trade as a small publisher and to do business on a shoestring budget.
He lived a rich and a varied life. For him, writing was “scrapped words off the brain.” He had “to quell that great hunger in my heart to be taken seriously.” He may not be a very famous author but he accomplished a great deal in his life – somebody who had the fire burning inside him, who was written off but survived and thrived.
To fight the boredom in those lazy days of peacetime army service in France, he turned to books and was captivated. “I had been so stunned by the simple revelation that this could be that thing called literature, something that could haul me into its world and wake every part of me.” He started studying literature after returning from his army stint in France and soon discovered that all he craved was words. Hoping to become a writer, he took a small room in Greenwich Village but found himself lonely and inadequately prepared. He decided to go to college again. During this period, he was guided and mentored by a few good teachers who saw the potential in him and his love for reading.
After his marriage to the painter, Mari and four kids in quick succession he was struggling to make ends meet as a college teacher and started working as an editor and a ghost writer. While supporting his young family he piled up debt and kept working hard to pay it off.
He loved teaching and shined in his newly started publishing house which became a stepping stone for many writers, like Jon Krakauer. He also wrote books about fly-fishing.
He was born after the death of his father and was aloof from his mother and always wondered how his life could have been if he was loved and guided by his father.
I had never heard of Nick Lyons before, but the subtitle of the book “Notes on Inventing a Life,” got me intrigued. He is a great example of how a person can fall in love with literature even if he has not been a reader as a child. What is admirable about him is that how he completely transformed himself after getting a discharge from the army. He did not want to be defined by one thing but to be “a person with diverse talents and desires.” He learned the tricks of the trade as a small publisher and to do business on a shoestring budget.
He lived a rich and a varied life. For him, writing was “scrapped words off the brain.” He had “to quell that great hunger in my heart to be taken seriously.” He may not be a very famous author but he accomplished a great deal in his life – somebody who had the fire burning inside him, who was written off but survived and thrived.
todayitsthis's review against another edition
4.0
Nick Lyons’ memoir is a full account of his life, from birth to a period of reflection in his old age.
An early chapter about his experience in the armed forces had an incredibly similar feel to A Farewell to Arms (which was fresh in my mind from a recent read), but that was only a moment in Lyons’ rich life. As he reminisced on family and career in other chapters, I grew accustomed to his writing style.
This is certainly a literary memoir. Lyons is a former English professor, and a large portion of his life (and memoir) revolve around that part of his identity. However, the more descriptive chapters are nicely balanced with interesting anecdotal sections just when the reader needs them.
If you’re interested in academia, or simply want to read some beautiful prose, check this out when it’s published later this year.
*Side note: As a University of Michigan alum with an English degree, I very much enjoyed reading about his time in Ann Arbor. #GoBlue
An early chapter about his experience in the armed forces had an incredibly similar feel to A Farewell to Arms (which was fresh in my mind from a recent read), but that was only a moment in Lyons’ rich life. As he reminisced on family and career in other chapters, I grew accustomed to his writing style.
This is certainly a literary memoir. Lyons is a former English professor, and a large portion of his life (and memoir) revolve around that part of his identity. However, the more descriptive chapters are nicely balanced with interesting anecdotal sections just when the reader needs them.
If you’re interested in academia, or simply want to read some beautiful prose, check this out when it’s published later this year.
*Side note: As a University of Michigan alum with an English degree, I very much enjoyed reading about his time in Ann Arbor. #GoBlue
slbeckmann's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to the author, Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a very personal recounting, generally chronological, of the author's path in life, from childhood right through to frail old age. The book is beautifully written, and as he reminisces and tells his story, the author is not shy about revealing what he perceives as his weaknesses or shortcomings - I found him quite modest, considering what he achieved in the course of his life. Particularly the later chapters, where suffering and death enter his life, are poignant and left me reflecting on my own life.
This is a very personal recounting, generally chronological, of the author's path in life, from childhood right through to frail old age. The book is beautifully written, and as he reminisces and tells his story, the author is not shy about revealing what he perceives as his weaknesses or shortcomings - I found him quite modest, considering what he achieved in the course of his life. Particularly the later chapters, where suffering and death enter his life, are poignant and left me reflecting on my own life.
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