A review by emilyclairem
To the Is-land: An Autobiography by Janet Frame

3.0

Right at the end of this book, I realized why I wasn't loving this book as much as I had hoped from a Frame work. The authorial Frame steps in and reflects on how the memories of her adolescence are confused and nonlinear in comparison to the neat memories of her childhood and I thought - ah, there is the Frame I know. I remember from reading An Angel at my Table (which I read first) that her autobiographical writing is quite different, but I had forgotten just how dry it is in comparison to her fiction texts. I think I enjoyed this less than An Angel at my Table due to caring about the subject matter less - as she says a few times, her childhood wasn't all that interesting. Reading this book was fine but I would have given up on it if it wasn't for research. It definitely reads as the introduction to her autobiography and I don't think stands alone very well on its own. That being said, I think Frame has a wonderfully fascinating mind and I did somewhat enjoy learning more about her (what she wants us to learn about her, at least).