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A review by stephaniesteen73
Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son by Sam Lamott, Anne Lamott
2.0
I wrote this review once and lost it....here it is re-created...all for you, Emily Wilson!
I had such high hopes for this book as I absolutely LOVED Operating Instructions - the journal of Lamott's first year with her son Sam. So it seemed like a perfect idea to chronicle the first year of Sam's first son, Jax. While Lamott was a single mom from the get-go, circumstances were somewhat similar as Sam and his girlfriend found out they were expecting Jax at age 19.
Maybe because I'm closer to newborns than to grandchildren, but I felt the whole tone of the book was wrong. The majority of entries seem to be complaints: she doesn't see Jax enough, the parents aren't doing things correctly, they come over and stay too long, etc. If I was Jax's mom, I'd run away once reading this (even though the book is dedicated to her, and apparently she was OK with it all). She's got a lot more patience and understanding than I would! Particularly offensive were the sections where Lamott gripes that the child's mother should get a job...and she details every single time she gives them money (for groceries, for clothes), etc. More than one she frets about supporting them.
Especially in the sections where Lamott travels to India, the book felt like "Eat. Pray. Love" (or as a friend dubbed it, "Me. Me. Me.") This is best reflected in the section where Lamott asks her son to write a summary of his uncle's wedding. She asks something to the effect of "did you mention how thin and beautiful I looked?" and he responds, wisely, "Mom, is it OK if the wedding is about the people getting married and not about you?"
There were still lots of witticisms and profound spiritual insights here. Lamott is a gifted writer and knows she is completely neurotic. It wasn't an unenjoyable experience, but it could have been so much more. The positive thing is that Jax is in good hands with two loving parents, and a loving grandmother who loves him in her own, all-consuming way.
I had such high hopes for this book as I absolutely LOVED Operating Instructions - the journal of Lamott's first year with her son Sam. So it seemed like a perfect idea to chronicle the first year of Sam's first son, Jax. While Lamott was a single mom from the get-go, circumstances were somewhat similar as Sam and his girlfriend found out they were expecting Jax at age 19.
Maybe because I'm closer to newborns than to grandchildren, but I felt the whole tone of the book was wrong. The majority of entries seem to be complaints: she doesn't see Jax enough, the parents aren't doing things correctly, they come over and stay too long, etc. If I was Jax's mom, I'd run away once reading this (even though the book is dedicated to her, and apparently she was OK with it all). She's got a lot more patience and understanding than I would! Particularly offensive were the sections where Lamott gripes that the child's mother should get a job...and she details every single time she gives them money (for groceries, for clothes), etc. More than one she frets about supporting them.
Especially in the sections where Lamott travels to India, the book felt like "Eat. Pray. Love" (or as a friend dubbed it, "Me. Me. Me.") This is best reflected in the section where Lamott asks her son to write a summary of his uncle's wedding. She asks something to the effect of "did you mention how thin and beautiful I looked?" and he responds, wisely, "Mom, is it OK if the wedding is about the people getting married and not about you?"
There were still lots of witticisms and profound spiritual insights here. Lamott is a gifted writer and knows she is completely neurotic. It wasn't an unenjoyable experience, but it could have been so much more. The positive thing is that Jax is in good hands with two loving parents, and a loving grandmother who loves him in her own, all-consuming way.