Reading My Father

A Memoir

By: Alexandra Styron

Narrated by: Alexandra Styron

Alexandra Styron's parents—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. From Styron’s youth and precocious literary debut to the triumphs of his best-known books and on through his spiral into depression, Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written with humor, compassion, and grace.

©2011 Original material by Alexandra Styron. Recorded by arrangement with Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. (P)2011 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

“Readers passionate about American literature will be fascinated by Alexandra’s insightful tales about her complicated father and his circle, which included Peter Matthiessen, Norman Mailer, and Arthur Miller.” ( Booklist)

Styron on Styron -awesome combo

I have loved all of William Styron's works and this was a beautiful and loving look at the man himself - warts and all. Didn't realize he was so debilitated by depression even though I head "Darkness Visible" - I liked every minute of it and am glad I bought it.

Comparison

I read her mother’s autobiography first and it was interesting to compare. Both terrific and full of anecdotes and contemporary events. Wife versus daughter POVs quite different but both balanced and fair.

Reading My Father: A Memoir

In the mode of Susan Cheever's memoir of her father, Styron's work offers a threaded narrative off her life, her father's life, and her research for the memoir. Of course, the most interesting parts have to do with pere Styron, especially his early years of literary success. The daugher's insufficently aknowledged privilege becomes annoying at times. but she's a good writer.

A Gripping Account

This is a superb biography and you don't even have to be a Styron fan (I'm not) to find it fascinating. The daughter's portrait of her very troubled and demanding father manages somehow to maintain a loving quality within its excoriating account of Styron's bad bargains with his muse. He was clearly a charismatic man, someone who had many famous friends and well-wishers, but he was also demonized by his creative gifts and often unable to connect with his devoted family. The book is beautifully written and the author, who for years trained as an actress, is a very skillful reader.

The author’s deeply sensitive telling of her story.

Ms. Styron is a fantastic writer, with beautiful turns of phrase and poetic descriptions of her life and family. Very sensitive and deeply told story.