At Large and at Small: Familiar Essays
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
Butterflies, ice-cream, writing at night, playing word games...in this witty, intimate and delicious book Anne Fadiman ruminates on her passions, both literary and everyday. From mourning the demise of letter-writing to revealing a monumental crush on Charles Lamb, from Balzac's coffee addiction to making ice-cream from Liquid Nitrogen, she draws us into a world of hedonistic pleasures and literary delights. This is the perfect book for life's ardent obsessives.
Reviews with the most likes.
I paid full price for this book; I only do that for books I really, really want to read.
The truth is that I was disappointed. I don't know why. Partly, I think, it was because the subjects of the essays were not of particular interest to me. But I think it was primarily that the essays felt forced, not written naturally out of love for the subject, but to meet the requirements of completing a book.
Eight years ago I read Ex Libris by Ms. Fadiman and really enjoyed it, so I was interested in checking out this batch of essays as well. A “familiar essay” is a reflection on a subject held dear by the author. Some of the subjects Ms. Fadiman covers include butterfly collecting, Victorian writers, little known Arctic explorers, coffee, ice cream, and finally, a tragic canoe trip. I found most of it interesting and all of it well written.
