Half a Life is a book by American author
Darin Strauss
Darin Strauss is a best-selling American writer whose work has earned a number of awards, including, among numerous others, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Strauss's 2011 book '' Half a Life,'' won the 2011 ...
. It received the
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".[This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...]
'' episode entitled "Life After Death," in which the author addressed the effects of a high school traffic accident.
Summary
Strauss, a novelist, recounts how his life was profoundly altered when a car he was driving struck and killed a high school classmate. She was on a bicycle that swerved in front of his car, which struck and killed her.
[
Although it was determined Strauss could in no way have avoided the accident, the book details his attempts, over half his life, to come to terms with his feelings of responsibility.
]
Reception
''Half a Life'' was enthusiastically received by critics here and abroad. Writing in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', writer and critic Robert McCrum
John Robert McCrum (born 7 July 1953) is an English writer and editor, holding senior editorial positions at Faber and Faber over seventeen years, followed by a long association with ''The Observer''.
Early life
The son of Michael William McC ...
called the book "a masterpiece....'Half my life ago, I killed a girl'. You'll rarely get a better first line. What follows—Strauss's precise, honest and rigorous account of a fateful road accident and its harrowing aftermath—fulfills every hope aroused in the casual reader. What starts as an 18-year-old's carefree outing in his father's car leads to the death of Celine Zilke, a classmate, followed by a court case (this is America). Simultaneously, however, there is redemption. Crystal, and with many facets, Half a Life deserves celebration." In the Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
, critic Elizabeth Taylor called it "a book that inspires admiration, sentence by sentence...This is memoir in its finest form." Writer Dani Shapiro, in ''The New York Times Book Review'', found the memoir "elegant, painful, stunningly honest." She continued, "At the center of this memoir thrums a question fundamental to what it means to be human: What do we do with what we’ve been given?" A critical favorite in the UK, ''Half a Life'' was called "one of the best books I have ever read" by Ali Catterall on The BBC
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, as well as "precise, elegantly written, fresh, wise, and very sad ... indicative not only of a very talented writer, but of a proper human being” by Nick Hornby
''Half a Life'' was widely excerpted in venues such as '' GQ'', ''This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...
'', United Kingdom papers ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' and '' Daily Mail''.
Awards
''Half a Life'' received the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".[McSweeney’s
McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco.
Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...]
, which centers on a car accident the author was in that killed a classmate.")
References
{{Reflist
External links
Book page on McSweeny's*
ttp://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/09/10/multimedia/1248068999965/an-interview-with-darin-strauss.html Strauss with Sam Tanenhaus of ''The New York Times Book Review''Strauss and "Guilty as Not Charged" on ''This American Life''''Poets & Writers'' on Darin Strauss and ''Half a Life''
American memoirs
2011 non-fiction books
National Book Critics Circle Award-winning works
McSweeney's books