The Merry Recluse: A Life in Essays

by Caroline Knapp

Overview

From the best–selling author of Drinking: A Love Story and Appetites: Why Women Want comes this unforgettable collection spanning fifteen years of observations on modern culture and women's lives. Caroline Knapp's readers are known not just for their number, but for their intense connection to her work. Knapp connected so well in part because of the intense focus she brought to her subjects. Now, with The Merry Recluse: A Life in Essays, Knapp shows us that her vision through a wider lens is as brilliant as through a narrow one. These essays paint the fullest picture of this wonderful writer that we've yet seen, but they are also a full portrait of a writing life, showing how the same themes can engage––and expand––a writer over a lifetime. Knapp, who died in 2002, was considered one of the country's more intelligent and graceful voices in memoirs. This collection also shows her to be a witty, provocative observer of the world around her.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781582433141
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	04/20/2005
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.29(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Caroline Knapp is the author of Appetites: Why Women Want and the best–selling books, Drinking: A Love Story and Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs. She died in June 2002 at the age of forty–two.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	ix
	With: Friendship, Family, Love, Lucille	1
	On Being a Twin	3
	The Cord That Binds	8
	Breaking Away	12
	Girl Crushes	16
	When You Just Want to Be Loved	24
	Confessions of a Control Freak	30
	Letter to Zoe	35
	Grace Notes	39
	How to Have a Dog's Life	45
	Lucille Versus Stumpy	50
	My Canine, Myself	54
	Dog Group	58
	No Dogs Allowed	62
	Best of Breed: The Mix	66
	Without: Grief, Loss, Sobriety	69
	The Grace Period	71
	Grief Stages	74
	Mid-Mourning	77
	A Mother's Work	80
	Detail Work	85
	Grieving Lessons	89
	Clearing Up	93
	Food as Enemy	97
	Getting Better	110
	On Loneliness	114
	Lessons in Loss	117
	Living Without Alcohol	121
	A Letter to My Father	125
	Acamprosate	133
	The Problem with Moderation	136
	Life Without Anesthesia	141
	Out There: The State of the World	149
	An Open Letter to Corporate America	151
	Twelve Steps Down	155
	From Ares to Ridicules	159
	Beyond Bad Hair	163
	Notes on Dave	167
	What Women Really Need from Science	171
	He Says, She Says	175
	Dicking Around	179
	Death to Niceness	182
	Harassment 101	185
	Patchwork	189
	Longing to Be Italian	193
	Why We Keep Stuff	195
	Teddy Bear II	199
	Nesting Fever	203
	Sloblessness	207
	Notes on Nesting	211
	Overload, Post 9/11	215
	In Here: Reflections	219
	Longing for Normalcy	221
	Endless (and Endless) Summer	225
	Coming Home	229
	Nothing to Wear	233
	Exercising Options	237
	I Hate Money	241
	Satan Deals the Cards	245
	Transfer Station	249
	The Rage Cage	253
	The Feminine Critique	257
	Barbie Does Death	261
	Biceps Changed My Life	265
	The Merry Recluse: Solitude, Shyness, Loneliness	269
	Time Alone	271
	Speaking Out for Shyness	278
	The Merry Recluse	286

Editorial Reviews

At a particular point in time, in "a magical, transformative moment," Knapp (Drinking: A Love Story) describes herself as "the merry recluse" and realizes she is "happy and alone." Arranged thematically, this collection of poignant essays, written over a 15-year period, deals with grief and sobriety, friendship and love, addictions, shyness, and loneliness. From the potent images of "Life Without Anesthesia" (giving up an addiction) to the artful whimsy of "From Ares to Ridicules Greek Gods for Modern Times" (creating contemporary gods to combat confusion and despair), Knapp captures elements of the human condition and reflects on them. Her description of her battle with anorexia nervosa is vivid and poignant: "At a time when I felt essentially worthless, starving was the one thing I could say I was good at." Her commentary on acquiring a dog is filled with wry humor: "You notice at this point that you have begun to think like a dog." Her declaration that "Life is hard, growth is painful, joy can be elusive" is an eloquent testimonial to her journey from alcoholism to sobriety. Knapp's writing is powerful and compelling throughout. While her worldview is familiar, her representation of it is striking. Her untimely death at the age of 43 is a cause for regret. Recommended for all public and academic libraries. Kathryn R. Bartelt, Univ. of Evansville Libs., IN Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Brief essays exploring universal themes-friendship, loneliness, and love-and observations on contemporary life, from Barbie dolls and Linda Tripp to computer solitaire. These columns by the late Knapp, who wrote for Boston Phoenix, and other publications, span her career from the '80s until her death in 2002, at age 42. Here, they're grouped by theme into five parts: "Without," on grief, loss, and sobriety; "With," on friendship, family, and love; "Out There," on the state of the world; "In Here," on her inner world; and "The Merry Recluse," on solitude, shyness, and loneliness. The title is taken from a piece on being single that Knapp wrote for Slate in 1998, but little merriment appears in the opening pieces. In these she deals with the deaths of her parents and her recovery from anorexia and alcoholism, subjects she explored in greater depth in Appetites (2003) and Drinking (1996). Knapp's wit emerges in part two when she writes about her dog, Lucille, and engages in a debate with columnist Ron Rosenbaum on the relative value of dogs and cats. It blossoms in parts three and four, where she offers tart and original ideas on how corporate America could improve employee morale (e.g., on-site laundries) and how science could lighten the lot of females (e.g., the five-minute menstrual cycle), invents some new gods for the '90s (e.g., Testicles-rhymes with Hercules-the god of male chauvinist pigs), and expands the concept of nicotine-patch technology to other human needs (e.g., a healing chicken-soup patch). Most memorable, however, are her forthright, unsentimental examinations of her life as a woman living alone and working alone that beautifully elucidate the pleasures of solitude andthe pain of isolation. An intelligent voice that spoke with grace, honesty, and humor.

Kirkus Reviews