Comments on: God of Books

By: Debbie Thompson

Debbie Thompson — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 04:58:18 +0000

Margie Fox, you are so insightfully honest, and know yourself so well. Thank-you for sharing your thoughts and insights in your essay. As I read your essay, I could see and feel everything you wrote about. I thoroughly enjoyed the perfect picture your essay created. Good-luck in all you do.

By: Gail Storey

Gail Storey — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:57:52 +0000

I loved this essay. Fox is so true to her own experience while sharing insights about writing, definitions of success, and family dynamics. This seems to me a great use of the essay as a form, a revelation of the self that deepens to the universal and sparkles with honesty. I look forward to reading more of her work.

By: James Eric Watkins

James Eric Watkins — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:07:54 +0000

. . . a well-written, well-expressed piece of work . . . .

By: Susan Hardman

Susan Hardman — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:57:33 +0000

That is hideous and marvelous at once that you had such a famous literary uncle. I felt your pain and my own while I read your essay – you did a great job with a difficult theme, and I salute you for your exploration of being someone versus becoming somebody.

By: Cynthia Calhoun

Cynthia Calhoun — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:31:41 +0000

Thank you for this memoir essay. Your son and younger relatives will one day appreciate the connection made with your words to ancestors, some of whom they have not met. Hopefully, you have the pictures to add to this essay although your descriptions were quite revealing.

I liked your title God of Books. You did a great job of carrying both the desire to become your uncle’s chosen one and the awe and respect that distanced you from him, to the end.

I felt like I was in the room and overhearing your conversations with your uncle. How special to have known someone who focused entirely on you, if only for a brief time. It is a rare happening in our 2 second sound bite life.

Look forward to reading more of your work.

By: L. Fabiani

L. Fabiani — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:21:41 +0000

I started reading this essay with interest because of the title, then the first paragraph drew me in. By the time I read that Uncle Henry was a book editor, I was hooked.

I can completely relate to the mixed feelings about “success” and the writing life. Margi, IMO you’ve found success with this essay – build on it from there. That’s the advice I think someone would give me if I had done this well with one of my attempts while bemoaning my ‘failure’ in general. Modesty is fine, but the trick is balancing it with ambition. Too much of one or the other and we lose sight of the value of art.

That’s my two cents. Thanks for an enjoyable essay. Good luck!