Bibliophobia: A Memoir

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Synopsis
&“A wise, tremendously moving exploration of what it means to seek companionship and understanding, in books and in life.&”—Hua Hsu, author of Stay True &“A must for the obsessive reader.&”—Elif Batuman, author of Either/Or and The IdiotBooks can seduce you. They can, Sarah Chihaya believes, annihilate, reveal, and provoke you. And anyone incurably obsessed with books understands this kind of unsettling literary encounter. Sarah calls books that have this effect &“Life Ruiners&”.Her Life Ruiner, Toni Morrison&’s The Bluest Eye, became a talisman for her in high school when its electrifying treatment of race exposed Sarah&’s deepest feelings about being Japanese American in a predominantly white suburb of Cleveland. But Sarah had always lived through her books, seeking escape, self-definition, and rules for living. She built her life around reading, wrote criticism, and taught literature at an Ivy League University. Then she was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, and the world became an unreadable blank page. In the aftermath, she was faced with a question. Could we ever truly rewrite the stories that govern our lives?Bibliophobia is an alternately searing and darkly humorous story of breakdown and survival told through books. Delving into texts such as Anne of Green Gables, Possession, A Tale for the Time Being, The Last Samurai, Chihaya interrogates her cultural identity, her relationship with depression, and the intoxicating, sometimes painful, ways books push back on those who love them.
Copyright:
2025

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
240 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780593594735
Related ISBNs:
9780593594728, 9798217020737, 9798217020744
Publisher:
Random House Publishing Group
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Sarah Chihaya
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Literature and Fiction, Psychology, Language Arts
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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