![]() ![]() The postmodern perspective emerged from the social upheaval of the 1960s, matured in the post-structuralism and deconstruction of the 1970s, and declined after finding its way into pop culture in the 1980s. I argue that postmodern moves, such as those made by Karr in The Liars’ Club, resonate with us because they approximate the psychological processes of remembering our experiences and constructing our identities. Although “postmodernism” is rarely considered a compliment now, removed as we are from the heyday of the cultural movement, postmodern techniques continue to shape how we tell stories about ourselves. Despite being written after the putative death of postmodernism in the early 1990s, The Liars’ Club marks itself as postmodern through its emphasis on fragmentation and indeterminacy. What makes The Liars’ Club compelling, even twenty years on, is Karr’s use of postmodern discursive strategies. Invoking the dichotomy of truth and falsehood, though, does not do justice to the complexities of Karr’s work. In a foreword to the twentieth anniversary edition of The Liars’ Club, Lena Dunham suggests that Karr’s “refusal to lie” is what continues to entice readers (xii, emphasis in the original). The LA Times commended Karr’s “unqualified emotional honesty” (McFadden). The New York Times hailed it as “a wonderfully unsentimental vision” (Kakutani). Despite Karr’s frank misgivings, The Liars’ Club received positive reviews, most of which praised Karr’s work in terms of its authenticity. As Karr tells Terry Gross in a September 2015 interview on Fresh Air, she is never sure she has described the full truth when recounting her memories, and she sometimes fears that she has not “gotten things right” (“Mary Karr on Writing Memoirs”). The Liars’ Club, which defined Karr as an influential figure in the genre of memoir, recounts her experiences growing up with an unconventional family in a small Texas town. I didn’t fabricate stuff, but today, other scenes I’d add might tell a less forgiving story” (23). Reflecting on her first memoir in her most recent book, The Art of Memoir, Mary Karr observes, “The self who penned formed the filter for those events. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |