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There are currently 17 member reviews
for The Memory of All That
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Virginia P. (Tallahassee, FL)
The Memory of All That
Katharine Weber's memories in this small book are of the serial infidelities of her father, Sidney Kaufman, and her grandmother, Kay Swift's affair with George Gershwin. The subtitle of the book suggested that it was more about her grandmother and Gershwin than other infidelities in the family, but the first half of the book was taken up with her father's struggle to be known and his unfaithfulness to her mother. Other than the fact that he was constantly being investigated by the FBI for liberal leanings, it was pretty tedious reading. I don't know why someone wants to write about a parent's infidelity unless it is cathartic to them. The author definitely had issues with her parents and this comes across, loud and clear. The second portion of the book concerned her grandmother, grandfather, James Paul Warburg and George Gershwin. While Gershwin was a marvelous talent and it appeared Swift was also, it was disappointing to learn that they were silly, vain and self-centered. I plan to pass this book on to a friend to get her opinion, but I truly cannot recommend it for anything other than the excellent writing style.
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Annette S. (Duluth, GA)
The Memory of All That
A memoir of an eccentric and dysfunctional family that is at times difficult to read because of the trying situations that this family went through. It is told with all the names, and all the family disagreements. I found the section dealing with Kay Swift and George Gershwin fascinating, but so many of the other names mentioned were those I had never heard of.
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Pepper E. (Lawrenceville, NJ)
No memory of all that
I received an Early Review copy of this book.
Disclaimer: I did not read the entire book
While not a society/gossip/People Magazine reader, I do love a memoir that tells the childhood of the famous or the infamous.
I was brought up with show tunes on the record player and on the radio, so I was attracted to Katherine Swift's memoir because she is almost exactly my age, mid fifties, and expected to have lived a somewhat parallel life.
I was disappointed enough with The Memory of All That that I was not inspired to read the entire book. After several chapters, I still felt I was picking the book up at its midpoint, that I had neglected to read the Preface. I did Google her father for some historical context...I never got a clear picture of the author or her surroundings, although I will accept the blame for not knowing enough about the few celebrities she mentions, I am not well versed in that time period or that culture to be familiar. I think there might have been a little more back-story to let the reader know about the author's family, and a little more context.
Sure, her family dynamics were atypical, but that's show biz. Maybe it was because I did not read it cover-to-cover, or maybe it's just me, but the story was just not compelling enough to pique or carry my interest.
