Bequest and Betrayal: Memoirs of a Parent's Death

by Nancy K. Miller

Book Overview

"In a book that will change the ways we think about autobiography and criticism, Nancy K. Miller produces poignant revelations about what it means to live with a dying parent--as a son or daughter, as well as the difference that gender makes in such a painful situation. In Bequest and Betrayal, she develops an original feminist perspective by counterpointing lyrical introspection about her own grief with critical insights into memoirs by Simone...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253213797
• ISBN13: 9780253213792
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

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This is the first work of literary criticism that I read like a novel; I simply couldn't put it down. By combining literary criticism and autobiography, Miller pushes the boundaries of literary criticism in productive ways and forces us to rethink the field. Finally a book I can recommend and give to all my friends, regardless of whether they are academics.

Scholarly & readable-- what a combination!

Nancy K. Miller is one of my favorite contemporary feminist theorists. This study of several "Memoirs" written by adult children of deceased parents kept me interested in ways that scholarship often does not (I usually read it for work, not pleasure-- this book combined the two). With this book, you should also read Maus : A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman, because one of the most fascinating chapters is a study of Spiegelman's gripping Holocaust narratives. Autobiography shapes all writing in ways that critics are really just beginning to explore-- Dr. Miller is at the forefront of this field and deservedly so.