Borrowed Finery: A Memoir

by Paula Fox

Book Overview

Born in the 1920s to nomadic, bohemian parents, Paula Fox is left at birth in a Manhattan orphanage, then cared for by a poor yet cultivated minister in upstate New York. Her parents, however, soon resurface. Her handsome father is a hard-drinking screenwriter who is, for young Paula, "part ally, part betrayer." Her mother is given to icy bursts of temper that punctuate a deep indifference. How, Fox wonders, is this woman "enough of an organic being...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805071849
• ISBN13: 9780805071849
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Holt McDougal
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Five Stars Plus

This is certainly the best book of the year that I have read.She spares us nothing of the torment of her life;yet it is told with such simplicity and elegance. anyone who considers themself a serious reader owes it to themselves to read this memoir.

best book in years

I had never even heard of this author and a friend was reading it at work and couldnt put it down. Immediately I was taken over by the story and her writing which made me feel I was right there living and experiencing what life was like for her.Her characters are so true and she writes with such honesty and wonderful description. I ended up ordering every other book she has written for adults and then when I asked other people about her it seems the whole world has read Paula Fox and loved her work except for me. IM so glad to have discovered her and reading her memoir makes reading her other books even more special.Even Oprah recommended her. I just keep passing Borrowed Finery on to everyone I know and so far they have had the same reactions as I have. I think this book should win alot of awards.

extraordinary touching and full of quiet wisdom

This book is one of the most moving and brilliantly written memoirs I have read in several years. Fox writes with a brevity that is breathtaking;this book is filled with prose,humor,truthtelling and a remarkable acceptance of the major life blows she was dealt.I can see why she has won so many awards with her writing and why this book was on the Times top ten.I have ordered copies for most of my friends and know I will read it many times over.