Road Song: A Memoir

by Natalie Kusz

Book Overview

Riveting--Kusz's gifts as a writer, her original voice and sparkling perceptions, give this memoir the literary precision of a novel.--Los Angeles TimesWhen she was six years old, Natalie Kusz left... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060974257
• ISBN13: 9780060974251
• Release Date: October 1991
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

An incredible memoir

A friend recommended this book, first published in 1990, saying it her FAVORITE" book. Mighty words coming from this particular friend.I took it on vacation and read the whole thing in two days -- could not put it down. And incredible, moving, extremely well-written, intense memoir that almost reads like fiction.Rock on, Natalie. You are my new heroine....

haunting... unforgettable

My father gave this book to me 6 years ago and and I reread it every few months. The true story of author's childhood is told in a bluntly honest and often painful way. This is a book that all writers interested in writing creative non-fiction need to study carefully. Kusz has mastered the craft. She takes us from California to Alaska with her family in 1969. We are enchanted by her family and the difficult path her parents chose to take in the effort to give their children something more. Even after loss and struggle, when you want to fault her parents for the choices they made, you cannot. Kusz understands them and helps bring you in. Kusz stays away from describing the harsh landscape of Alaska, but the harshness of the land is illustrated when she tells of the family. This book is my favorite memoir to date.

Luminous, courageous story that transcends category

I picked this book up in the Alaskana section of Title Wave, a used bookstore in Anchorage, thinking it was going to be an Alaskan story, but happily it's much more universal than that. Natalie Kusz's book delivers two parents who are beautiful misfits bearing difficult baggage--her mother's mother is mentally ill; her father's wartime experience is horrific. That they stay together is enough of a feat, but the love they instill in their children and the family they create with so little material goods is truly amazing. On one hand, it's a story of overcoming hardship, and Natalie's ordeals, while more than any child deserves, are not her father's fault, as one reader's comments seem to imply. That they shape her life and choices, ultimately leading her to life as a writer, is the larger story. One facet of this book no one has commented on is the language and style with which this book is written. It's luminous, courageous, and deserving of continuous reprint. Here's hoping Natalie is hard at work on another book. I for one would be first in line to buy it.

ONE TERRIFIC MEMOIR

This book was published too soon. It came out in 1990, long before the current memoir craze took hold. That's really too bad because this book is what memoir-writing is all about. Natalie Kusz' story is truly beyond belief; it reaffirms my faith in the whole genre. Here then is the story of a how a seven year old child (Natalie) had her face ripped apart by Alaskan huskies and survived to write about it with an unerring voice. If you don't love her family almost as much as she does by the end of this book, then you're not human. This book is every bit the equal of "The Color of Money" (and probably surpases it as a memoir), a book that became a national bestseller. This one deserves that status as well. Please seek out and read this page-turner of a memoir. You won't be sorry.

One of the best!

Why did not this book get wider recognition? It's a beautifully written saga of a young girl who moves with her mother, father and three young siblings to Alaska in the 60's. She vividly describes the heartships of living in the near-wilderness under severe conditions, facing and overcoming family financial problems, and above all, a tragic accident that brought her near death. It is a story of perseverance and familly ties. I would recommend it especially to young adults. It's one of the few books I wanted to start reading over again as soon as I finished.