The Broad Picture: Essays 1987-1996

By Lynne Tillman

Lynne Tillman's essays are irreverent, smart, funny: evidence of her playful, rebellious mind. They are collected together here for the first time. Her subjects range broadly and wildly, from Matisse and ?reading women?, to the issue of race in The Bodyguard, from Ray Charles' voice and lyrics to narrative theories, from cat therapy to sex, memory and death. An exceptional writer, Tillman takes the reader on an expansive tour of 20th century life and culture to unearth and enlighten its preoccupations, fears, and obsessions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1852424400
• ISBN13: 9781852424404
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

beautifully written essays that continually surprise

I generally prefer reading fiction to essays, but the essay I first glimpsed when I picked up this book was so intriguing I had to buy it. It was "Telling Tales," which happens to be about writing and reading stories. What makes a story a story? What is "action"? Who feels emotion in a story, the characters or the reader? These are just a few of the fascinating questions the essay skillfully addresses. I'm still in the middle of reading this book (trying not to finish it too fast) and am amazed at how many different topics Tillman can write about with knowledge, understanding, and grace. The autobiographical essay about growing up with and losing her father is another highlight, blending dreams with fragments of memory and moving psychological insights. Tillman has a way of describing elusive emotional states, memories of ordinary moments in the past that take on extraordinary (yet unsentimental) poignancy, and complicated personal/political relationships that takes my breath away. Anyone interested in the intersection of politics, art, identity, feminism, irony, literature, memory, and history should read this book.