Review of Funny Face:
Posted: 25 Sep 2021, 11:09
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Funny Face:" by Peggi Davis.]
The book with the very striking title Funny Face by Peggy Davis is an interesting mix of memoirs and short stories. Through 39 autobiographical stories, the author talks in a very impressive way about her growing up, moving, falling in love, interests, work, family, pets, habits, all the way to the coronavirus pandemic. The book itself is relatively short and the numerous chapters take up only a few pages.
The book is characterized by an exceptional writing style, the author's immediacy and openness that often surprises. A frequent motif that runs through the book is the author's career in the world of advertising and design, family relationships and family secrets, and especially the relationship with her sister. Page after page, readers will have the opportunity to read about Peggy Davis growing up in New York, Mississippi, Texas, moving to San Francisco. One of the things that are so characteristic of the book is the refined and intelligent sense of humor that the author expresses and very convincingly conveys to the pages. Although short the book is very informative. Typically, in just a few pages the author has very successfully managed to acquaint readers with one period of her life. This made it possible for readers to find excerpts from almost the entire author's life, from childhood and the first encounters with racism, through the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, love for animals, and antique furniture to the coronavirus pandemic.
What I especially liked about Funny Face is the superior use of symbols. This can be seen in the title of the book, which is also the title of the film, but also a sentence that is often related to the author. Also, the rich symbolism is noticeable in the chapter Mississippi Burning in which the author, then still very young, talks about her first encounter with racism. No less permeated with symbols is the chapter Luck of the Irish in which a common phrase turns into a real-life situation. Peggy Davis deserves praise for her writing style full of exceptional descriptions of landscapes, people, events, feelings. Some sentences like "San Francisco was an absolute assault on my senses" are, in my humble opinion, an example of superior writing. The beauty of the written word is the author's trademark. In addition, the author, who is also the narrator, manages to awaken a feeling of closeness in the readers, and after reading the book, I felt like I was just having a conversation with a dear friend. The book has been professionally edited and contains only a few errors.
What, conditionally speaking, I did not like in the book is the author's narrative process in which she often dealt with minor details. Since a significant part of the stories is related to the author's family, this procedure is usually justified, because it is necessary to acquaint the readers with certain details.
I rate the book Funny Face with four out of four stars with great pleasure. The exceptional selection of life events presented in the book, the superb beauty of the written word and refined humor are some of the most important qualities of the book.
I recommend the book to memoir lovers and fans of short stories. I believe that the book will also appeal to travel enthusiasts, but also to all those who fondly remember the second half of the twentieth century.
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Funny Face:
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The book with the very striking title Funny Face by Peggy Davis is an interesting mix of memoirs and short stories. Through 39 autobiographical stories, the author talks in a very impressive way about her growing up, moving, falling in love, interests, work, family, pets, habits, all the way to the coronavirus pandemic. The book itself is relatively short and the numerous chapters take up only a few pages.
The book is characterized by an exceptional writing style, the author's immediacy and openness that often surprises. A frequent motif that runs through the book is the author's career in the world of advertising and design, family relationships and family secrets, and especially the relationship with her sister. Page after page, readers will have the opportunity to read about Peggy Davis growing up in New York, Mississippi, Texas, moving to San Francisco. One of the things that are so characteristic of the book is the refined and intelligent sense of humor that the author expresses and very convincingly conveys to the pages. Although short the book is very informative. Typically, in just a few pages the author has very successfully managed to acquaint readers with one period of her life. This made it possible for readers to find excerpts from almost the entire author's life, from childhood and the first encounters with racism, through the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, love for animals, and antique furniture to the coronavirus pandemic.
What I especially liked about Funny Face is the superior use of symbols. This can be seen in the title of the book, which is also the title of the film, but also a sentence that is often related to the author. Also, the rich symbolism is noticeable in the chapter Mississippi Burning in which the author, then still very young, talks about her first encounter with racism. No less permeated with symbols is the chapter Luck of the Irish in which a common phrase turns into a real-life situation. Peggy Davis deserves praise for her writing style full of exceptional descriptions of landscapes, people, events, feelings. Some sentences like "San Francisco was an absolute assault on my senses" are, in my humble opinion, an example of superior writing. The beauty of the written word is the author's trademark. In addition, the author, who is also the narrator, manages to awaken a feeling of closeness in the readers, and after reading the book, I felt like I was just having a conversation with a dear friend. The book has been professionally edited and contains only a few errors.
What, conditionally speaking, I did not like in the book is the author's narrative process in which she often dealt with minor details. Since a significant part of the stories is related to the author's family, this procedure is usually justified, because it is necessary to acquaint the readers with certain details.
I rate the book Funny Face with four out of four stars with great pleasure. The exceptional selection of life events presented in the book, the superb beauty of the written word and refined humor are some of the most important qualities of the book.
I recommend the book to memoir lovers and fans of short stories. I believe that the book will also appeal to travel enthusiasts, but also to all those who fondly remember the second half of the twentieth century.
******
Funny Face:
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
