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With novels like Damballah and Hiding Place, John Edgar Wideman began his career in an explicitly modernist vein--indeed, his chronicles of life in the Pittsburgh ghetto of Homewood had more than a trace of a Joycean accent. The autobiographical Brothers and Keepers, however, allowed the writer to find his own voice. Perhaps this dual portrait of the author and his brother Robby--serving, then and now, a life sentence for a murder committed during a bungled robbery--finally forced Wideman to fuse the modernist trappings of his earlier work with the storytelling traditions of African American culture. "My memories needed his," the author recalls. "Maybe the fact that we recall different things is crucial. Maybe they are foreground and background, propping each other up." In any case, the Rashomon-like result is a raw meditation on fate and family, as well as an indictment of our entire notion of crime and (especially) punishment.
Book Description
A haunting portrait of lives arriving at different destinies, Brothers and Keepers is John Edgar Wideman's seminal memoir about two brothers one an award-winning novelist, the other a fugitive wanted for robbery and murder. Wideman recalls the capture of his younger brother Robby, details the subsequent trials that resulted in a sentence of life in prison, and provides vivid views of the American prison system. A gripping, unsettling account, Brothers and Keepers weighs the bonds of blood, tenderness, and guilt that connect Wideman to his brother and measures the distance that lies between them.
Customer Reviews:
Decent Memoir.......2007-01-20
John Edgar Wideman has composed an interesting take of two lives gone wrong in his memoir, "Brothers and Keepers". In the memoir, Wideman explores the causes and consequences of his brother's life sentence in jail for murder. Wideman speaks his mind about the whole affair, but also lets his brother do his fair share of the talking through a series of interviews the two shared in the prison visiting room. Though the basic goal of the memoir is to determine how two brothers followed such radically different paths, it delves into the broader topic of African-American men and society.
Even though it overall is a great experience, two problems I had with the novel was its lack of structure and Wideman's tendency to rant. It seems that Wideman tends to build up a subplot, but then just as suddenly dashes away to discuss something new. This makes the book difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. As for the ranting, it's like Wideman tries to use the text as a way to vent his frustrations about racism in America. His whining can get excruciatingly annoying. But, despite these problems, "Brothers and Keepers" is an excellent look into the lives of two African-American men, while reflecting on the role of the African-American race as a whole.
Fantastic Memoir.......2006-10-27
Brothers and Keepers is a fantastic memoir written by John Edgar Wideman that explores how the narrator and his brother, Robby, end up living extremely opposite lives. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Wideman and his brother are not given all of the best opportunities but Wideman does what he can to work hard. His efforts result in a well educated, middle class man, while his brother ends up a convict. The memoir explores where the two divulged and what influences they've had throughout their lives.
In terms of actual material, the memoir is ordered in a way that keeps the reader riveted throughout all of the text. Wideman tells the story of his brother's crime, divulging from that plot to reflect upon their family's life as a whole. These unique reflections provide valuable insight into both John and Robby's most inner thoughts. The pace of the novel is fairly rapid; although, sometimes I found myself losing interest in Wideman's reflections, anxious to hear the next part of Robby's tale.
What makes this memoir most unique is the frequency with which Wideman acknowledges what few or many details he is capable of recalling from his past. Not only does this make the story even more believable, it allows the reader to make many of their own decisions about what really happened in John and Robby's lives. The reader also gets to hear the voice of Robby, who also often fails to remember specific or important details. Wideman writes, speaking for his brother (the text uses no quotations), "Must have passed out or gone to sleep or something, cause it gets blurry round in here. Don't remember much but they gave back my clothes and took me Downtown and there was a arraignment next morning" (103). On one of the most important and emotional days in Robby's life, he can't seem to remember how the day ended. It is these sporadic inclusions and omissions keep the reader inquisitive throughout the text.
Overall Brothers and Keepers is a very well written memoir that forces readers to dig deep into their own mind because most humans struggle with very similar life dilemmas, although probably not to the same extent. Although some may argue that that some memories ramble on too long, each provides a unique perspective about Wideman and the human race as a whole.
keeping it real.......2006-05-17
In a sentence: This is an excellent book about honesty and fact and fiction. It blurs the lines between truth and lies, real and fake, memory and what happened v.s. what really happened. Beautiful. Wideman puts himself and his family front and center and at the core of the story. One is not quite sure which is fiction and which is non-fiction. Also, when persons speak there are no quotation marks and the reader distinguishes who is talking by the choice of vocabulary and flow of the language. You can really hear the difference in your head.
The basic discription is: It's Wideman trying to make sense of his growing up and how his broother ended up in jail for murder.
This is a great book for lovers of Paul Auster in that "what is the truth of the matter?" is a recurring question......
brothers and keepers: A memoir or therapy session.......2004-07-19
wideman tells an excellent tale about how two siblings of the same environment can go on to lead totally different lives. One brother is a world reknowned novelist and professor. The other brother is a convict serving a life sentence for murder. Wideman explains and analyzes how culture, including racism, classism,and self-identication, influences a person's lifestyle. At times the memoir seems reminscent and nostalgic. Other times, wideman tends to get lost in his own thoughts while writng, which makes the work appear as therapeutic writing not intended for others to read. The issues he raises in the book such as racism, self-identification, and guilt, helps us as readers to recall our own issues with these subjects and how we can work through them.
Brothers and Keepers.......2004-07-19
In Brothers and Keepers, John Edgar Wideman uses a range of narrative techniques to unravel the complicated relationship between he and his brother Robert Wideman. These different narrative techniques, such as letter writing, greatly assisted to the overall movement of the novel. Through letter writing, John effectively gives Robert a voice in the novel. The authentic voice of Robby allowed the reader a real portrayal of a man serving prison time as he, in confessions to his brother, reflects on their relationship growing up. Their struggle to discover is apparent through John Edgar Wideman's choice of narrative technique.
Ironically, the most intriguing struggle doesn't occur between John and Robby. As the book moves, the reader becomes a confessional for John Wideman. This underlying theme was the most impressive part of the novel. The attempt to understand John kept me interested as a reader.
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- Excellent and unique look into the effects of the Vietnam War
- Our Brother'sKeeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to
- Vietnam: One family's war
- Gut-wrenching yet remarkable book
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Our Brother's Keeper: My Family's Journey Through Vietnam, to Hell and Back
Jedwin Smith
Manufacturer: John WIley & Sons
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ASIN: 0471467596 |
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Advance Praise for Our Brother's Keeper
"Beautifully written and extraordinarily poignant, Our Brother's Keeper is a Vietnam book like none other. The ghosts of Vietnam are finally starting to circle home, and this remarkable writer has given them voice with passion and resonance. I love Jedwin Smith's Fatal Treasure; Our Brother's Keeper is even closer to the heart."
— Jeff Long, New York Times bestselling author of The Descent and The Reckoning
"Our experience in Vietnam has been searingly recorded in both fiction and nonfiction, but no book about those years is quite like this one. Jedwin Smith's Our Brother's Keeper tells the story of one family that has lived with death by remembrance, and of a man who found redemption when he wanted revenge. It will break your heart, but change it, too."
— Michael Skube, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in criticism
"I read Our Brother's Keeper in the span of an evening and found it deeply affecting and totally enthralling. This book is a haunting, gut-wrenching, and ultimately redemptive journey through time and the human heart. Magnificent."
—Jack Kerley, author of The Hundredth Man
Customer Reviews:
Excellent and unique look into the effects of the Vietnam War.......2005-08-28
I am a military history buff. I especially love to read books written by people who were there, or in this case a person who was greatly effected by the events described. I picked this book up on a whim from a book store and the writing style dragged me into the story. It is truly unique in that it is written by the brother of a Marine that died in Vietnam and that it really does not focus too much on the war. It does cover the basics of that era, but more focuses on the effects the war had back home, as well as the lasting effects on his family.
I am glad that Mr. Smith finally found a start to his healing and was able to write this book to share with the public.
Our Brother'sKeeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to .......2005-06-16
About six weeks ago I was told I HAD to read this book for a book club that I am in. I am a romance/mystery junkie and put off reading what I felt would be a depressing WAR book...How wrong was I? This book, which reads like a great story instead of nonfiction, was riveting and inspiring with as much to say about family and interpersonal relations as it does about the Vietnam war. I laughed at Mr. Smith's memories of a very human warrior as well as cried at the manifestations of sorrow and guilt. I am a 31 year old woman who is as far removed from this war as one can get and yet the book brought home the personal and very unpolitical side of this very confusing part of our history. I was extremely thankful that Mr. Smith could share his experiences with me.
Vietnam: One family's war.......2005-05-13
Jedwin Smith (no relation, but I was once his boss at the Atlanta newspaper where we both worked) has written a spellbinding account of how his brother's death in Vietnam (remember that war?) impacted his family and fueled his own decline into alcohol and depression. Without bitterness or animosity, he relates the unraveling of his family and eventually tells of how he and his siblings came to cope with their brother's death, and to mend their lives and relationships with each other. Part and parcel of the story is his climb from the depths, aided by Vietnam War vets who knew his brother in the field and as always, by the love and strength of his devoted wife, June. Don't think of this as a "war" book. It's not. Rather, this is the story of human relationships, told with insight won the hard way, that will send you to Vietnam War Web sites/books to knock the dust off your memories of that era. Jedwin's a natural-born storyteller and this book will grab you from the first page.
Gut-wrenching yet remarkable book.......2005-04-17
This is the kind of well-written book you'll read in 24 hours but think about for weeks. Its the gut-wrenching story of a family suffering through the loss of a beloved son/brother to the Vietnam War. The author, Jedwin Smith, gives us a rare insight into the long-term effects a family endures and also allows us to go along on his painful and emotional journey toward some sense of healing. Without disclosing elements of the book, be advised there is a reconciliation late in the book that is unique, remarkable and inspirational.
We must never forget the sacrifices veterans made for our country, but this book also reminds us to never forget the sacrifices the families of these veterans made as well.
Book Description
The return of a classic: This biography of the young James Joyce is "a remarkable exposition of the relationship between a famous man and [his] brother."--T. S. Eliot.
Stanislaus Joyce was more than his brother's keeper: he was at various times his brother's co-dependent, touchstone, conscience, and biggest fan. The two shared the same genius, the same childhood influences, and had the same literary instinct, but in Stanislaus it was channeled into sober academic pursuit, while in James it evolved into gaiety, wild whimsy, and at times sodden despair.
Covering the first twenty-two years of James Joyce's life in Dublin and Trieste, My Brother's Keeper is a window onto the drama that was his youth. Thanks to Stanislaus's superb memory and sure hand, here we find the Dublin of Dubliners: the streets, neighbors, churches, and unforgettable eccentrics. Here we see the model for Ulysses' Simon Dedalus: James' father, a dour and violent figure when in his cups. Here are the Joyces in their own home, and the minor characters that pepper A Portrait of the Artist: Eileen, Leopold Bloom's comely daughter; Mrs. Riordan, the surly teacher; Mr. Casey, the political agitator. And finally, here is Trieste, a place of exile for Stanislaus but a retreat for James. Stanislaus Joyce has fashioned both an invaluable primary source for his brother's opaque masterpieces and a loving memoir of his brother's early life.
Customer Reviews:
EXCELLENT INSIGHT INTO THE ARTIST.......2006-08-15
STan really did keep and care for James and his family, including when JAmes briefly returned to Ireland to establish an art cinema chain leaving his family in ITaly.
Excellent insight into the brilliant writer by his also brilliant brother. Please read this book for greater understanding and afection for the specifics of Joyce's work (how stan was pictured in the story A Painful Case), although the view of the universal themes grows dim as we can no longer see the woods for the trees
Essential to any complete James JOyce bookshelf and a wonderful and grateful gift for any member of the fervent Joycean faith
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- The ideal is never preserved in the actual practice.
- A great intellectual leader of our time
- The Mind of an Active Intellectual
- Fascinating memoirs!!
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My Brother's Keeper: A Memoir and a Message
Amitai Etzioni
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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Moral, Believing Animals: Human Personhood and Culture
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Contemporary Sociological Theory: Expanding the Classical Tradition (6th Edition)
ASIN: 0742521583 |
Book Description
In My Brother's Keeper: A Memoir and a Message, one of America's most admired public figures tells the story of his life. Born in Germany in 1929, Amitai Etzioni escaped the Nazi regime and as a teenager dropped out of high school to fight as a commando in the Israeli War of Independence. He went on to earn his doctorate and to teach at Columbia and Harvard Business School, as well as serve as Senior Advisor to the Carter White House. Although he has authored or edited over 20 books, Dr. Etzioni's influence extends beyond academic circles as the founder of the communitarian social movement. In his own words, Dr. Etzioni reflects on his vision of a society whose members care profoundly about one another, assume responsibilities and do not just demand rights, and attend not merely to themselves, but also to the common good. He traces how this message spread and is playing a significant role in the public life of the United States, United Kingdom, and many other free and liberated societies. Clearly and engagingly written, Dr. Etzioni's vision and story are at once compelling and inspiring.
Customer Reviews:
The ideal is never preserved in the actual practice. .......2006-09-10
Amitai Etzioni calls himself the father of the communitarian movement. When you reduce his philosophy to its kernel, it can be stated thusly: Serving the community is the highest good, but self interest is evil. What he is really saying is that individual freedom is evil. The truth is that self-interest propels a free society. Productivity is motivated by self-interest. Socialism robs people of the desire to produce. Why should anyone work harder than the next when they all get paid the same? That is why socialist countries are poor. You ban self-interest (individual freedom) and you kill productivity. Then the elite ruling class have to threaten the people to produce. When that happens you get a bare minimum effort, just enough to get by. The society is not free. If the individual is not free, the community is not free.
In fact, a critical thinker realizes that in a Global Governance under this ideal of Socialism or Communism or Collectivism or Communitarianism (whatever you want to call it), the sheer logistics of ruling the world demands very tight controls, and that means totalitarianism with a bureaucratic network. Nazi Germany was that way. So was the USSR. The ideal always sounds great, but the reality of it always leads to dictatorship. Under this system, we are not allowed to benefit personally from our labors. We only benefit collectively. The individual ceases to have value intrinsically. The individual only has value as he is valuable to the community. Under communitarianism all individual rights cease. All creeds must be approved. No dissension allowed.
Amitai Etzioni is very influential, and very commited to making communitarianism accepted. He has succeeded. Our politicians and rulers of the free world have bought into his philosophy. This is the New World Order.
A great intellectual leader of our time.......2003-10-13
This is the story of a professor and his passionate sense of calling to serve others. It is a window into a life that combines academics, public affairs and service to society. A still humble man, he has risen to the status of advisor to several national leaders, advocating a vision of public policy that is guided by intense intellectual energy, personal responsibility and compassion. His "third way" perspective may be the the right solution to many pressing question facing democracies in our time.
The Mind of an Active Intellectual.......2003-09-24
My Brother's Keeper. A Memoir and a Message by Amitai Etzioni is an exciting intellectual biography. It may also be entitled: "An Active Intellectual as a Young and as a Mature Man". But this book is much more than an interesting personal memoir. In addition to a fascinating life story and an intellectual biography, it leads us along the pitfalls and dilemmas of modern society during the second half of the 20th century and points out the directions of a moral life in a "good society". Etzioni's ideas as expressed in this book, and in his previous ones, are not unrealizable utopian longings. They are firmly based on contemporary reality. He piercingly analyzes present dangerous trends and forces in social, political and economic developments on one hand and the values and morality of the communitarian movement, which he founded, on the other.
Born in Germany, fleeing from the Nazi regime, raised in Israel and taking part in its War of Independence, educated and maturing in the United States, Prof. Etzioni was influence by the richness of his three cultural backgrounds. Yet, the dominant features of his personality were present from an early age, opposing his disciplinary mother, posing difficult questions to his teachers, daring to express new ideas and criticize accepted norms, despite the high price he sometime had to pay. His inclination towared activism, to shape social policies, and the strong inner feeling of a mission, a calling, as he labeled it, are present in his life from the very beginning. Etzioni applies the same rules towards himself too and does not shy from criticizing himself and expressing his frustrations and mistakes. He feels strongly committed and ready to pay the price for voicing his mind and being an active intellectual in order to bring about a moral regeneration.
I strongly recommend this book.
Rachel Elboim-Dror (author of CLEAN DEATH IN TEL AVIV, 2003)
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Fascinating memoirs!!.......2003-05-14
Amitai Etzioni is the founder of the communitarian movement in the US today. He has lead one really interesting life. In his memoirs he reveals himself to be a reflective and honest man who is able to put his own life into perspective and put the interests of others before his own. At the same time he is painfully self-critical. From the days when he was growing up in Israel before it became a state in 1947, to his years at Columbia University during the student protests of the 1960's, to his role as an advisor to the President, he tells it as it happened. Included are some never told stories of his conflicts with the FBI. "My Brother's Keeper" does far more however: it is also about how an academic finds his way from the culture of books to a life of activism and civic responsibility. It offers the history of his intellectual evolution along with his personal development. I found it absolutely fascinating.
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My Brother's Keeper
Peggy Phillips
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0595216684 |
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Written by a born and bred New Yorker who spent the first half-century of her life in the world's most unique City, this engaging, vibrant memoir evokes a fascinating, unforgettable era with rare fidelity. Operating on many levels--family, show business, social activism and the human heart--these vivid memories reflect a poignant and comic sense of life. Narrated with compelling honesty, sensitivity and infectious humor, they conjure not only a colorful image of years gone by, but also hint hauntingly of the City's evolving destiny.
Customer Reviews:
Absorbing and Evocative.......2002-04-10
Surely the definitive book about growing up in New York from the 1920's to the 1950's, this is far more than an absorbing salute to the City's indomitable spirit. Written with shrewd insight and enormous verve, Phillips' evocative, enthralling, often hilarious memoir, accomplishes the two goals of its particular genre, summoning up the general spirit of a colorful time and place while conveying a keen sense of individual uniqueness. With her brother, Arnold, as focus, the author creates a poignant and comic sense of life during a fascinating era. Once begun, I could not put the book down. From "Prelude" to "Postlude" it is a totally captivating read.
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My Brother's Keeper: Personal Memoirs of a Public Life
Eli Ginzberg
Manufacturer: Transaction Publishers
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0887382916 |
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With an appendix containing the changes and laws affecting army regulations and articles of war to June 25, 1863
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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Librarys preservation reformatting program.
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