Truth & Beauty: A Friendship

Great book about friendship and unconditional love. A sad and very emotional ride...

Book Club #20. Ann Patchett is a master at fiction, but this book is even more remarkable. Wonderful book about Patchett's friendship with a horribly damaged but amazingly life-loving young woman. Both wonderful & tragic. If you read this, also read Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy. The two books are the same story. Breaks your heart.

Wow! Had never heard of Lucy Grealy before reading this, but wow! What a life. And what a friendship. At times, a bit too intense. But once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

The best about Lucy Greeley & Ann Patchett.

Relieved to have finished this one. I am ready to have Lucy Grealy and Ann Patchett out of my head. Seeing the real-life workings of two “successful” writers (and the dirt on various perks of writing fellowships) was interesting, and I got a kick out of seeing some of my old UW-Madison creative writing teachers name-checked (shout out to you, Max Garland). By...more

Relieved to have finished this one. I am ready to have Lucy Grealy and Ann Patchett out of my head. Seeing the real-life workings of two “successful” writers (and the dirt on various perks of writing fellowships) was interesting, and I got a kick out of seeing some of my old UW-Madison creative writing teachers name-checked (shout out to you, Max Garland). By the end of this book, however, I tired of Grealy’s insecurities, Patchett’s constant reassurance and sacrifice, and all of the snuggling and pawing at each other. I am also trying very hard not to assume that the person who recommended these two books to me (Grealy’s memoir “Autobiography of a Face” and this) was trying to suggest to me that I am (or I was) a lot like Lucy Grealy, because… well, ouch.   hide

Wow, what a book. This book is about the incredibly intense friendship between Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy. Lucy Grealy is known for winning the Whitbread prize for her memoir "Autobiography of a Face," about her ordeal as a child suffering from cancer of the jaw. She had to suffer through many operations and remained facially disfigured throughout her life. Truth and Beauty is the...more

Wow, what a book. This book is about the incredibly intense friendship between Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy. Lucy Grealy is known for winning the Whitbread prize for her memoir "Autobiography of a Face," about her ordeal as a child suffering from cancer of the jaw. She had to suffer through many operations and remained facially disfigured throughout her life. Truth and Beauty is the real-life account of her relationship with author Ann Patchett. I found myself going from being extremely jealous of their relationship to eventually feeling a bit sorry for Ann having to put up with the intense, extremely needy, and self-centered Grealy. The book is very involving and, ultimately, extremely moving. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in friendship, people dealing with disabilities, or the writing life.   hide

Heartbreaking.

I know I'm in the minority here, but just didn't like this. Couldn't bring myself to care about Lucy. Thought she was a little sh*t and couldn't get past it. Put-downable for me.

A beautiful story of friendship, if not disturbing at times. The author shares her struggles with becoming a writer, which was interesting. The friendship is based on unconditional love.