Overview

Growing up in a mill town in Rhode Island, in a household that didn't foster a love of reading, novelist Ann Hood discovered nonetheless the transformative power of literature. She learned to channel her imagination, ambitions, and curiosity by devouring ever-growing stacks of books. In Morningstar, Hood recollects with warmth and honesty how The Bell Jar, Marjorie Morningstar, The Harrad Experiment, and The Outsiders influenced her teen psyche and introduced her to topics that could not be discussed at home: desire, fear, sexuality, and madness. Later, Johnny Got His Gun and Grapes of Wrath dramatically influenced her political thinking while the Vietnam War and Kent State shootings became headline news, and classics such as Dr. Zhivago and Les Misérables stoked her ambitions to travel the world. With characteristic insight and charm, Hood showcases the ways in which books gave her life and can transform-even save-our own lives.

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9780393355567

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Reviews

As a childhood reader myself, I loved this enchanting journey through Ann Hood's early fascination with reading and how it shaped her life and sensibility. Hood is a delightful writer, wise, charming, and lucid, and book lovers will find Morningstar irresistible. -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz, author of Ruined by Reading Not many people could point with such specificity to books that have imparted valuable life lessons, and Hood shares beloved works with an affecting and inspiring reverence. -- Booklist Charming.... [An] homage to the power of books. -- Kirkus Reviews Poignant, touching, and enlightening.... Hood provides a new rich glimpse into an Italian American childhood. A treat for bibliophiles and readers of all genres. -- Library Journal Steinbeck once encouraged aspiring writers to `spread a page with shining.' Ann Hood has certainly done just that with this slim but substantial book. -- BookReporter [These essays] are exquisitely written and moving, reminding the reader of how impactful books can be, and how they shape our lives and teach us about love, sex, and language, and seeing beyond our own skin. -- Colorado Book Review Morningstar is a love letter to the very act of reading and the power of books to light the way. I can think of no better guide than Ann Hood, whose generosity of spirit, courage, humor, gumption, and grace are a powerful reminder that language and story have the capacity to heal, to instruct, and to change our lives. What a mighty little book, so full of heart. -- Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion and Hourglass

[These essays] are exquisitely written and moving, reminding the reader of how impactful books can be, and how they shape our lives and teach us about love, sex, and language, and seeing beyond our own skin. Steinbeck once encouraged aspiring writers to 'spread a page with shining.' Ann Hood has certainly done just that with this slim but substantial book. Poignant, touching, and enlightening.... Hood provides a new rich glimpse into an Italian American childhood. A treat for bibliophiles and readers of all genres. Charming.... [An] homage to the power of books. Not many people could point with such specificity to books that have imparted valuable life lessons, and Hood shares beloved works with an affecting and inspiring reverence. What a mighty little book, so full of heart.--Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion and Hourglass

A warm-hearted accounting of the power of fiction to shape one author's life... -- Times Literary Supplement

Author Information

Ann Hood is the author of more than a dozen books of memoir and fiction, including the best-selling novels The Book That Matters Most, The Red Thread, and The Knitting Circle. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and New York.

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