Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9781565121461
ISBN number: 1565121465
Label: Algonquin Books
Manufacturer: Algonquin Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: January 01, 1998
Publishing house: Algonquin Books
Sale Popularity Level: 1094195
Studio: Algonquin Books
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A memoir in the tradition of Frank Conroy's STOP TIME and Tobias Wolff's THIS BOY'S LIFE, SPACE is about growing up when America was on the brink of the big changes coming by way of Apollo 11, THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE, and the Vietnam War. 'Never has the space program been so charmingly brought down to earth than by this utterly beguiling girl . . . I was fascinated, enchanted, edified, and moved.'--Gish Jen, author of TYPICAL AMERICAN; 'The beauty of SPACE is that Kercheval engages all the senses with layered detail.'--Swing; 'An incandescent girlhood memoir . . . so lyrical and poignant are the events it chronicles, it is hard to believe that it wasn't all by design.'--Booklist, starred.
Amazon.com Review:
Novelist Jesse Lee Kercheval's sentences are so precise, her portrait of her troubled family so compelling, her description of children's complex social maneuvering so astute, that it takes a while to realize that her tender memoir of growing up in Cocoa, Florida, is also a masterful snapshot of America in the late 1960s. The family moved from Washington, D.C., to Florida in 1966 because Kercheval's father had accepted a position as business manager of the local junior college, his ticket to a decent civilian career after 30 years in the army. The author's mother, who loved her job at the Treasury Department, was less enthusiastic; during their years in Cocoa she drifted deeper and deeper into depression. Without writing a dogmatic word, Kercheval paints a painful picture of a woman agonizingly frustrated by being denied the employment opportunities her intelligence merited. Older sister Carol responded by becoming the responsible one, trying to make everything better; Jesse dreamed of going 'far enough and fast enough to become a new and better person.' So why is the book entitled Space? Well, Cape Canaveral was only miles from Cocoa, but to appreciate the superbly woven web of fact, metaphor, and dreams that makes the space program so central here, you'll have to read Kercheval's beautiful book. --Wendy Smith
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Rated by buyers 
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I could be remembering this wrong--but I do think this was the very first memoir I ever read. I liked it a lot..so much I started passing all the memoirs I like to my really good friend..and she liked it a lot as well.
Rated by buyers 
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This is a classic coming of age book placed in a time and location that is one of the most turbulent, yet interesting, in American history. A girl grows up in Florida in the 60's living in the excitement and optimism of the Space program, while dealing with the realities of a dysfunctional family and growing up. The author will take you there, profuse with memories long forgotten. You will find this book to be highly entertaining, amusing, poignant, and unforgettable. I will be seeking more books by this author!
Rated by buyers -
Perhaps it was because this book brought back so many memories of growing up in the 60's - or perhaps it was because this writer's words and storytelling skills are superb- for whatever reason, I absolutely loved this book. Kercheval moved to Florida as a child and found it an exotic place at first, with the endless vistas of sand and sea and the pastel colored houses. But there was a darker side to life in Florida, including a mother who began to fade away emotionally, getting lost in her own emotional darkness, an older sister who was forced to assume her mother's responsibilities and a father who couldn't face his wife's illness. Although I'm sure many readers will nod their heads in recognition of the major events (the Space Race, President Kennedy, the public fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy) which Kercheval recounts from that period, she also reveals the unique, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, life in her family. She writes so vividly and so well that I didn't want this book to end. I felt close to each member of her family, flaws and all. But mostly I felt entranced by the special world Kercheval brought to life.
Rated by buyers -
My mom very first brought me this book and when I saw the title and cover I thought to myself "this is going to be one the most dull books I will ever read ! But then, of course ,I started reading it and I could not stop. It was one of the best and interesting book I have ever read. in this book they talk about all the space missions but there is more to it than that! It also talks about a girls life from the time she was a little girl till she is an adult ! If you like biographies then you will just adore this book!
Rated by buyers -
A great memoir of Jesse Lee's Life. The book is both funny and moving. But in the end it seems rushed and like she just wants to end the book. All in all I would highly recomend this book.
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