I AM, I AM, I AM

Sixteen Brushes with Death
by Maggie O’Farrell

In keeping with my all-Irish reviews this month, I have selected Maggie O’Farrell’s I Am, I Am, I Am as my “Not My Cup of Tea.” This feels almost like heresy to me since I adore Maggie O’Farrell. My first introduction to her was her novel Hamnet, which was my favorite fiction book of the year in 2020. (Read review here.) Two years later she came out with The Marriage Portrait, which was equally brilliant. (Read review here.)  Recently, I heard her interviewed on Elin Hilderbrand’s podcast “Beach, Books & Beyond,” and she seems to be as wonderful a person as she is a writer.  So, I decided I should read some of her back titles.  I most highly recommend Instructions for a Heatwave and This Must Be the Place.  But when it comes to her memoir, I Am, I Am, I Am, I am less of a fan.  What seems like a clever lens:  to tell her life story through her many “brushes with death,” turns out to be forced and somewhat off-putting.  This is unfortunate since I found several of the stories quite poignant and compelling.  But when presented in this seemingly endless catalogue of near-misses, they lose not only their impact but their appeal.  For this reason, I found I Am, I Am, I Am was not my cup of tea.  (Liz)