The Escape Artist

Written by:
Helen Fremont
Narrated by:
Gabra Zackman

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
2
Narrator
1
Release Date
February 2020
Duration
8 hours 50 minutes
Summary
A luminous new memoir from the author of the critically acclaimed national bestseller After Long Silence, The Escape Artist has been lauded by New York Times bestselling author Mary Karr as “beautifully written, honest, and psychologically astute. A must-read.”

In the tradition of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and George Hodgman’s Bettyville, Fremont writes with wit and candor about growing up in a household held together by a powerful glue: secrets. Her parents, profoundly affected by their memories of the Holocaust, pass on to both Helen and her older sister a zealous determination to protect themselves from what they see as danger from the outside world.

Fremont delves deeply into the family dynamic that produced such a startling devotion to secret keeping, beginning with the painful and unexpected discovery that she has been disinherited in her father’s will. In scenes that are frank, moving, and often surprisingly funny, She writes about growing up in such an intemperate household, with parents who pretended to be Catholics but were really Jews—and survivors of Nazi-occupied Poland. She shares tales of family therapy sessions, disordered eating, her sister’s frequently unhinged meltdowns, and her own romantic misadventures as she tries to sort out her sexual identity. Searching, poignant, and ultimately redemptive, The Escape Artist is a powerful contribution to the memoir shelf.
Reviews
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Ron T.

Boring story If the author thinks she had such a rough secret-laden life, she needs to get out some. She’s a spoiled, rich white girl with all the privileges possible and these gifts blinded her from reality—led her to thinking she had it bad. Pathetic I wasted my money on this one.

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