Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage Hardcover – April 11, 2017

"Change even one moment, the whole thing unravels. The narrative thread doesn’t stretch in a line from end to end, but rather, spools and unspools, loops around and returns again and again to the same spot. There is no other life than this. You would not have stumbled into the vastly imperfect, beautiful, impossible present."Never before have I finished a book, then immediately returned to page one to read it through again...and still looked forward to the third read. This spare, exquisite memoir moved me to laughter and tears, and its lyrical prose still rings in my ears. Five stars isn't enough for this gorgeous book.

This slim, beautifully-written book packs a powerful punch and make a terrific Mother’s Day present. Shapiro provides a sharply observed, intimate and exquisite look at the underside of her marriage. At times, you feel that she and her husband are standing naked before you, the view is that close-up and personal. Candor is her strength and anyone who has been in a decades-relationship with a significant other will recognize much of what Shapiro describes here: The longstanding love, the frequent frustration, the occasional competition, the demands of aging parents and sick children, the mutual dependency, the financial vulnerability, the tenderness, the lust, the commitment to keep showing up for each other, and the grace that comes with the gradual acceptance of imperfection and knowledge that your lover is trying his or her best, By describing in candid detail the tiny cracks in her marriage, Shapiro illustrates that these cracks don’t add up to damage, but rather to strength---an art that the Japanese call “Kinsugi” (golden joinery), in which cracks in pottery are repaired with gold, silver or platinum, so that breakage and repair are considered part of the vital history of a piece rather than something to hide. (Thank you Wikipedia.) There are some gorgeous sentences in this book. Here are some of my favorites:“Where does hope go when it vanishes?”“At 40 my mother died. And then a long, merciful stretch of ordinary days.”“There is no other life than this. You would not have stumbled into the vastly imperfect, beautiful, impossible present.”“It was not the education I wanted, but it was the one I got.”“The more dangerous the situation, the slower his pulse.”“We were struggling contented, bewildered, joyful, full of longing, grief-stricken, fearful, searching, at peace.”“But I can no longer say to M. that we’re just beginning. Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. That solid yet light thing---our journey—is no longer new. He identified my mother’s body. We took turns holding our seizing child. We have watched his mother disappear in plain sight. We have raised Jacob together. We know each other in a way that young couple couldn’t have fathomed. Our shared vocabulary—our own language---will die with us. We are the treasure itself: fathoms deep, in the world we have made again and again.”

I love Dani Shapiro's writing, and when this book came out it rose to the top of my pile of "to reads" and I wasn't disappointed. Everything looks different from the inside, and a marriage is one thing we rarely see through that lens. At times poignant and sweet, others cast with an essential sadness. I would give it 5 stars...since I didn't put it down....I read it through to the end, but around page 127 it became a bit self indulgent and she lost me. Honestly, I'm not even sure that particular drama was necessary, but maybe it was just over my head.One thing that I loved was reflecting my own marriage in this one, and at times noticed a little smile come to me as I recalled seeing my husband for the first time too. We hardly ever get a chance to do those little things....

It's hard to say how much I loved this book. I began to feel shaky and lost as I realized there were less than 20 pages left. Still, the deep understanding of the author's words, the honesty of her life unfolding into joys and worries, her quiet observations and questioning way about her life. As someone who was nicknamed "the thinking woman" by my husband, long before we married- as a response to my constant cerebral focus on our relationship... "what did you mean?" or "remember when you said that?" I appreciate the way Dani Shapiro clings to life's slings and arrows, processing, processing. Her writing is so beautiful- smooth as sand, honest as the boldest, unfiltered confession. This "disinterested" reader fell madly into her pool of life. ( You'll understand once you read this lovely book.) I'm not even sure it should be called a memoir: it's a story, and a journal and a love letter to life, family, the process of getting through it all. And yes, I listen to The Bridge on Sirius, and yes, I watched the Youtube video of Carly and James singing "Devoted to You." And yes, I will return to this book- for its truth, its magic, its beauty.

I'm reading it again. I'm ordering it for my friends. I'm playing this audiobook as I run errands. It's making me wish I had more errands to run.What I especially loved about this memoir:--the book builds on itself, rewarding our own memories as we read--the connections that Shapiro makes across the moments of her marriage answer one of the key questions of the book: how does a relationship and marriage sustain itself beyond those first eighteen months of infatuation/love--Shapiro's honesty drew me in--it's not "too cool" to tell a love story

The author weaves back and forth in time effortlessly, interspersing quotes from other authors all while being present in her story. This book is a gem.

Loosely plotted snippets from a long marriage of two writers Beautifully written. Struggles, success, family and doubts about a course committed many moons ago.

This is one of the most extraordinary memoirs I have ever read. Dani writes with a deceptive simplicity which is clearly the result of huge effort and practice at being concise. I read it in small gulps. Every paragraph seemed to convey a thought or image that resonated and that I could contemplate for hours. It impelled me to think about my own life differently but also to wonder about other aspects of Dani’s life, driving me to read every single one of her other books within weeks of each other. I don’t think I have ever found a memoir that I could actually call life-changing until I came across this jewel of a book.

It's boring. Sorry. Not finished. Hello charity shop.

Ich bin 23 und kann mir vorstellen, das Buch auch nochmal mit 40 zu lesen.Es hat auch meiner Mutter und Freunden- alle mit unterschiedlichen Erfahrungen und Meinungen zu Liebe und Ehe sehr gefallen. :)

I enjoy Dani's books so much, but this one was a little different. It was very short (about half the size of a regular novel) and so I finished it in a day. I enjoyed Devotion much more than this one, although this was a pleasant read.

beaucoup de subtilité dans ce récit, de délicatesse et de tendresse. Ai découvert cette auteure avec ce récit et en ai lu 2 autres dans la foulée.