Truth and Beauty

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Grealy discovered that she could write non-fiction about herself, turn the spotlight on her shame and longing. Her Autobiography of a Face was a phenomenal bestseller. The book brought her money - with which Lucy was hopeless - but it did not assuage her desperate need for love. Although befriended by many, she was forever lonely.

Love, surgery and writing were the themes of her life, a life lived recklessly, with plenty of dancing, sex and flamboyant clothing. In comparison, Patchett's story, narrated sotto voce alongside the rollercoaster of Lucy's, is an account of relative normality, order and quiet achievement. Lucy could only eat, kiss and speak with difficulty.

She had endured nearly 40 operations. When, after a piece of her leg bone was inserted into her jaw in an attempt to create a stable platform for the implantation of teeth, and the procedure failed, Lucy's capacity to hold things together finally stalled. The drugs prescribed to relieve her unceasing pain led to heroin. After losing her teaching job, her flat and the contract for her next book, she died, possibly a suicide, possibly from an overdose. Ann Patchett had warned Lucy that the heroin addiction threatened their friendship. Her luminously detailed book, written in the recent aftermath of Lucy's death, is an intentionally warts-and-all portrait of the woman 'with whom I was a native speaker'.

It captures some of the savour and complexity of a grand passion. I'm not one for highlighting my books or folding pages, but I just couldn't help myself! I devoured this book. One thing we agreed on this morning while I was filling her in on the ending, she said, "You better make sure to buy Autobiography of a Face.

We'll have to discuss it on late night long distance phone calls. View all 7 comments. Nov 02, Julie Ehlers rated it it was amazing Shelves: Oh, my experience rereading this book was so different from my first reading ten years ago. Even though Ann was doing the telling, I saw this as Lucy's story. Fast forward ten years: I've now read and loved three of Ann Patchett's novels and a fair amount of her nonfiction pieces. Rereading Truth and Beauty , I'm much more interested Oh, my experience rereading this book was so different from my first reading ten years ago. Rereading Truth and Beauty , I'm much more interested in Ann's story, and surprised by how much of the book is actually about her.

I think the story of Ann's writing life is as fascinating as Lucy's, in its own way--no drama, no self-destructiveness, just someone who gradually made her way from Friday's waitress to wildly successful author via talent, of course, but also sheer force of will and her willingness to engage, day after day, with the page in front of her--something Lucy, it seems, was never able to do.

Of course, the book really is about both of them, a true portrait of their friendship, but for me, Ann's part in it assumed its rightful place on this reading. The parts of the book concerning Lucy's drug addiction really stood out for me this time as well: Lucy's ex-boyfriend Andy, thinking if he can just keep her out of New York where her dealer lives she'll stay clean--as if Lucy couldn't find drugs everywhere else in the world. Ann herself desperately wanting Lucy to move to Nashville so she can keep an eye on her--basically be there to stop Lucy if she tries to go off track.

Such common behavior among the loved ones of addicts. You think there's something you can do to solve the problem, but the fact is you can't do anything. I felt that aspect of the book much more strongly this time around. Lucy's bad behavior was less shocking to me this time--probably because it was no longer new to me--but I certainly understand all the reviewers here who wonder why in the world someone like Ann would stay friends with someone like Lucy.

To me, the answer is in this passage, one of my favorites in the book: With Lucy I was a native speaker. And once we did, wouldn't we do whatever we could to hold onto it? Jan 25, Colleen rated it really liked it. I picked up this book because I read "Bel Canto" and loved it, and loved Ann Patchett's writing style. I also think that, in general, friendship does not get enough respect in our society. There's a lot of attention payed to family and lovers, but not much to friends.

This is the story of a friendship between the author and a woman she went to college with. They both end up at the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop at the same time, and a beautiful, life-long friendship ensues. I loved the beginning because I went to the University of Iowa.

I think I even know the house on Governor Street where they were roomies. So, there's my own nostalgia for Iowa City in there! The friend, Lucy, suffered from a rare form of cancer affecting her jaw at an early age, and her face was deformed as a result. The book chronicles her exuberance, her depressions, her self-destructive behavior, and the author's many attempts to try to save a friend she dearly loves.

It's not Lucy's face so much that is her downfall, but her utter lack of a sense of identity, and her desperate need to be loved and considered beautiful, at whatever cost. In the end, it is a beautifully written testament to friendship, and also to the lives of two writers struggling to remain true to their craft.

Patchett was the responsible one and Grealy, we soon see, was impulsive and needy, constantly requiring validation and love. This led to the removal of her jawbone, and over the years she had dozens of reconstructive surgeries. All of this led to childhood and adolescent taunting, chronic pain and constant difficulty eating, and a lifetime of insecurity and self-consciousness about her looks. She would detail this in Autobiography Of A Face years later. What comes across clearly is a strange, mysterious alchemy — a chemistry, a blending of souls — in their friendship.

We tend to think that only romantic love depends on chemistry; but friends need it too. She also includes generous glimpses of their correspondence to add context.

A friend in need

There are lots of laughs, like the time Grealy went on a blind date with George Stephanopoulos even this episode, though, is tinged with sadness. And there are a couple of vivid descriptions of publishing parties, including one awkward one celebrating author Dennis McFarland. As the book progresses, and Grealy begins taking drugs because of pain caused by surgeries including one where her tibia was removed to graft onto her face , you begin to see where the narrative is headed. Near the end there are a couple of moments that must have caused Patchett great remorse to remember and write down.

I think about the role my closest, dearest friends play in my life. Who would you let stay with you so they could recover from addiction? Lots of truth, and so much beauty. View all 10 comments. Dec 27, Kerfe rated it it was ok Shelves: Addicts are not very likable. At best I found Lucy Grealy tiresome. That was at the beginning of Patchett's memoir about their friendship.

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By the end my feelings for Lucy had turned into active dislike. I don't think this was the author's intent. When Lucy dies, she says: But now I know I was simply not cut out for life without her. I am living that life now and would not choose it. Why was she so devoted to Lucy, w Addicts are not very likable. Why was she so devoted to Lucy, why were so many others? The Lucy I got to know in this book did not in any way merit such devotion.

Yes, she was sucker-punched by life as a child. But a spoiled brat who was sucker-punched by life is still a spoiled brat. There are many reasons why people use other people. But they are still users. I also did not much like the Ann Patchett described in this book. And really, their lives were not that enlightening or interesting.

I did like the writing, though, and will probably look to read some of Patchett's novels. View all 4 comments. Lucy Grealy is mercurial, irresponsible, needy, and an immensely talented writer. Ann Patchett is solid, responsible, hard-working and possibly less talented. Their interdependency, and how their friendship ebbs and flows as they move through professional and personal successes and failures in their lives, is the heart and soul of the book.

I highly recommend both. Oct 28, Charlotte rated it it was ok. I learned how not to treat friends. I couldn't believe that Ann didn't end her friendship with Lucy after so many irritating incidents on Lucy's part. I would have backed out of sharing an apartment with Lucy if she had jumped up on me when I first arrived at the apartment. When Lucy demanded that Ann tell her that she Ann loved her most, why did Ann cater to her wishes?

The author did not explain to my satisfaction why Lucy continued to have friends. Apparently Lucy must have had some sort I learned how not to treat friends. Apparently Lucy must have had some sort of charisma. Surely pity could not have kept her friends hanging around, watching for her to drop crumbs their way.

It seemed to me that Lucy just used her friends. Maybe the answer is in Autobiography of a Face. I have not read that book. I was very interested to read about Lucy Grealy , a brilliant poet who died at But from the very beginning Patchett uses a style that greatly annoyed me and which - by want of a more suitable word - I can only describe as 'passive-aggressive-praise'. By that I mean showering constant praise on someone Lucy and always affirming that this person is more talented than the one giving the praise Ann , and more intelligent, more fun, more everything.

But the praise is laced with tiny, almost imp I was very interested to read about Lucy Grealy , a brilliant poet who died at But the praise is laced with tiny, almost imperceptible razor-sharp needle pricks to make clear that, in fact, Lucy is the looser and Ann the real deal. View all 6 comments. May 09, Skye rated it it was ok.

My poor review has nothing to do with Patchett's writing ability. I found the story very disturbing, I couldn't understand other than her writing accolades what Patchett got out of this unhealthy friendship. Lucy was such a negative, manipulative person that her 'looks' to me were very much beside the point. Jul 24, Jill rated it did not like it. Both obsequious and patronizing. Touted as a memoir of friendship. But, sweet Mary, I would not want either of the women as my friend. Oct 16, Greg rated it really liked it.

It's a little confusing to separate all the various emotions and viewpoints associated with Truth and Beuaty because of the agita caused by the Grealey family's dissatisfaction with the book and Suellen Grealey's letter to the Guardian.

The "controversy" stems from ideas of ethics and rights. Who owns the rights to Lucy's story? Is it ethical for Ann Patchett to use Lucy to tell her own story?

I see both sides although I fall on Patchett's side. Reading Beauty , I could see how her family didn't It's a little confusing to separate all the various emotions and viewpoints associated with Truth and Beuaty because of the agita caused by the Grealey family's dissatisfaction with the book and Suellen Grealey's letter to the Guardian.

Reading Beauty , I could see how her family didn't like the at times ugly portrayal of Lucy, but I think it's not ugliness, but truth. An interesting study in contrasts.

Lucy Grealey's life has all the markings of a bloated, Hollywood biopic. The outsized personality, illness, disfigurement, depression, addiction, sexual exploration. Her life is epic and her death tragic. Patchett subverts expectations here by going small. She stays resolutely to her own tiny window into Lucy. The prose is minimal and well-considered, providing subtle contrast to Lucy's letters. I was constantly reminded of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , an odd reference point, but a think an applicable one because of their similar perspectives.

Both novel's ostensible protagonist, the narrator, become side characters to the bombast of the colorful friend. And of course the stories of both Jay Gatsby and Lucy Grealey don't end well, but this does bring me back to ethics. Gatsby is a work of fiction so the perspective, like everything else, is a fabrication.

Beauty is a memoir, but on appearance it is a memoir of Lucy, not of Ann. I say on appearance because I'm not sure the memoir is so much about Lucy as it is about writing and creativity as told through the friendship of Patchett and Grealey. It reminded me of Didion's Blue Nights , where you think you're reading about the death of her daughter, but you're actually reading about death itself and the struggle of writing and art against it. The discussions about writing and the descriptions about Lucy's feelings about writing are fascinating. Writing is salvation for both Patchett and Grealey through their lives.

Patchett appears to reach the same conclusion as Didion, that writing and art and truth and beauty are not salvation. They are not a lifeline. Nothing can stop death and fear if it wants to come. Aug 16, Sandra rated it liked it. So this is really more like a 2.

This is the true story of Patchett's friendship and fascination with fellow author Lucy Grealy from college through Grealy's suicide in her late 30s. Grealy suffered from Ewing's sarcoma which claimed a part of her face in childhood and then she permitted it to take her self-respect and the rest of her life. Grealy told her own story in "Autobiography of a Face", and the story should have probably ended there, but Patchett decided the story was hers as well and essentially sold out her friend after her death.

Grealy is pitiful and self-pitying, I found it nearly impossible to like her and even more difficult to respect her struggle. She used her face as an excuse for damned near everything from laziness to promiscuity to drug addiction. I am unsure why Patchett felt compelled to write this book, perhaps as a cleansing of sorts Ann conveys nothing about Lucy that makes me understand her weird attraction to her and Lucy offers little in the way of warmth or giving always taking with both hands to fill some bottomless pit of need.

But if that's how she was, well, then, that IS the story I suppose. Feb 04, Judith rated it did not like it. And how was I to know that the memoir of her dear friend and fellow author would be just about unreadable? The book describes this intense passionate, though platonic friendship with a female poet she met in college. The friend, Lucy, was a pitiful victim of cancer which left her without the lower half of her face. She underwent over 38 surgeries during her lifetime to try to rebuild her Having recently read "State of Wonder" and "Bel Canto", I became an overnight devoted fan of Ann Patchett.

She underwent over 38 surgeries during her lifetime to try to rebuild her face. She suffered extraordinary pain and disfigurement and eventually addiction to drugs. Ann was a saint who supported her, sometimes financially, always emotionally, and frequently served as a cook, secretary, maid, dresser, and go-between. Lucy is a whiny narcissistic selfish bitch and Ann is a boring martyr drudge.

At one point in the book Ann is giving writerly advice to Lucy who is trying to come up with ideas for a novel. Ann says something to the effect that you can't make all of the characters despicable. Someone has to be at least superficially likable: It's clear from the first page that Lucy is going to die, so I am not giving away the ending.

She starts yelling in the theater: View all 11 comments. Oct 20, Jhoanna rated it it was amazing Shelves: I didn't know much about Patchett or Grealy before reading this memoir and I still don't, but I love how Patchett details this intense friendship between two writers and gives you a close look at the writing process, how people develop and why we keep writing. Here's what Patchett has to say of Grealy: The tortois I didn't know much about Patchett or Grealy before reading this memoir and I still don't, but I love how Patchett details this intense friendship between two writers and gives you a close look at the writing process, how people develop and why we keep writing.

The tortoise, being uninterested in such things, gave his medal to the hare. They were the ones who brought truth and beauty to the party, which Lucy could tell you as she recited her Keats over breakfast, was better than food any day. Aug 20, Carla rated it really liked it Recommends it for: My best friend Audrey gave me this book at the same time she gave me the book "Autobiography of a face". What a great present. I would read them in the order they are written autobiography first. The first book is just an interesting story which is well written.

We all know the power of a good relationship with a significant other but rarely is the power of a female friendship written about. I can relate to this book in My best friend Audrey gave me this book at the same time she gave me the book "Autobiography of a face". I can relate to this book in some ways in regards to the girlfriend that gave me the books. We have been through many different periods in our lives together, I've been sad, she's been sad and hopefully we have helped each other out during those times even those we have mostly lived miles apart.

So this was Ann Patchett's third strike and this reader declares her banned from the game in perpetuity. Certainly better than State of Wonder and Bel Canto I don't care how many awards that book won, it's bad! Easy to see what Lucy Grealy saw in her as a friend, though - an eager co-dependent. While the fact that this is not a novel helps Patchett on the plotting front significantly no more crazy and unbeliev So this was Ann Patchett's third strike and this reader declares her banned from the game in perpetuity.

While the fact that this is not a novel helps Patchett on the plotting front significantly no more crazy and unbelievable endings as the facts dictated the end of this one , there are still incredible gaps in the narrative that leave the reader frustrated. Where were Lucy Grealy's parents and her relationship to her parents in this whole extraordinary mess of a life? How is it possible two such close friends would never have discussed their parents - or their siblings?

How can one write a page book about one of your closest friendships and never mention that one's friend has a non-identical twin? Here's an article from Lucy Grealy's sister that raises some of these questions - and a whole lot more: Oct 29, Megan Baxter rated it liked it. I am often at a loss with memoirs. I don't know what I'm expecting out of them, or how really to take them. As they're about lives, they don't conform to narrative conventions, but as they're not histories, they tend to give little of the context I crave.

At best, they're someone giving you a glimpse into their life, and that springs vitally from the page. At worst, it feels like reading about a stranger, without enough of the context to understand. The rest of this review has been withdraw I am often at a loss with memoirs.

The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here. In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook View all 3 comments. Dec 14, Kelly Corrigan rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Sep 03, Kim rated it liked it Recommends it for: I have just read two books about female friendship back to back--one was the annotated letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok and the other was this one, novelist Ann Patchett's memoir of her all-encompassing and troubled friendship with poet Lucy Grealy, who is insecure, needy, and self-destructive, but also incredibly gifted.

It is no spoiler to say that Lucy dies at the end, which is given away on the dust jacket and dedication page. Both books were similar in that one party to the fr I have just read two books about female friendship back to back--one was the annotated letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok and the other was this one, novelist Ann Patchett's memoir of her all-encompassing and troubled friendship with poet Lucy Grealy, who is insecure, needy, and self-destructive, but also incredibly gifted.

Both books were similar in that one party to the friendship went on to great heights of fame and accomplishment while the other achieved some success, but not enough to soothe her troubled soul. Inevitably, the career paths of the four women in the two books diverged, and not surprisingly their friendships did too. I enjoyed Patchett's book more than the Roosevelt-Hickok book simply because there was more text, more narrative, than with some footnoted letters fascinating though they were.

I've never read any of Patchett's novels, but I've read some of her articles and she's a wonderful writer. You get many intimations of her talent in this book, but this book ultimately left me cold. On one hand, Patchett purports to love Lucy, calling her the "pettest of [her] pets," yet to me this book issued rather soon after Lucy's untimely death smacked of exploitation.

Ann reveals all of Lucy's faults and weaknesses in excruciatingly painful detail, and although I could sympathize with Ann's frustration, I felt betrayed on Lucy's behalf. I can fully understand why Ann, as a writer, felt that writing would be the best way to work through her grief and make sense of her friendship with Lucy. Perhaps she felt she was honoring Lucy and giving her some of the fame that Lucy always craved. But part of me wishes Ann would have written this all down, stored it in a box, and kept it to herself. Or, at a minimum, disguised this story as a novel, which is Patchett's forte.

I must admit that I thought about this book for days after I finished reading it, so it was obviously very effective in its way, but I also felt sad, very sad, that Lucy had to die and that her friend had to lay her soul so bare for the world to feast on. Apr 05, Kate. The friendship of Lucy Grealy and Ann Patchett was extraordinary and excruciating.

I identify with Ann, and wonder: Would I have the courage to stand up to a self-destructing friend? Or maybe I am more of Lucy--searching for Perfect Love, drawing others in for my own amusem The friendship of Lucy Grealy and Ann Patchett was extraordinary and excruciating.

Or maybe I am more of Lucy--searching for Perfect Love, drawing others in for my own amusement, masking deep hurts with superficial chaos. So perhaps I am both of Ann and Lucy. I swear, just when I think I'm hopelessly wed to fiction, a book like this comes along and changes everything Above all, this book reaffirmed what I know of friendship—-it makes us in the best of times, and saves us in the worst of times.

Jun 08, Beth Bonini rated it it was amazing Shelves: The book cover of my Harper Perennial edition features 19th century insect prints of a grasshopper and an ant; the pictorial image refers to the Aesop's Fable which Patchett draws upon throughout this memoir of a friendship between two writers.

Ann Patchett styles herself as the careful, plodding ant, while Lucy Grealy is the devil-may-care grasshopper who revels in summer's plenty, but then has to beg for food when winter comes. These two friends, who attended Sarah Lawrence together as undergr The book cover of my Harper Perennial edition features 19th century insect prints of a grasshopper and an ant; the pictorial image refers to the Aesop's Fable which Patchett draws upon throughout this memoir of a friendship between two writers.

These two friends, who attended Sarah Lawrence together as undergraduates and later became best friends at the Iowa Writer's Workshop, carve out their roles and responsibilities from the start. Lucy will be the poet; Ann will write prose. Lucy will be the emotionally needy, brilliant one, and Ann will be the caretaking, steady one.

Data visualization by Moritz Stefaner

Perhaps the essential characteristics of their different personalities would have been in place no matter what, but life has already carved them up in very specific ways. As a child, Lucy suffered from cancer - the treatment of which destroyed her face. Left without many teeth or much of a jaw, Lucy's life becomes a series of surgeries and reconstructions. By her early thirties, she has undergone more than 36 surgeries and finally has to face the reality that her face will never be rebuilt in any enduring way.

She will never be beautiful. Rather like her disintegrating, melting face, Lucy is an endless pit of need. No matter how successful she is, no matter how devoted are the friends in her life, no matter how numerous the lovers, Lucy suffers from a depression and an utterly guiltless and bottomless neediness.

Ann, on the other hand, is the child of divorce; careful and self-contained. She has been educated by Catholic nuns, who have encouraged her self-effacement and devotion to good deeds.

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