Book 86 - Forgotten Title

Title: The Art of Leaving: A Memoir Author: Ayelet Tsabari

Genre: memoir

Sidenote 1: What the HELL did I do before I started reading memoir? I have been blinded for so long - it's just plain embarrassing!

I discovered this author and this book by attending Tsabari's event at the 2019 LitFest.

Sidenote 2: LitFest rocks. You know that feeling you get when you wander around a bookstore, not buying anything, not reading, just wandering around, maybe with a hot drink in your hand, touching the spines of all the books and breathing in the musty scent of a million minds? There's a similar sensation of immersion at LitFest - walking into a downtown venue you'd never have any other reason to visit, ordering a glass of pinot noir under a sky of string lights, and settling in at a table, notebook guts exposed and pen poised, with others doing the exact same thing on either side of you...

It's fucking beautiful.

ANYWAYS. On to...

In her novel and her LitFest segment, Tsabari talks about the struggles she felt finding her voice after not writing for so long, as well as trying to express herself it in a whole new language. Despite this, she succeeds in conveying that bone-deep weariness, that brand of sadness and enui, that I think a lot of people experience but can't find the words to express, or even identify as existing.

Tsabari's life, as told in the novel, is incredible. After serving her mandatory military service with the IDF, she travels the world for years and years, seeking something she can't name, trying to find a place that feels like home. She talks about her self-destructive tendencies, her non-conventional relationships, and her struggles with the family, which, although unique to her, I find extremely relatable.

I wouldn't say there's a happy ending, but there is a sense of self-redemption and hope that I would argue is even better than a bow on top. The whole book is filled with this kind of perfect nuance - that real life isn't a storybook with that perfect happy ending; in fact, it's usually even better, because it can be so unexpected.

Rating: 🚬 🚬 🚬 🚬 🚬/5