MixedThe Pittsburg Post-Gazette... the book’s strength is not so much about lies vs. the truth, but how it positions itself with the themes of race, family and identity ... As the central character, Ruth embodies a good deal of complexity as she struggles to determine who she is while also wrestling with a troubled past she is trying to escape ... While the narrators running parallel to one another does allow for some different dimensions in the story, I was not entirely sure the two narrators were necessary or served the story well. The author develops a complex and interesting character in Ruth, a character that the audience wants to get to know. It almost felt disrupted by the break in narration ... The writing also felt weighed down by cliches and overly simplistic descriptions that made it hard to connect with some of the more emotionally heavy scenes. The characters draw you in more than the mystery. The main \'lie\' of the story is predictable in the way a formulaic crime drama presents the audience with only a few options, but Ruth’s internal struggle with the lie did cause me to turn the page. I did, however, want more at the end. Ruth spends so much time revisiting the past, the reader does not get to see how the past could potentially shape her future self ... Overall, The Kindest Lie captured my attention but struggled to hold it, perhaps because the author was trying to tackle too much.
Siri Hustvedt
RavePittsburgh Post-Gazette... if you want to explore a work of fiction that reminds you how compelling the act of reading can be and you are willing to recognize yourself as an integral part of the storytelling, perhaps even be a character yourself, then pick up this book ... if you are starting to think this novel is a mere coming of age story, another English major figuring out what the heck to do with that B.A., don’t worry. Just when you think the plot is taking its time, the fonts start to change and you realize you are not reading one story, but three (possibly four) ... With echoes of literary and philosophical giants filling its pages, Memories of the Future truly aims to capture the reader’s imagination even while the narrator confronts the existence of patriarchy in a political landscape mirroring our current realities ... Memories of the Future is one of those books that reminds us why we love literature in the first place ... a rather remarkable story.
Toni Morrison
PositivePittsburgh Post-Gazette\"The Source of Self-Regard would benefit from time stamps with each work’s title ... Morrison’s The Source of Self-Regard wants to test her powers. In her third collection of nonfiction, her fiction, her voice and her power are still very present.\
