In its mesmerizing dive into tumultuous childhood stories and its excavation of a particular place and time, Whiskey Tender recalls Mary Karr’s now-classic memoir The Liars' Club. What sets Taffa's memoir apart is its study of the political, racial and ancestral forces that shape a life.
A poignant and harrowing account ... What makes Taffa’s version exceptional is her visceral prose and sharp attunement to the tragedies of assimilation.
[Taffa] carefully incorporates years of diligent research to reveal unknown or underappreciated facts of history ... Amid such details, the emotional power and cohesion of the author’s own narrative can get lost, but Taffa’s work is a testament to the power of and need for intergenerational storytelling.
