Molly (memoir)

Molly
AuthorBlake Butler
GenreMemoir
PublisherArchway Editions
Publication date
2023
ISBN9781648230370

Molly is a 2023 memoir written by Blake Butler and published by Archway Editions. It is a work of autobiography concerning his marriage to and subsequent suicide of the poet Molly Brodak.[1]

Background and publication

Blake Butler is the author of several books, including Alice Knott (Riverhead, 2020), Nothing: A Portrait of Insomnia (Harper Perennial, 2011),[2] and Scorch Atlas (Featherproof Books, 2009). Prior to publication excerpts appeared in The Paris Review and Harper's.[3][4]

Reception

Jessica Ferri in the Los Angeles Times called it "the best book I've read this year,"[1] while in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Suzanne Van Atten wrote that it is a "dark, gorgeously crafted read".[5] The Telegraph concluded that "the triumph of his book lies in its compassion. Instead of shaming Brodak, he shows respect to her trickle-down trauma. He diagnoses her – I suspect accurately – with borderline personality disorder. He tells us every awful truth about a toxic relationship. And he does it with real, unending love."[6]

Molly also drew controversy. Author Sarah Rose Etter accused Butler of exploitation, describing Molly as "literary revenge porn against a mentally unwell woman who took her own life."[7]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Ferri 2023.
  2. ^ Monson 2011.
  3. ^ Butler (1) 2023.
  4. ^ Butler (2) 2023.
  5. ^ Van Atten 2023.
  6. ^ Brown 2023.
  7. ^ Onion, Rebecca (2023-12-12). "Not Knowing". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2025-08-12.

Works cited

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.