Anne Lamott
famously chronicled her own foray into motherhood, single and in her thirties,
in Operating Instructions, the story
of her son Sam’s first year of life.
Now, at 19, Sam himself is becoming a father as his girlfriend, Amy, gives
birth to Jax. I enjoyed the first story,
but found myself considerably less charmed by this second generation tale. Although the book is meant to convey the
problems of the young couple (will they stay together? will Amy decamp from California to be with
her family in Chicago and take Jax away?), as well as the new grandmother’s
mixed feelings about both their tenuous situation and her own desire to control
their lives, I ended up being pretty sick of the whole group by the time Jax
turned one. And I got particularly tired
of Anne Lamott’s rather icky-poo relationship with Jesus, God, and whatever
other flaky spiritual advisors she finds.
272 pp.
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