Still Pictures: On Photography and Memory

Janet Malcolm's memoir is constructed from twelve family photographs, exploring her life in New York City from her childhood to her marriage and libel trial. She examines the artifice that underpins both public and private selves, displaying her sharp wit and astute commentary.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 01 February 2024
Publisher: Granta Books

For decades, Janet Malcolm's books and dispatches for the New Yorker have relentlessly probed and exposed the artificiality that underpins both public and private selves, challenging the very conventions of biographical writing. In this captivating memoir, Malcolm takes a bold step, turning her discerning gaze inward and examining twelve family photographs that capture fleeting moments from her life. Through these images, she weaves a rich tapestry of memories, creating a memoir that is as much about the art of capturing moments as it is about the intricacies of personal identity.

Malcolm's journey begins with a melancholic portrait of a young girl, taken on a train in 1939, as she left Prague at the tender age of five. From there, we trace her path to the Czech enclave of Yorkville in Manhattan, where her parents, a psychiatrist and neurologist, and an attorney from a bourgeois background, traded their bohemian, Dada-influenced existence for the aspirations of middle-class America. The narrative unfolds like a mosaic, revealing the various stages of Malcolm's life, from her early, tumultuous loves to the enchanting evenings spent at the old Metropolitan Opera House, where her fascination with the world of opera grew.

But it is in her exploration of her marriage to Gardner Botsford and her involvement in the world of William Shawn's New Yorker that Malcolm's memoir truly shines. With her trademark sharp wit and astute commentary, she delves into the complexities of relationships, the power dynamics of the publishing industry, and the legal battles that ultimately led her to become a character in her own dramatic story. This brief volume, initially appearing as a series of dispatches in the New Yorker, unfolds into a memoir that defies convention and captivates readers with its unique perspective and insightful prose.

Malcolm's memoir is a testament to her enduring legacy as a writer and thinker. Through her meticulous examination of family photographs and her candid portrayal of her own life, she offers a profound reflection on the nature of identity, the complexities of relationships, and the enduring influence of the past. This is a memoir that will resonate with anyone who has ever pondered the mysteries of their own existence, and it serves as a reminder of the power of storytelling to illuminate the human experience.

Weight: 130g
Dimension: 198 x 128 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783788378