Bliss, Remembered by Frank Deford

5 stars
r-2

I had major reservations starting this book.  It had the dreaded sticker on the spine.  You know, the one with a heart that says "romance".

I tend to actively avoid the books the library marks with that sticker.

(No offense to those readers who love romances.  They just aren't generally my thing.)

And it was written by a guy who writes for Sports Illustrated, which makes the "romance" label seem kinda weird.

Anyway, the "romance" sticker probably does this book an injustice.

Yes, it is a love story, but it's so much more.  (Okay, it's really maybe 2 love stories, but it's still more than that.)

Beautifully written, with a fabulous voice/tone.  I loved the semi-memoir style.  (I know that's not a word, but it's an apt description.)  And the descriptions of the 1936 Olympics, especially, held a lot of the lush glamour of Fitzgerald and the 1920s.  (It is FICTION, though.  Even if it totally feels like nonfiction.)

Overall, I LOVED it and EVERYONE should read it.  Really.  Like right now.  I'll wait.  :D  (You didn't have other plans this weekend, right?)

This is very possibly going to be my favorite of this Reader's Choice list.