From Operating Instructions, the 1993 memoir that remains a popular new-parent-support book, through subsequent spiritual memoirs that honestly revealed the joys and frustrations of parenting, Anne Lamott's son, Sam, became "our boy" for many readers. So they may do a double take at the subtitle of Lamott's Some Assembly Required, which describes it as "a journal of my son's first son." (Sam's a FATHER?!?) Thus Lamott invites readers into--can it be?--her life as a grandmother, and Sam's life as a dad.
While this is Anne's memoir, with her trademark style of sharp humor mixed with witty philosophy and poignant observations, she includes interviews with Sam, so he's telling his own story. It's not a he-says-she-says exchange; Sam's contributions are straightforward reflections on his life as a 20-year-old new father with a headstrong girlfriend who's still fulfilling his obligations as an art student.
Longtime Lamott fans will reconnect with many familiar faces and meet some new ones: Amy, Baby Jax's mother; Amy and Sam's friends; and Jax himself. Readers unfamiliar with Anne's forthright self-deprecating humor, or her ability to mix a quick prayer and a judicious use of colorful language in the same paragraph, may need a few pages to get her rhythm.
What's obvious throughout Some Assembly Required, though, is the love and support this family shares. Their common passion is baby Jax, showered with affection amidst the complications his unexpected arrival brings. Anne Lamott has a gift for putting life in perspective. We feel glad for Sam and his family that she's the Nana. --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, bookseller