Seeing Mary Plain: A Life of Mary McCarthy

It took Frances Kiernan nine years to research and write this biography of America's first lady of letters. It was well worth the wait. To see McCarthy "plain" -- simple, yet with sharp clarity -- Kiernan pieced together her subject's life, from years spent in Seattle, New York, Maine, Italy and Paris, by interviewing more than 200 people who knew her. What emerges is an intellectual,, affectionate yet judgmentally balanced portrait of a woman, mother, stepmother, wife, ex-wife, lover and friend ... as well as an important literary voice. With Kiernan on the scene, make that two important voices.

The author takes a back seat and allows us to step into Mary McCarthy's life as if we were one of her circle of friends. Wonderfully detailed with quotes from the major literary lights of our day.

Frances Kiernan's biography experiments with form to get at the essence of an exceedingly complicated and complex writer. By combining excerpts from McCarthy's published writers, letters to and from her, and the comments of many people (famous and not) who knew her, the book shows us a woman who is talented but capricious; a loyal friend and a fierce enemy, a sharp intellect and a charming hostess. Ms. Kiernan provides just enough narrative thread to stitch these disparate voices together, and while she clearly admires McCarthy, she is not afraid to criticize her subject. By presenting so many contrasting viewpoints, the book invites us (much like the film Rashomon) to draw our own conclusions. This is a worthy biography and one that should compel the reader back to McCarthy's own stories, novels, and essays.

I love Mary McCarthy's writing. Her prose is so knowing, and so smart that it takes my breath away. I didn't know anything about her at all until I read this book. It's a terrific read - McCarthy's life was flamboyant, daring, challenging. She was a feminist in the most modern sense of the word, and a devastatingly attractive woman. I believe her writing deserves to be better known and this biography may be the thing to get her some of that recognition, because the more you read about her, the more you want to see how it comes across in her text. I am dying to get back into my Mary McCarthy books and see how far it was autobiographical. The writer of this book is never prurient but never produces anything that isn't fabulously titillating. A great gift for a literary girlfriend.