Borrowed Finery A Memoir
“Borrowed Finery: A Memoir” by Paula Fox, published by Macmillan on September 2, 2002, is a reflective account of the author’s early life. In this 216-page memoir, Fox recounts her experiences as a child born in the 1920s to bohemian parents, who left her at birth in a Manhattan orphanage. Raised by a minister in upstate New York, her life takes a turn when her parents reappear, revealing complex relationships that shape her identity. The narrative explores themes of displacement and belonging as she navigates her childhood across various locations, including New York City, Cuba, and California.
Readers will find a vivid portrayal of Fox’s formative years, marked by her father’s erratic presence and her mother’s emotional distance. The memoir delves into the significance of the “borrowed finery” that symbolizes fleeting connections and moments of stability amidst her tumultuous upbringing. Through her journey, Fox reflects on the impact of her nomadic lifestyle and the people who influenced her path. This edition offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a literary figure, making it a noteworthy addition to the genres of biography and literary criticism.
Official synopsis Publisher
Born in the 1920s to nomadic, bohemian parents, Paula Fox is left at birth in a Manhattan orphanage, then cared for by a poor yet cultivated minister in upstate New York. Her parents, however, soon resurface. Her handsome father is a hard-drinking screenwriter who is, for young Paula, “part ally, part betrayer.” Her mother is given to icy bursts of temper that punctuate a deep indifference. How, Fox wonders, is this woman “enough of an organic being to have carried me in her belly”?
Never sharing more than a few moments with his daughter, Fox’s father allows her to be shuttled from New York City, where she lives with her passive Spanish grandmother, to Cuba, where she roams freely on a relative’s sugarcane plantation, to California, where she finds herself cast upon Hollywood’s seedy margins. The thread binding these wanderings is the “borrowed finery” of the title-a few pieces of clothing, almost always lent by kindhearted strangers, which offer Fox a rare glimpse of permanency.
Instantly embraced by reviewers and readers as a classic, this astonishing memoir of a writer’s highly unusual beginnings is unforgettable.
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