Works Cited: An Alphabetical Odyssey of Mayhem and Misbehavior

by Brandon R. Schrand

Overview

“Doing things by the book” acquires a whole new meaning in Brandon R. Schrand’s memoir of coming of age in spite of himself. The “works cited” are those books that serve as Schrand’s signposts as he goes from life as a hormone-crazed, heavy-metal wannabe in the remotest parts of working-class Idaho to a reasonable facsimile of manhood (with a stop along the way to buy a five-dollar mustard-colored M. C. Hammer suit, so he’ll fit in at college). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn informs his adolescent angst over the perceived injustice of society’s refusal to openly discuss boners. The Great Gatsby serves as a metaphor for his indulgent and directionless college days spent in a drunken stupor (when he wasn’t feigning interest in Mormonism to attract women). William Kittredge’s Hole in the Sky parallels his own dangerous adulthood slide into alcoholism and denial.

With a finely calibrated wit, a good dose of humility, and a strong supporting cast of literary characters, Schrand manages to chart his own story—about a dreamer thrown out of school as many times as he’s thrown into jail—until he finally sticks his landing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496211668
Publisher:	Bison Original
Publication date:	04/15/2020
Series:	American Lives
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	242
File size:	916 KB

About the Author

Brandon R. Schrand is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Idaho. His book The Enders Hotel: A Memoir (Nebraska, 2007) was a River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize winner and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection.

Table of Contents

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Editorial Reviews

"Often forgiven, Schrand has led an oddly charmed life, which he reveals through 27 essays about the benefits and dangers of reading particular books, which he arranges alphabetically by author. This has strong book-discussion possibilities."—Rick Roche, Booklist starred review

Booklist - Rick Roche

“This book pulled me in and wouldn’t let go. Schrand carefully re-creates everyday experiences, revealing the mutability of our multiple selves in relation to our stories and the stories that influence us. Particularly in an age where books are presented first as commodity and then as transparent means to fame or infamy, the idea of books and reading as life-savers is necessary and vital.”—Sonya Huber, author of Opa Nobody

Sonya Huber

"A well-written memoir with a structure both clever and pleasing."—Richard Gilbert

Richard Gilbert

"Beautiful writing. . . . Willingly, we go on his journey with him, riding the twists and turns of the story like passengers on a train snaking through the difficult terrain of a challenging country, a symbolism the writer, himself, uses in the book."—Paul L. Martin, Teacher's View

Teacher's View - Paul L. Martin

"Works Cited is a riveting story about literature's potential to transform a life, as we watch an undisciplined teenager with vague ambitions slowly become a self-aware and loving father, husband and author."—Andrea Clark Mason, High Country News

High Country News - Andrea Clark Mason

“A tender and at times truly funny paean to the books that helped shape him, this is a different and welcome kind of memoir, one that ingeniously uses the form of bibliography to acknowledge and celebrate the conversation that all writers and readers have with the authors they love, a conversation that happens indelibly, sometimes even reluctantly and unconsciously, across the ages.”—Robin Hemley, author of A Field Guide for Immersion Writing and Do-Over!

Robin Hemley

Schrand (Creative Writing/Univ. of Idaho; The Enders Hotel: A Memoir, 2008) returns with a coming-of-age memoir involving around 30 influential books. The author had a novel idea: Pick a bunch of books, arrange them alphabetically by author surname and write about the period in his life when each book was prominent. With this decision, Schrand eschews standard chronology and keeps readers alert--a chapter about his experience in his first college English class is followed by one about ninth grade. But the flow remains generally forward, from early boyhood onward. The overall, eventually tiresome, narrative is this: I came from a fairly rough Idaho background; I screwed up in school; I screwed up big-time in college; I experimented with drugs; I had lots of sex; I married a good woman; she helped me grow up; I became a father; I matured; I got graduate degrees (and really good grades); I got a job and published a book. Schrand's books are generally unsurprising. Hemingway, John Irving, Toni Morrison, S.E. Hinton, Orwell, etc.--with a few Westerners mixed in, including Barry Lopez, Annie Proulx and Wallace Stegner. Schrand is not always careful about the consistency of his imagery. "Hindsight storms my mind," he observes in one place; in another, he talks metaphorically about "a new book that washes up on the shores" (was it in a waterproof container?). The occasional cliché pops up, as well--e.g., he gets his head around things, and electricity courses through his body. A middling memoir.

Kirkus Reviews