Goolrick, Robert 1948–

PERSONAL:

Born 1948.

CAREER:

Writer. Previously worked in advertising.

WRITINGS:

The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life (memoir), Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Commenting on Robert Goolrick's memoir The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life, Newsweek contributor Malcom Jones wrote: "The beauty of the story is in its language and its keen appreciation for the details that turn a childhood into an understated Chekhovian nightmare." The End of the World as We Know It recounts the author's loveless childhood with alcoholic parents who never expressed affection and eventually lived in squalor. The book, which Entertainment Weekly contributor Jennifer Reese called an "unnerving, elegantly crafted memoir," leads to an unexpected climax when the author reveals a family "secret" of abuse. Goolrick also includes the details of his suicide attempt when he was thirty-five, his subsequent self-maiming, and his eventual commitment to an institution. "In the end, Goolrick has written a moving, unflinchingly rendered story of how the past can haunt a life," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. Other critics also praised the book. "The End of the World as We Know It is barbed and canny, with a sharp eye for the infliction of pain," commented Janet Maslin in the New York Times Book Review. A Kirkus Reviews contributor made special note of the author's style, calling it "lush and poetic while never becoming purple."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Goolrick, Robert, The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC), 2007.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 2006, Deborah Donovan, review of The End of the World as We Know It, p. 14.

Entertainment Weekly, March 23, 2007, Jennifer Reese, review of The End of the World as We Know It, p. 66.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2006, review of The End of the World as We Know It, p. 1255.

Newsweek, April 20, 2007, "Mystery and Manners," review of The End of the World as We Know It.

New York Times Book Review, March 26, 2007, Janet Maslin, "Beautiful People, Wretched Childhood," review of The End of the World as We Know It.

Publishers Weekly, November 27, 2006, review of The End of the World as We Know It, p. 40.

ONLINE

Bookslut,http://www.bookslut.com/ (October 9, 2007), Erin Walter, review of The End of the World as We Know It.