Overview

“Landslide is that rare book that somehow succeeds in being both knowing and open–hearted, both formally sly and emotionally direct. Its timeless subjects—grief, storytelling, the giving up of childish things—are rendered in ways that are as movingly honest as they are probing and unfamiliar. A swift, compelling read.” —Adam Haslett, author of Imagine Me Gone Minna Zallman Proctor's Landslide is a captivating collection of interconnected personal essays. These “true stories” explore the author’s complicated relationship with her mother—who was diagnosed with cancer at age fifty–seven and died fifteen years later—and the ways in which their connection was long the “prime mover” of Proctor’s life, the subtle force coursing beneath her adulthood. As such, these vibrant essays also narrate the trials and triumphs of Proctor’s own life—shifting between America and Italy (and loving “being a foreigner, the constant sense of unfamiliarity that supplanted all of my expectations and disappointments”), her bumpy first marriage, the profound pleasure she takes in motherhood, and the confounding experience of trying to arrange a Jewish burial for her “Jewish, not quite Jewish” mother. Proctor has an integrity and humor that is never extinguished despite life’s mounting difficulties. She also slyly questions her own narrative throughout. “Not having told this story before means I never fixed many details in my memory,” she writes. “[I] have to rely on flashes, the transparent stills that hang in my mind, made of smell, the way the light casts, the wind on skin.” The essays in this book are a sharply intelligent exploration of what happens when death and divorce unmoor you from certainties, and about the unreliable stories we tell ourselves, and others, in order to live.

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9781936787616

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Reviews

Landslide is that rare book that somehow succeeds in being both knowing and open-hearted, both formally sly and emotionally direct. Its timeless subjects--grief, storytelling, the giving up of childish things--are rendered in ways that are as movingly honest as they are probing and unfamiliar. A swift, compelling read. --Adam Haslett, author of Imagine Me Gone Minna Proctor's voice recalls Vivian Gornick and Rachel Cusk. I know of no one writing more bravely and acutely about the intricate bonds of family, and the ways that we wound and heal the ones closest to us. The reader is left craving more time in the narrator's calm, authoritative presence, which redeems the world even as she reveals its heartbreaking cruelty. --Emily Gould, author of Friendship Landslide is candid, moving, and wholly original: The beauty of Proctor's prose is matched by the depth of her insights into life and literature, love and loss. --Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking With Men: A Memoir

<b>Praise for Minna Proctor</b> <i>DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?</i> (2005) Minna Proctor has taken the provocative step of stopping for a moment to think: How is it that a person comes to feel they have been called by God? How can an authority ever judge another person's devotion? And perhaps most importantly, what conversation is possible between those who believe and those who were raised not to? <i>Do You Hear What I Hear?</i> is not only a finely written story of a daughter's attempt to understand her father's faith, it's a smart, probing, critical inquiry into questions we can't afford to ignore. --Adam Haslett, author of <i>You Are Not a Stranger Here</i> and <i>Imagine Me Gone</i> I found this book fascinating, provocative, wise and even beautiful. Minna Proctor sincerely wants to understand church establishments, takes them seriously when and where they take life seriously. In <i>Do You Hear What I Hear?</i> her curiosity is contagious. --Kurt Andersen, author of <i>True Believers</i> and <i>Turn of the Century</i> Minna Proctor's <i>Do You Hear What I Hear?</i> is a tour de force: a feat of wide-ranging research and sharp reporting on the hard-to-grasp phenomenon of religious calling, as well as a moving, loving portrait of her father, who (to his daughter's surprise) has experienced that calling. He's a man we'd like to know--and by the end of this book, we do. --David Gates, author of <i>Jernigan</i> and <i>The Wonders of the Invisible World</i> Her quest to come to terms first with her father's calling, and then with the rejection of his candidacy, leads to a multifaceted consideration of the ordination process, church history, and comparative theology, and also to stringent self-examination. --<i>The New Yorker</i> Candid . . . lively. --<i>The Village Voice</i> Proctor doggedly pursues information from many faiths, including Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism, never really finding answers. But as is so often true in the spiritual realm, the journey itself proves fruitful . . . Proctor's writing is smart, powerful, and evocative. --<i>The Columbus Dispatch</i> Thoughtful . . . Intelligent and intellectually provocative, though also respectful: a notable example of fine writing on religion. --<i>Kirkus Reviews</i> Proctor is a dogged and accomplished detective and an unobtrusive and appropriately revealing narrator . . . Unique and often gripping. --<i>Publishers Weekly</i>

Praise for Landslide [Zallman] has crafted an affecting elegy for a complicated and contradictory mother and an insightful ode to the unknowable. --Publishers Weekly Landslide is that rare book that somehow succeeds in being both knowing and open-hearted, both formally sly and emotionally direct. Its timeless subjects--grief, storytelling, the giving up of childish things--are rendered in ways that are as movingly honest as they are probing and unfamiliar. A swift, compelling read. --Adam Haslett, author of Imagine Me Gone Minna Proctor's voice recalls Vivian Gornick and Rachel Cusk. I know of no one writing more bravely and acutely about the intricate bonds of family, and the ways that we wound and heal the ones closest to us. The reader is left craving more time in the narrator's calm, authoritative presence, which redeems the world even as she reveals its heartbreaking cruelty. --Emily Gould, author of Friendship Landslide is candid, moving, and wholly original: The beauty of Proctor's prose is matched by the depth of her insights into life and literature, love and loss. --Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking With Men: A Memoir No one who is telling you a story is trying to be alone, Proctor writes, and what great company she is as she darts and dives into the beautiful wreck of a brilliantly adventurous life. --Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation Praise for Landslide [Zallman] has crafted an affecting elegy for a complicated and contradictory mother and an insightful ode to the unknowable. --Publishers Weekly Landslide is that rare book that somehow succeeds in being both knowing and open-hearted, both formally sly and emotionally direct. Its timeless subjects--grief, storytelling, the giving up of childish things--are rendered in ways that are as movingly honest as they are probing and unfamiliar. A swift, compelling read. --Adam Haslett, author of Imagine Me Gone Minna Proctor's voice recalls Vivian Gornick and Rachel Cusk. I know of no one writing more bravely and acutely about the intricate bonds of family, and the ways that we wound and heal the ones closest to us. The reader is left craving more time in the narrator's calm, authoritative presence, which redeems the world even as she reveals its heartbreaking cruelty. --Emily Gould, author of Friendship Landslide is candid, moving, and wholly original: The beauty of Proctor's prose is matched by the depth of her insights into life and literature, love and loss. --Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking With Men: A Memoir Praise for Minna Proctor DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? (2005) Minna Proctor has taken the provocative step of stopping for a moment to think: How is it that a person comes to feel they have been called by God? How can an authority ever judge another person's devotion? And perhaps most importantly, what conversation is possible between those who believe and those who were raised not to? Do You Hear What I Hear? is not only a finely written story of a daughter's attempt to understand her father's faith, it's a smart, probing, critical inquiry into questions we can't afford to ignore. --Adam Haslett, author of You Are Not a Stranger Here and Imagine Me Gone I found this book fascinating, provocative, wise and even beautiful. Minna Proctor sincerely wants to understand church establishments, takes them seriously when and where they take life seriously. In Do You Hear What I Hear? her curiosity is contagious. --Kurt Andersen, author of True Believers and Turn of the Century Minna Proctor's Do You Hear What I Hear? is a tour de force: a feat of wide-ranging research and sharp reporting on the hard-to-grasp phenomenon of religious calling, as well as a moving, loving portrait of her father, who (to his daughter's surprise) has experienced that calling. He's a man we'd like to know--and by the end of this book, we do. --David Gates, author of Jernigan and The Wonders of the Invisible World Her quest to come to terms first with her father's calling, and then with the rejection of his candidacy, leads to a multifaceted consideration of the ordination process, church history, and comparative theology, and also to stringent self-examination. --The New Yorker Candid . . . lively. --The Village Voice Proctor doggedly pursues information from many faiths, including Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism, never really finding answers. But as is so often true in the spiritual realm, the journey itself proves fruitful . . . Proctor's writing is smart, powerful, and evocative. --The Columbus Dispatch Thoughtful . . . Intelligent and intellectually provocative, though also respectful: a notable example of fine writing on religion. --Kirkus Reviews Proctor is a dogged and accomplished detective and an unobtrusive and appropriately revealing narrator . . . Unique and often gripping. --Publishers Weekly Landslide is that rare book that somehow succeeds in being both knowing and open-hearted, both formally sly and emotionally direct. Its timeless subjects--grief, storytelling, the giving up of childish things--are rendered in ways that are as movingly honest as they are probing and unfamiliar. A swift, compelling read. --Adam Haslett, author of Imagine Me Gone Minna Proctor's voice recalls Vivian Gornick and Rachel Cusk. I know of no one writing more bravely and acutely about the intricate bonds of family, and the ways that we wound and heal the ones closest to us. The reader is left craving more time in the narrator's calm, authoritative presence, which redeems the world even as she reveals its heartbreaking cruelty. --Emily Gould, author of Friendship Landslide is candid, moving, and wholly original: The beauty of Proctor's prose is matched by the depth of her insights into life and literature, love and loss. --Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking With Men: A Memoir Praise for Minna Proctor DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? (2005) Minna Proctor has taken the provocative step of stopping for a moment to think: How is it that a person comes to feel they have been called by God? How can an authority ever judge another person's devotion? And perhaps most importantly, what conversation is possible between those who believe and those who were raised not to? Do You Hear What I Hear? is not only a finely written story of a daughter's attempt to understand her father's faith, it's a smart, probing, critical inquiry into questions we can't afford to ignore. --Adam Haslett, author of You Are Not a Stranger Here and Imagine Me Gone I found this book fascinating, provocative, wise and even beautiful. Minna Proctor sincerely wants to understand church establishments, takes them seriously when and where they take life seriously. In Do You Hear What I Hear? her curiosity is contagious. --Kurt Andersen, author of True Believers and Turn of the Century Minna Proctor's Do You Hear What I Hear? is a tour de force: a feat of wide-ranging research and sharp reporting on the hard-to-grasp phenomenon of religious calling, as well as a moving, loving portrait of her father, who (to his daughter's surprise) has experienced that calling. He's a man we'd like to know--and by the end of this book, we do. --David Gates, author of Jernigan and The Wonders of the Invisible World Her quest to come to terms first with her father's calling, and then with the rejection of his candidacy, leads to a multifaceted consideration of the ordination process, church history, and comparative theology, and also to stringent self-examination. --The New Yorker Candid . . . lively. --The Village Voice Proctor doggedly pursues information from many faiths, including Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism, never really finding answers. But as is so often true in the spiritual realm, the journey itself proves fruitful . . . Proctor's writing is smart, powerful, and evocative. --The Columbus Dispatch Thoughtful . . . Intelligent and intellectually provocative, though also respectful: a notable example of fine writing on religion. --Kirkus Reviews Proctor is a dogged and accomplished detective and an unobtrusive and appropriately revealing narrator . . . Unique and often gripping. --Publishers Weekly Landslide is candid, moving, and wholly original: The beauty of Proctor's prose is matched by the depth of her insights into life and literature, love and loss. --Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking With Men: A Memoir -Landslide is candid, moving, and wholly original: The beauty of Proctor's prose is matched by the depth of her insights into life and literature, love and loss.- --Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking With Men: A Memoir Praise for Minna Proctor Do You Hear What I Hear? (2005) Minna Proctor has taken the provocative step of stopping for a moment to think: How is it that a person comes to feel they have been called by God? How can an authority ever judge another person's devotion? And perhaps most importantly, what conversation is possible between those who believe and those who were raised not to? Do You Hear What I Hear? is not only a finely written story of a daughter's attempt to understand her father's faith, it's a smart, probing, critical inquiry into questions we can't afford to ignore. --Adam Haslett, author of You Are Not a Stranger Here and Imagine Me Gone I found this book fascinating, provocative, wise and even beautiful. Minna Proctor sincerely wants to understand church establishments, takes them seriously when and where they take life seriously. In Do You Hear What I Hear? her curiosity is contagious. --Kurt Andersen, author of True Believers and Turn of the Century Minna Proctor's Do You Hear What I Hear? is a tour de force: a feat of wide-ranging research and sharp reporting on the hard-to-grasp phenomenon of religious calling, as well as a moving, loving portrait of her father, who (to his daughter's surprise) has experienced that calling. He's a man we'd like to know--and by the end of this book, we do. --David Gates, author of Jernigan and The Wonders of the Invisible World Her quest to come to terms first with her father's calling, and then with the rejection of his candidacy, leads to a multifaceted consideration of the ordination process, church history, and comparative theology, and also to stringent self-examination. --The New Yorker Candid . . . lively. --The Village Voice Proctor doggedly pursues information from many faiths, including Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism, never really finding answers. But as is so often true in the spiritual realm, the journey itself proves fruitful . . . Proctor's writing is smart, powerful, and evocative. --The Columbus Dispatch Thoughtful . . . Intelligent and intellectually provocative, though also respectful: a notable example of fine writing on religion. --Kirkus Reviews Proctor is a dogged and accomplished detective and an unobtrusive and appropriately revealing narrator . . . Unique and often gripping. --Publishers Weekly Praise for Minna Proctor Do You Hear What I Hear? (2005) Minna Proctor has taken the provocative step of stopping for a moment to think: How is it that a person comes to feel they have been called by God? How can an authority ever judge another person s devotion? And perhaps most importantly, what conversation is possible between those who believe and those who were raised not to? Do You Hear What I Hear? is not only a finely written story of a daughter s attempt to understand her father s faith, it s a smart, probing, critical inquiry into questions we can t afford to ignore. Adam Haslett, author of You Are Not a Stranger Here and Imagine Me Gone I found this book fascinating, provocative, wise and even beautiful. Minna Proctor sincerely wants to understand church establishments, takes them seriously when and where they take life seriously. In Do You Hear What I Hear? her curiosity is contagious. Kurt Andersen, author of True Believers and Turn of the Century Minna Proctor s Do You Hear What I Hear? is a tour de force: a feat of wide-ranging research and sharp reporting on the hard-to-grasp phenomenon of religious calling, as well as a moving, loving portrait of her father, who (to his daughter s surprise) has experienced that calling. He s a man we d like to know and by the end of this book, we do. David Gates, author of Jernigan and The Wonders of the Invisible World Her quest to come to terms first with her father s calling, and then with the rejection of his candidacy, leads to a multifaceted consideration of the ordination process, church history, and comparative theology, and also to stringent self-examination. The New Yorker Candid . . . lively. The Village Voice Proctor doggedly pursues information from many faiths, including Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism, never really finding answers. But as is so often true in the spiritual realm, the journey itself proves fruitful . . . Proctor s writing is smart, powerful, and evocative. The Columbus Dispatch Thoughtful . . . Intelligent and intellectually provocative, though also respectful: a notable example of fine writing on religion. Kirkus Reviews Proctor is a dogged and accomplished detective and an unobtrusive and appropriately revealing narrator . . . Unique and often gripping. Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Minna Zallman Proctor is a writer, critic, and translator who currently teaches creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she is also editor in chief of The Literary Review. She is also the author of Do You Hear What I Hear? An Unreligious Writer Investigates Religious Calling and has translated eight books from Italian, including Fleur Jaeggy’s These Possible Lives (forthcoming from New Directions in July 2017). She lives in Brooklyn.

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