My Book Shelves (4): 'Address Unknown,' by Katherine Kressmann Taylor [22 Oct 2022]

'Address Unknown' by Katherine Kressmann Taylor: ***** 

'Address Unknown’ is an exquisite and deeply moving piece of writing. It is the profoundly intimate and troubling exploration of a friendship torn apart by the cult-like power of nationalism; an excoriating and unsettling unravelling of human nature... but with just about the best ending you will ever encounter in literature. Whenever I visit a book-club, this is always the book I recommend for the group to read next. People have written to thank me. Imagine that.

Address Unknown *****

It’s a novella. Only 64 pages. So short you can read it all in one sitting. And the only essential thing you need to know is that it was written in 1935 – four years before World War II, which makes it frighteningly prophetic. I don’t want to tell you too much more. But if I had to force you to read one book from my library this would be it.

I don’t know much about Katherine Kressman Taylor beyond the bare details of her life from Wikipedia. She was born in 1903 in Portland Oregon. She died in Minnesota in 1996. She only wrote one other book. (I haven’t read it.)  But with ‘Address Unknown’ she sealed her immortality.

Please check out my website for more information on my books. https://www.johnironmonger.com