Kathryn Harrison Summary

In the following positive review of Exposure, Passaro praises Harrison's prose, comparing it to the works of novelist and journalist Joan Didion. Kathryn Harrison, on the heels of her disturbin... Read more

In the following interview, Harrison reacts to the critical controversy and personal attacks prompted by the publication of The Kiss. When Kathryn Harrison was 20, her father kissed her. He pushed his... Read more

In the following negative review of The Kiss, Kaufman states that the distance and vagueness of Harrison's narrative voice weaken the memoir's hold on its readers. There are lots of real... Read more

In the following essay, Alther discusses the critical reaction to The Kiss and how it has changed the perception of the memoir genre, particularly as practiced by women. The Kiss is a disturbing and m... Read more

In the following excerpt, Halpern compares specific passages from Thicker Than Water and The Kiss, noting the similarities in the subject material. The response to Kathryn Harrison's memoir, Th... Read more

In the following interview, O'Connell offers a positive assessment of Exposure, and Harrison states that the events dramatized in her first novel, Thicker Than Water, are entirely fictional. Ka... Read more

In the following excerpt, Goudie argues that narratives of childhood sexual abuse—such as Exposure—have social significance even when they do not succeed artistically. I mentioned to a c... Read more

In the following positive review, Hansen argues that Poison is an elegant example of well-written historical fiction—a genre that typically portrays the contrasts and similarities between a pas... Read more

In the following excerpt, Kaveney offers a generally positive assessment of A Thousand Orange Trees. Kathryn Harrison's last novel dealt with kleptomania and photography in uptown New York. In ... Read more