1974 A Personal History by Francine Prose. This is not a telling of history but feels more like a light conversation. She says it herself, she comes from privilege but she attempts to share her account of the atrocities occurring during the Vietnam War. I ultimately wanted more from this story. I enjoy historical fiction and her writing just didn’t help me capture the 1974 period I was hoping to learn more about. If you are familiar with her writing this may be a good read for you.

I received an ARC from Net Galley and Harper in exchange for an honest review.

I was expecting a broader memoir about the mid-seventies, but this book focuses fairly tightly on a short period of time where the author had a fast, intense relationship with Tony Russo, who was involved with leaking the Pentagon Papers. The two mostly cruise around in his car, driving all over San Francisco, as he figures out life post-prison and she figures out life post-marriage. Although Russo lived until 2008, his story is pretty tragic, as he was shoved aside by Ellsberg and struggled with mental illness, and Prose details her own issues as she handled their relationship. A well-written and fascinating book, and look back at a grim year.