Quotes
“A brilliant, boisterous memoir that breaks new ground in terms of the memoir form…I cannot tell you, apart from its other virtues, how much fun this memoir is to read.” Maureen Corrigan, NPR
“Volk expresses a touch of heroine worship for both her
mother’s glamorous pragmatism and Elsa Schiaparelli’s functional extravagance.
The women make an unlikely pair, but Volk’s nostalgic voice wisely integrates
the best of them both. It does so with such engaging generosity and kindness
that this funny, melancholic memoir ultimately feels like an embrace.”
Andrew Solomon, New York Times bestselling author of Far From the Tree
“A sensual memoir…It’s a time machine laden with
long-lost physical objects (dance cards, darning eggs), a meditation on the
plastic possibilities of womankind, and a very special treat.” New York Times Book Review
“It’s a pure joy to be in Patricia Volk’s presence on the
pages of her new book, Shocked. A diptych portrayal of her gorgeous
and infuriating mother and the great fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, this
is an irresistible tour de force that puts on display Volk’s intelligence, wit,
and sparkling prose.”
Louis Begley, Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award–winning author
“Bestselling author Volk is at the top of her game with this
witty, nostalgic look at womanhood and style. She juxtaposes remembrances of
her beautiful mother with the life of an iconic Italian fashion designer in a
way that’s charming and wholly original.” Reader’s Digest
“We feel life’s potential swirling around Volk as she
lovingly chronicles the unique paths of her two muses.” O, The Oprah Magazine
“Volk is thoroughly likable, warm, and generous, with a
well-tuned ear and a vivid sense of humor. She captures her mother perfectly…[Her]
delightful book draws you in right at the start.” Wall Street Journal
“Volk [stitches] together a visually evocative coming-of-age
story about fashion, femininity, and the often complicated mother-daughter
dynamic.” Entertainment Weekly
“Humor…emotional complexity…smarts. [Shocked is]
a brilliant, boisterous memoir that breaks new ground in terms of the memoir
form and also the archetypal story of the mother-daughter bond…I cannot tell
you, apart from its other virtues, how much fun this memoir is to read.” NPR
“Volk offers the beautifully rendered story of her own life,
of her all-important relationship with her mother, and of the book that was,
for her, a touchstone…In a marketplace sodden with memoirs…Shocked stands
out both by virtue of its premise and because of the incandescence of its
language…It is hard to image that any reader, especially a female reader, will
be able to finish Shocked without a match being struck to the
dry tinder of their own memories of childhood, setting things ablaze. Shocked is
a brilliant thing, well considered, well wrought, and wonderfully well
written.” New York Journal of Books