Harrison has been accused of dishonesty, opportunism, careerism, greed, exhibitionism, narcissism, selfishness, coyness, self-plagiarism and–the ultimate insult–bad mothering. The Washington Post’s Jonathan Yardley, who is one of the country’s most prominent book critics, has written three vitriolic pieces on “The Kiss,” calling it “slimy,” “repellent,” “revolting” and “shameful” Liz Smith, who is one of the country’s most prominent gossip columnists, has also weighed in with a somewhat more concise, if no more restrained, “Yuck!”īetween Yardley and Smith, a wide range of critics (often, though not always, male) has damned the book, while several, such as novelists Francine Prose and Susan Cheever, have praised it. To call it controversial would be a laughable understatement it has been the object of almost apoplectic fury. Kathryn Harrison’s “The Kiss,” a memoir of her incestuous relationship with her father, is the latest, and perhaps the best, example of such a polarizing work.

The debates over such books can turn highly unpleasant, yet they are, generally speaking, a good thing, for they force readers and critics to confront their most cherished ideas and even, sometimes, develop new ones. Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita” was such a book, as was Hannah Arendt’s “Eichmann in Jerusalem,” William Styron’s “The Confessions of Nat Turner,” Philip Roth’s “Portnoy’s Complaint” and Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein’s “The Bell Curve.” (This used to happen with films, too–“Bonnie and Clyde,” “Last Tango in Paris,” “Shoah”–but that, alas, seems to be a thing of the past.) In such cases, it is not just the work itself but the author too–and, in particular, his motives, integrity and moral vision–that are scrutinized and interrogated. SUSIE LINFIELD, Susie Linfield teaches cultural reporting and criticism at New, York University’s department of journalismĮvery now and then a book comes along that disturbs, disrupts and polarizes the public in new ways. “Every now and then a book comes along that disturbs, disrupts, and polarizes the public in new ways.” –Los Angeles Times “This book offers an account of a moral victory - the re-emergence of a thoughtful, disciplined, knowing sensibility.” - Robert Coles, author of The Moral Intelligence of Children “A mesmerizing true tale that in this talented novelist’s hands takes on the mythic proportions of a Greek tragedy.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Remarkable for both the startling events it portrays and the unbridled force of the writing.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A powerful piece of writing, a testament to evil and hope.”– The New York Times “This is a writer at the top of her form.”– Mary Gordon I will never forget this book.” - Tobias Wolff “Only a writer of extraordinary gifts could bring so much light to bear on so dark a matter. As Harrison exorcises her demons, she reminds us that it’s a thin line between love and possession, sanity and madness.” –Booklist This is a riveting memoir, a tightrope walk performed with grace and daring. Starved for love, Harrison became utterly enthralled by her father’s terrible hunger, and was, for all intents and purposes, lost to the world. Her father, a preacher, remained a distant and enigmatic figure until she left home for college, then he surged into her life like a biblical plague. Harrison’s parents were teenagers when they married, and she was less than a year old when they divorced, a breakup encouraged by her high-handed maternal grandparents, who, after her selfish and unloving mother moved out, ended up raising her. Controversial even before its publication, this exquisitely written and emotionally wrenching account of her love affair with her father is an act of astounding courage, integrity, and catharsis. “Harrison’s novels, including Exposure (1993) and Poison (1995), are rooted in a deep and abiding sorrow, and now readers learn its source. Exquisitely and hypnotically written, “The Kiss” reveals a shocking truth, a story both of taboo and of family complicity in breaking taboo. In this extraordinary memoir, Harrison transforms into a work of art the darkest passage imaginable in a young woman’s life–an obsessive love affair between father and daughter that began when Harrison was 20 years old. I know it wrong, and its wrongness is what lets me know, too, that it is a secret. With his hand under my chin, my father draws my face toward his own. I’m young enough that I take the words to mean he has magical properties and that he is good, better than other people. We meet where no one will recognize us.Ī “man of God” is how someone described my father to me. We meet in cities where we’ve never been before.

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