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Reviewed by Ryan Jordan for Readers' Favorite
Tesserae: A Memoir of Two Summers by Mathias B. Freese starts off with a discussion between a client and a therapist about a man named Matt's life and his affair with a woman named Marlene. The therapist is trying to help him understand what Marlene offers him that his wife does not, and get at the root of what is wrong with this man. It feels almost like reading a play, and it is easy to imagine these people speaking out loud in a therapist's office, with Matt reclining and the therapist prompting him to continue speaking. It even has notes scattered throughout to fill the reader in on pauses and actions. It transitions from this to notes by the therapist where the client is described as vacant and not in control, and he is speaking from outside himself.
I found myself enjoying this writing style quite a bit, because it managed to introduce different kinds of storytelling and cover the actual substance of the novel in a roundabout way. It felt very creative and brought new levels of information to the story without just giving us the 'details.' We start to see our protagonist discuss his life and we get a very vivid personality. For example, in the chapter On Marlene, he is discussing why they couldn't articulate wanting a divorce, and he says: "I identify with The Defiant Ones in which escaped inmates, played by Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier, run from pursuing authorities, shackled together, relying on each other to move this way or that." The book is full of personable moments like this. This style of relating details and explaining really made the story come to life.
This is just a compilation of essays and small sections, but they contain a brilliant world view that gradually coalesces as the volume progresses, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Tesserae: A Memoir of Two Summers by Mathias B. Freese is a brilliant memoir that will stay with you long after you finish reading.
