InOneHundredAutobiographies,poetandscholarDavidLehmanappliesthefullmeasureofhisintellectualpowerstocopewithafrighteningdiagnosisandpainfultreatmentforcancer.Nomatterhowdebilitatingthemedicalprocedures,Lehmanwroteeverydayduringchemotherapyandintheaftermathofradicalsurgery.Withcharacteristicriffsofwitandimagination,hetransmutesthedetailsofhisinnerlifeintoaprosenarrativerichinincidentandmentaltravel.Thereaderjourneyswithhimfromthefirstdreadfulsymptomstothesunnydaysofrecovery.This“fakememoir,“asherefersironicallytoit,featuresone-hundredshortvignettesthattellalifestory.OneHundredAutobiographiesispackedwithinsightsandepiphaniesthatmayproveasindispensabletoaspiringwritersasRilke’sLetterstoaYoungPoet.SetagainstthebackdropofManhattan,LehmansummonsJohnAshbery,KennethKoch,EdwardSaid,andLionelTrillingamonghismentors.Dostoyevskyshowsup,asdoesGrahamGreene.KeithRichardsandPattiHansenputinanappearance,EdithPiafsings,ClintEastwoodsavestheneighborhood,andtheRatPackcomesalongfortheride.TheseandotheravatarsofpopularculturehelpLehmantomakesenseofhisownmortalityandlifestory.OneHundredAutobiographiesrevealsastunningportraitofamindagainsttheropes,facingitsownextinction,survivingandenduring.
