Angel at My Table being the second volume in Janet Frame's autobiography, covers her unwillingness to become a teacher, a myriad of mental health struggles, and Frame's continued desire to impress people as a "true" poet. Despite being at the University for a teaching career Frame was dead set against becoming an educator. When it came time for her to be observed in the classroom she simply excused herself and walked out, never to return again. All she wanted to do was write and it was her ability to do so that ultimately saved her. Scheduled to have an lobotomy, her book, The Lagoon, a volume of short stories, was published just in time for her to receive a stay of operation. From there Frame floundered trying to make a living until she met Frank Sargeson. As a fellow writer he was able to develop a partnership and mentorship that ultimately shaped Frame's future. At the end of Angel at My Table we leave Frame as she is ready to embark on a new journey; leaving New Zealand for the first time. ( )

Janet Frame was an acclaimed writer from New Zealand, who wrote novels, short stories and poetry. An Angel At My Table is the second volume of her autobiography and is about her hospitalisation for mental illness, as well as about the beginnings of her literary career. It is an interesting story, because although she was diagnosed with schizophrenia, it later became clear that this was a mistake and that she was really suffering from depression caused by unhappiness in her childhood. When she left home to train as a teacher, her shyness and loneliness caused her to have a breakdown and, through her efforts to attract the attention of a psychologist, to be diagnosed with an illness she didn’t really have. What saved her from spending the rest of her life in psychiatric hospitals was her talent and the recognition given her by publication and by the prizes her work received. An uplifting part of the book describes the support given her by a fellow writer, Frank Sargeson, with whom she lived after she left hospital. He gave her a place to work and helped her recover from the stress she had been under. I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about a fascinating and unusual life. [2011]

Teil 1 und 2

"Scrivere un'autobiografia può significare non solo guardare indietro, ma anche al di là o attraverso", questa affermazione dell'autrice rivela molto più di qualsiasi recensione. E' significativo il percorso esistenziale della Frame dall'infanzia vissuta nella famiglia modesta e ricca di affetti alla scoperta del mondo, dai difficili esordi letterari alla battaglia condotta contro una diagnosi pericolosamente errata di schizofrenia.
Semplice e immediata, spesso feroce critica di se stessa e dei propri scritti per questa autrice la scrittura ha rappresentato la riappropriazione dell'identità.
Un libro molto amato e letto tante volte, toccante per la profonda bellezza di cui sono dense le sue pagine. ( )

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