Ann Patchet’s first chapter of Truth and Beauty is a fun and intriguing read about one of her friends, Lucy Grealy. The chapter details Patchet’s experience with Lucy, and how she was an interesting character in her life. Lucy had struggled with her life; she fought off cancer and had to get reconstructive surgery that left her disfigured. Despite this, Lucy became a popular figure in their school. Patchet and Grealy were both aiming for a career in writing, so they both applied and got accepted into a prestigious writer’s workshop. They became roommates and friends rather quickly, despite Grealy not acknowledging Patchet in their school days.

 

I really enjoyed this piece by Ann Patchet. After a little research, I found out that Ann Patchet and Lucy Grealy were real life friends. Ann Patchet does a great job of describing Lucy Grealy’s personality, appearance, and the events after they moved in Iowa City. One of my favorite elements of the story are the similes and metaphors that Patchet uses. For instance, Patchet describes Grealy as “the favorite pet in her dirty jeans and Irish sweaters.” (Pg. 2) We know that Grealy was beloved by everyone in the school and perhaps also had a distinct sense of style. On the next page, Patchet says her body resembled that of “underfed eleven-year-old.” (Pg. 3) This means that Grealy was very small and therefore had a very unimposing, perhaps approachable atmosphere to her. In a more general analysis of the story, Ann Patchet is very descriptive. I could envision much of the story easily because of the details that Patchet writes in her story. In pages 9 to 11, Patchet describes the medical incidents that they both suffered and how it affected their physical state. She describes having glass shards appear after stroking her hair with her fingers and the disfigurement of Lucy’s face after multiple botched surgeries. Details describing the characters and settings so vividly really pulls me into the story and lets me envision these people and their struggles which I really enjoyed.