Unsayable

Michael Cunningham

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Nonfiction

Michael Cunningham’s Unsayable is a memoir of sorts, though it deliberately avoids presenting itself as a complete account of his life. Instead, Cunningham looks back at the experiences, childhood, people, places, books, and moments that have shaped him, particularly his development as a writer. The book moves between personal recollections and reflections on literature, memory, creativity, and the strange process of turning lived experience into something that can be put into words. Rather than attempting to document every stage of his life, Cunningham selects particular fragments that seem meaningful enough to revisit.

Much of the book is concerned with the relationship between life and writing. The author reflects on the books and writers who influenced him, along with his own development and the way his understanding of writing has changed throughout his career. These sections give the book something of a hybrid identity: part memoir, part meditation on literature, and part conversation about the craft of writing. It is less interested in telling a complete chronological story than in examining the moments and ideas that have stayed with him. 

This is my third book by Cunningham, after The Hours, which remains a five-star favorite for me, and Day, which I rated three stars. Unsayable lands comfortably between those two at four stars. I found the glimpses into Cunningham’s life fascinating, even though this is clearly not a full memoir. There is certainly plenty that has been left unsaid—I don't necessarily see that as a flaw. It feels as though Cunningham deliberately wanted to keep the book tight and simple, sharing only what he felt was worth putting on the page rather than trying to give us an exhaustive account of his life. What he does choose to share is often intimate, thoughtful, and interesting enough to make the omissions feel less important.

The biggest strength, unsurprisingly, is the prose. Cunningham can write beautifully, and I honestly expected nothing less after reading The Hours. There is a quietness to his writing that suits the reflective nature of the book, and I often found myself appreciating the way he expressed an idea as much as the idea itself. For me, the quality of the writing is what elevates Unsayable above being simply an interesting collection of autobiographical reflections.

I also enjoyed the structure more than I expected to. The chapters are small, sometimes feeling almost like individual snapshots, and that makes the book remarkably easy to move through. I could pick it up and read several sections without feeling as though I had committed myself to a long, continuous narrative. In fact, the short chapters make you fly through it, and the book benefits considerably from that sense of momentum. At the same time, the fragmented structure means it doesn't always feel like a completely cohesive memoir, and some reflections inevitably left a stronger impression than others.

Ultimately, Unsayable worked for me because it feels sincere without trying too hard to reveal everything. It isn't the definitive Cunningham memoir, nor does it attempt to be one, but what he does choose to put on the page is consistently interesting, and the writing is frequently gorgeous. I still prefer The Hours, which remains the strongest of the three Cunningham books I've read, but Unsayable is a meaningful step up from my experience with Day.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.

Key Themes:

• Life Vs. Fiction
• Identity
• Self Discovery
• Language
• Aging