Daniel Menaker writes with light, deft touch

Daniel Menaker's memoir is notable for its nigh-unto breezy tone. It's title, “My Mistake” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 234 pages, $24), hints at a certain weightiness, perhaps a book-length reflection on a single error that the author has decided is his defining moment.

But while Menaker certainly touches on the darker chapters of his life - the death of his brother, years of therapy, job trouble, marital problems including infertility - he frequently does so with an exceptionally light touch (it must also be noted that he breezes by happy times, as well, such as his courtship and marriage). Much of the time, this is refreshing, for it rare to read a memoir that doesn't dwell-for better or worse-on the author's struggles. Occasionally, it feels as though Menaker is being overly glib or as though a good story is being withheld, but that is the exception rather than the rule.

Menaker relates his story largely chronologically and in a perpetual present tense. He recounts his child- and young adulthood surrounded by his far-left family and friends in the 1950s and 1960s, and his uneven but remarkable career at “The New Yorker,” where he started as a fact checker in 1969. The book doesn't qualify as a “tell all,” but Menaker certainly tells some about the colorful characters who worked and wrote for the magazine while he was there.

Later, Menaker worked in publishing, and he offers up an extended consideration of the state of the book industry, which is well-considered if somewhat out of keeping with the rest of the book's content. The latter portions of the book also include somewhat deeper reflections on what he calls the “grand questions,” but the book never loses it conversational tone.

“My Mistake” will have particularl appeal those interested in literary culture (and, in particular, The New Yorker's role in shaping it), but one hopes it garners a wider audience, because Menaker is excellent company and he tells his story well.

Rob Cline is a writer and published author, marketing director for University of Iowa's Hancher and director of literary events for New Bo Books, a division of Prairie Lights.

Book reading

• What: Daniel Menaker reads from “My Mistake”
• Where: Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City
• When: 7 p.m. Dec. 3
• Cost: Free