... approaches the mysteries, gaps and obstacles in Tallent’s own story with the same psychological precision and elliptical motivation she applies to her fictional characters.

...a fascinating, busy document. The sentences are worked and reworked, twisted into wires and drawn through multiple clauses. Straightforward memories alternate with meditations on family dynamics and quotes from psychologists and social scientists. Tallent, who takes pass after pass at her elusive subject, evokes a fisherman in a fairy tale, repeatedly casting his rod. There is something compulsive at work here, and a pathos that rises from the simultaneous breadth and modesty of the author’s yearning. Tallent wants nothing less than perfection, because nothing less will make her safe.

... chaotic, tumbling, and beautiful prose.

Many writers suffer from the paralyzing spell of perfectionism, the terror of publishing and its revelation of the author’s shortcomings, which is why this book’s premise was so alluring. However, Tallent only scratches the surface of this predicament; it seems that she does not so much overcome her perfectionism as she is distracted from it.

... a harrowing story of overcoming perfectionism, leavened by [Tallent] dry wit and precise, poetic use of language..

...profound.

[Tallent's] writing is beautiful and precise, full of flashing insights and bracing honesty.

Searching her past for the acceptance-seeking memories of her childhood and young adulthood, Tallent fashions a tender shadow of the often-terrified person she was then.

An original perspective on the perfectionist personality. Recommended for avid readers of memoirs..

Scratched is a brave and complex memoir — though a sometimes heavy-going read — about a subject that deserves closer scrutiny. Perfectionism is an odd affliction, part spur, part handicap.

At times [Tallent's] writing becomes a convoluted stream-of-consciousness.

... perfectionism is characterized by self-absorption...a trait that unfortunately focuses the narrative too narrowly on its wounded protagonist.