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Lilly dancyger negative space6/1/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() As she switches between moments in time, she also switches narrative perspectives, casting herself in the roles of the hopeful child, the rebellious teenager, and the driven young adult. In Negative Space, Dancyger effortlessly braids together timelines as she explores her past and present and the many facets of her father’s life. Both of these things are true.” The recreation of her father through his art and her interviews with the people he loved not only provides Dancyger with a clearer vision of her father but also of herself, a being just as complex as Schactman. However, she decides that one facet of her father’s life does not negate the other, stating, “I had a happy childhood, and my parents were junkies. The discovery of the darker corners of her father’s life leads Dancyger to question the reliability of memory and ask how the image of her loving father can exist in the shadow of his addiction. One of Dancyger’s greatest accomplishments in Negative Space is her discussion of the complexity of human nature. Much of Dancyger’s memoir, then, is devoted to connecting these seemingly incompatible pieces as she works to create a complete image of her father. ![]() Dancyger’s father, Joe Schactman, was many things: a passionate artist in New York’s East Village, a lover of literature, a devoted father, a free spirit, and a heroin addict. ![]()
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