In The Lost Landscape, Oates vividly recreates the early years of her life, powerfully evoking the romance of childhood and the way it colours everything that comes after. With memories ranging from her first friendships to her first experiences with death, this is an arresting account of the ways in which Oates's life (and her life as a writer) was shaped by early childhood and how her later work was influenced by a hard rural upbringing. A brilliant memoir.