I loved this book. I had previously never read anything by Burroughs', although I had seen the movie version of 'Running with Scissors' so I knew a little about his life. I really enjoyed his short stories. They were brutally honest and self-deprecating but in a totally hilarious way! I don't know how someone who went through such a traumatic childhood and early adulthood could find such a humorous take on it all, but I am so happy that he did. It made me really sad to read about his mom's bipolar breakdowns and his dad's absentee presence in his life, but I love it when an author can master the whole spectrum of human emotion and take us from laughing to crying.
Some of my favorite moments:
In "Killing John Updike", just when you think Burroughs has had a change of heart about his death wish toward Updike ("If anyone deserved to die in his sleep tonight, or choke on a tortilla chip, it was me") he then turns to plotting the death of Ira Levin ("Okay, Ira. Your number's up.") Love it.
Jumping on the chinese man's lap in his allergist's office and yelling, "Santa! I love you, Santa. And I want a bike with a banana seat!" Oh, man, that image kills me!
In "Unclear Sailing" when Chip is explaining the complex process of measuring and cutting the sails, he says "See what I mean?" and Augusten thinks "I did not see what he meant, but I nodded, which meant, I see that you have a large Adam's apple and I am very tempted to reach over and touch it."
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the read and I just checked out 'Dry' and 'Running with Scissors' from the library. I'm looking forward to reading more of his stuff! Thanks for the great book idea, Erika!
1 comment:
Oh, Laura! I am so glad that you are back! I really liked the sections of the book that you quoted. It never gets old. I really love it when a book can take me through all of my emotions. I think that Burroughs does it in a way that the reader is able to identify with the emotions-and not necessarily the situations. We have all felt rejected, nervous, annoyed, hurt, and impulsive. We have all had irrational thoughts and we have all made horrible decisions; however, instead of being sad about our thoughts and choices, Burroughs reminds us that we need to make light of the situation.
I believe that this humorous novel actually gives the reader a message about how to approach the world-with a smile.
:o) I am so glad that you read with us.
Keep in touch,
Erika
Post a Comment