Book Information
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ISBN-13: 9780312422271 - ISBN-10: 031242227X Publication Date: 2003 Pages: 320 |
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Book Reviews of Running with Scissors
244 Book Reviews submitted by our Members
sorted by voted most helpful
(
46 member(s) found this review helpful.
Funny, witty, caustic. I almost don't want to repost it because I'm sure I'll want to read it again. While it's harsh and full of vulgarity, I don't feel that it detracts from the story.
Kathy A. (
42 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is definitely an R rated book. There are explicit homosexual sex scenes, language and drugs. Even though the writing was excellent with well defined characters and it flowed in an easy pattern, it was too graphic and the humor too dark for me. I will not be looking for another book by Augusten Burroughs.
33 member(s) found this review helpful.
I couldn't even finish this book. It is definitely not one that I would recommend to anyone.
Liese S. (
33 member(s) found this review helpful.
Found this one humourous but somewhat self-indulgent and a bit disturbing. The writing style didn't particularly "flow" for me--I think there are much better "bad childhood memoirs" out there: the Lauck books, the Glass Castle, "Falling Leaves", "Angela's Ashes".
For a VERY humourous (not abusive) childhood memoir written in a much more dynamic and absorbing style, read "Devil in the Details" by a different author.
I just didn't like this book much, and didn't find much redeeming or profound about any of the people in it, including the author.
23 member(s) found this review helpful.
I hated this book and was unable to finish it. Well written but a real downer story about some people who have no business being around children, much less raising them. Maybe there is some great revelation at the end or something but it was just too depressing for me to wade through.
20 member(s) found this review helpful.
I couldn't put this book down -- I read it in 2 1/2 days and I have a 1-year old! It was just so interesting and funny. It was very easy to read and very entertaining. I highly suggest it (except to those with homophobic inklings).
19 member(s) found this review helpful.
I don't think I've read a memoir like this. This is strange, graphic, disturbing, and funny. There's no child abuse but Augusten definitely has an upbringing that is far from wholesome. I think much of what he says is exaggerated for the sake of telling a story. If you get squeamish easily or you're uncomfortable reading about same sex relationships, this book isn't for you but otherwise you might enjoy this unconventional memoir.
Megan (
19 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really did not like this book. My recommendation: stay away!! It starts out okay but quickly goes downhill, and I found myself asking why am i reading this. I'd rather pick my toenails than finish this one.
I agree with Liese, if you want dysfunctional, there are plenty of good memoirs out there. Try Falling Through the Earth or The Glass Castle. They are chock-full of family problems, without the vulgarity.
17 member(s) found this review helpful.
I was a little disappointed in this book. It was mildly amusing not hilariously funny. I actually found most of it pretty sad; I guess knowing people with mental illness makes a person view things differently and takes away from the humor.
13 member(s) found this review helpful.
Good book and funny in a dark way. I had to keep reminding myself this was a true story because so much of it was unusual. My expectations were higher for the book when I started, so it was a bit of disappointment, but still entertaining.
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really liked this book but if you are squemish about reading in detail about homosexual sex don't get this book.
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fascinating...Horrifying...Hard to stop reading- laugh out loud funny, and amazing that this is true.
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
I don't know why so many people found it hard to believe this was a true story. It didn't strike me as very far-fetched, but I do feel sorry for the author for having been put through such things in his youth.
Ivy
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wacky, funny, riveting, thought provoking. Awesome book! I loved it!
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
Really kinky book. And I thought I grew up in a nutty family!
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
incredibly hilarious, freaky, touching, transcendent, twisted, and SO funny.
Judy M. (
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
Brand New! Just finished- A great read, with laughter and sadness working together for an awesome book!
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was an interesting memoir. I often had to remind myself that is was not a fiction book.
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
Way too graphic for this reader...
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
Interesting, funny, but kinda sad and happy at the same time.
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
I was able to read this book very quickly. Very funny... but also slightly disturbing.
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
I didn't much care for the author and was not able sympathize with his story.
Megan Q. (
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
Excellent writing!
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really enjoyed this book. Very engaging, fast read.
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
wow this book is shocking! not sure I liked it though
Colleen R.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I heard very mixed reviews about this book before I read it. People were saying it's so
'graphic' but I kept waiting for the graphic parts to begin. I think there are two homosexual sex scenes in the whole book and they are about 2 lines each. Not too graphic if you ask me. There are romance novels out there steamier then that!
On the other hand, the writing didn't do much for me. It was choppy and not written very well in my opinion. It seemed to be all over the place. I don't understand when people say this book was funny. While there was some humor, it wasn't particularly 'funny.'
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I found nothing of value in this book. In fact, I felt like I need to scrub myself with Lava soap when I finished this one. What I thought would be funny and touching turned out to me sick and disturbing.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
It's supposed to be true and that's hard to believe. It's somewhat entertaining, but mostly just sad.
Leigh P. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Warped and twisted; yet, I couldn't stop reading. Maybe not *quite* as good as I was led to believe, but oh-so-disturbing.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Made me want to run with scissors and hope for a negative outcome! I don't have a lot of spare time so this book was just so much drivel to me!
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I did enjoy this book - however, it was a bit odd. The interesting/strange thing is that there were points in the book where I just wanted to say "forget it", yet I was unable to put it down or stop reading it. It is an R rated book and has some strong content. Definitely not for everyone. I think what kept me going was the author's dry sense of wit and humor. I really enjoyed his funny, witty, sarcastic writing style. The book made me laugh out loud as well as shed a few tears.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I found the book to be too graphic at times regarding a pedaphile with a teen. Did not finish reading it due to this.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Some pretty graphic stuff, so not appropriate for all readers - if easily offended by sexual content, drugs, bathroom humor, you might want to skip this one. I've always considered myself open-minded, but there is some graphic sexual material I think I would have rather not seen, but I suppose it's an integral part of who this person was. On the flip side, as strange and unnerving as some of the characters were, I was interested in them and even laughed a bit at the craziness described, and also felt a lot of sadness and compassion for them. But while not a "must read" in my book, I don't regret it either.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a very funny. a very strangely funny, story about the very strange and funny extended family of a fourteen year old boy. It takes place in the early '70's, a time when many people tested society's limits as well as their own. It was a time when the unacceptable was accepted- at least on the margins. Augusten Burroughs pinpoints the time with details of decor and fashion and through the bizarre behavior of his characters and their interests. Agnes snacks on dog food from bag and Dr. Finch divines through specimens of his daily bowel movements which, in order to record the word of the will of God, he has saved on the backyard picnic table. The family and the doctor's patients mingle among dirty dishes and furnishing embedded with pests and pet hair and everyone expresses their anger as freely as self involvement and their boredom.
There were certainly moments when I considered closing the book, forever. Fortune telling by feces was crude and disgusting but other incidents were more deeply disturbing. Young Augusten's first intimate gay sexual encounter was raw and intrusive, as if one had witnessed the rape of a teen by an older male but failed to stop it. Another was the sad demise of a cat captured in a laundry basket by its loving but deranged mistress. Such abuse of children and animals is not something to laugh away. But somehow the moment ends and a new tale lures the reader on to accounts of further madness.
When contrasted to this memoir, no matter how dark or dismal the reader's childhood, they will be left with the absolute certainty of their own sanity.
And may God help them if they find otherwise.
Jamie B. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
WOW!! This book is really an R-rated book!! There was quite a bit of bad language and a lot of homosexual sex scenes. It's a true story and it was said to be humourous, but I don't think that I laughed once. It was a sad story of child neglect and sexual abuse and taking advantage of the mentally ill. It did flow really well to me and I had a hard time putting it down ... even though a lot of the time my mouth was hanging wide open in disbelief in what I was reading!! After I finished, I wanted to go and get his sequel, Dry, so I could see if his life ended up being any better for him as he got older ... just be forewarned though, it is quite graphic ...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Amazon.com
There is a passage early in Augusten Burroughs's harrowing and highly entertaining memoir, Running with Scissors, that speaks volumes about the author. While going to the garbage dump with his father, young Augusten spots a chipped, glass-top coffee table that he longs to bring home. "I knew I could hide the chip by fanning a display of magazines on the surface, like in a doctor's office," he writes, "And it certainly wouldn't be dirty after I polished it with Windex for three hours." There were certainly numerous chips in the childhood Burroughs describes: an alcoholic father, an unstable mother who gives him up for adoption to her therapist, and an adolescence spent as part of the therapist's eccentric extended family, gobbling prescription meds and fooling around with both an old electroshock machine and a pedophile who lives in a shed out back. But just as he dreamed of doing with that old table, Burroughs employs a vigorous program of decoration and fervent polishing to a life that many would have simply thrown in a landfill. Despite her abandonment, he never gives up on his increasingly unbalanced mother. And rather than despair about his lot, he glamorizes it: planning a "beauty empire" and performing an a capella version of "You Light Up My Life" at a local mental ward. Burroughs's perspective achieves a crucial balance for a memoir: emotional but not self-involved, observant but not clinical, funny but not deliberately comic. And it's ultimately a feel-good story: as he steers through a challenging childhood, there's always a sense that Burroughs's survivor mentality will guide him through and that the coffee table will be salvaged after all. --John Moe
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
this is a book about a mother who gave her son away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who looked like Santa Claus. The whole family was bizarre. This boy, now man, managed to survive under the most unusual circumstances.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Crazy story, not for the faint of heart. A lot of fun to read.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Straaaange book! On the back cover this book was listed as "An Entertainment Weekly Top Ten Book of the Year". Okaaay...another blurb reports that this book "promotes visceral responses of laughter, wincing and retching on nearly every page". Now, THAT I can believe. Well, except for the laughter part.
I prefer to think that it's much more twisted than funny. Adults having sex with thirteen year olds, allowing them to quit school, stay home and smoke pot, etc.
Language is awful and I'm not a prude.
Thought awhile ago that if I wasn't such a book lover, I'd put this one in the garbage. Guess if it's a top ten book, SOMEBODY must like it! LOL
Oh, well, here's to saving the sacrifice of a perfectly good tree...
Allie H. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Very well-written, but the disturbing nature of the story is overwhelming. It's like a bad car crash, it's well-written enough that you have to keep reading, even if you're cringing at every word. I will not read another book by this author, nor will I read this again...for me it was too disturbing to truly enjoy.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I'm amazed by his life. How can a functioning member of society come from a life like his?
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Odd and interesting, easy read, but not the deepest content you will ever read. I found it to skip around quite a bit, and I had a lot of questions go unanswered, but some how it kept my interest. There is strong language and male/male sexual situations, so while I found some of that funny, it certainly isn't for everyone.
Over all I'm glad I read it, but it isn't something I will keep on the book self to read over and over again.
Shanan O. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Funny but also heartbreaking. Couldn't put it down.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
OMG, I loved this book! I immediately went out and rented the movie after I finished reading it and the movie is excellent too! This book was so funny, sad, and bewildering. One of my favorites.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A good book--disturbing, and a bit hard to believe.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
There are several excerpts from reviews on the back of this book that refer to it as "funny" and even "hilarious" - not true, not true. Or at least if you find anything amusing in this book, I don't want to be your friend. Deeply disturbing, very graphic. A young boy is ignored, abused, and victimized. First at the hands of his upper middle class parents and then in the household of a crazy man who holds a medical degree.
It disgusted me, once to point of literally gagging. It also made me angry at times but I read it cover to cover so I will have to admit it is compelling. I wanted to read to end to try and see what became of this child. I was never, however, amused.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
An account of the author's survival of a horrific childhood. It was written in a matter of fact and humorous manner. It is graphic and not for everyone. I liked it and went on to read 'Dry' and his other books published to date. His story continues in his other books and I find them touching and they ring true.
Rachel T. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I can really see why there is so much controversy over this book. This is not for the people who are squimish. I'm not, and some of the scenes were definitly sickning! I would never read this book again! Have fun with it if you choose to!
Stacey C. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Absoultely unbelievable at times - interesting story, but just unbelievable. If all of this is true, Burroughs is a hero to even be sane.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really enjoyed this book - couldn't put it down. Definately dysfunctional, but it's so bizarre that you can't wait to see what happens next.
Amber reviewed on 5/30/2009...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
wow, the book that makes even the most crazy of families seem normal. this is the ironic tale of a boy that's trying to understand his 'artistic' mother and live with a crazy psychiatrist. it's full of wit, colorful characters and bizarre situations.
i do believe this was a memoir....definitely a page turner.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is so farfetched that I couldn't even finish it. This is not a memoir it is a joke.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
As someone in the psych career field, this hit me as a really weird book with a leading character of a therapist who would be sued routinely in this day and age and whose family needs therapy desperately. Book should be read before viewing the movie. Graphic homosexual trysts so only the most mature teens should read book or see movie.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Could not finish the book due to my disgust for just about every character in the book, foremost the narrators' idiot mom for leaving him with a motley crew of pyschos,molesters, and other mental defectives that I would not trust a hampster to much less a young child. Several explicit scenes in which the author is raped/molested by the second worst character, a molester living with the bizarro family. Appearantly this author has made an entire literary career ( at least 4 books?) about his disfunctional family.......some stories are not meant to be shared. If you love reading about young children being subjected to acts of sodomy....this book is for you.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
this book was way out there. sometimes i was apalled by the words/phrases in the story. overall though it was a pretty good book. the movie didnt do it justice.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Not as sad as The Glass Castle but still depressing.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I couldn't put this book down and read it within 2 days. Disturbingly delicious.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Funny book. The characters are so amazingly weird. I really enjoyed it.
Jennifer B. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I felt like this book would be horrible by all the bad reviews I saw for it on here. It is a good book. Its hard to believe it was real, and that it really happened to him. Some of the things I read I believe are not far from what most people 'THINK' of doing, not sure how many do it. Then again back when these things 'happened' anything was possible. The world has changed too much.
Loved the book. Was very surprized at how different it was from 'Possible Side effects' could definatlly see it being a GREAT movie. Would like to see the movie. Feel bad for the people that were involved I am sure they are not laughing at it as hard as most will laugh when reading or watching the movie.
I didn't think it was rated R at all. It was just another 'Real life story'
good book would recomend it.
Krista
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I think anyone that gave this a bad review was unable to read Running with Scissors with an open mind. I won't talk much about personal opinion...but this book was dark, strange, eccentric, graphic, sexual, EXTREMELY funny, and stunning. I can see where the bad reviews would come from (esp. those repulsed by same-sex relations), but i personally read mostly for entertainment. If that is why you read...this book delivers!!! Sure, it seems a litte "off" and maybe even fabricated, but it is nonetheless hilarious, grim, and a pleasure to read. Besides, who is anyone to say what an author writes is true or not??? I can't wait to read others by Burroughs...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
The book had my attention because it was hard to believe that this child lived this.
Michelle S. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A raw look at a childhood without nurturing or affection. His parents were so self -involved that they could not provide guidance or even much companionship. But he has overcome and is very open about his experiences. Very interesting and uplifting overall.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
this was the first book i read by burroghs, and i've been a fan of his writing ever since. he's honest and really funny, and the scenarios and experiences he's had in life are incredibly interesting, if not sometimes upsetting. i absolutely love this book-but don't go see the movie, it totally sucked and isn't even comparable to the book.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
easy read and really really weird!!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is supposed to be a true story, but I found it hard to believe. The characters are too way out there; however, the story is well told.
Cynthia (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book started out ok. I laughed at the boy's imagination and his reactions to things but then it just got WAY too disturbing for me. There are graphic sex scenes with Augusten (as a 12 year old boy) and a Pedaphile (30+ yr old man) that are horrifying to me. Aside from the fact that he's just a kid (I have one the same age), he clearly says "Stop, you're hurting me." It's rape - pure and simple. Then there's the fact that he tells his mother and his psychiatrist (father-figure) about the relationship and they are blase about it and say he's old enough to make his own decisions. That's neglect and abuse. I'm sorry but this is not just an "unorthodox psychiatrist" we're talking about here, he's criminal. I hope there's some great revelation or lesson involved in this story because otherwise it just feels like watching someone be tortured. I can't finish it.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
While the writing is decent, the subject matter was too far astray for my tastes.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I LOVED this memoir. The author copes with his mother's mental illness and neglect, with humor, bravery and curiosity. He tells of what could be a horrendous nightmare, in a matter-of-fact, "so this is my life" manner that caused me to admire and adore him. Great book!
Christina B. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I only finished this book because it was a book club selection for my book club. Some of the tales are unrealistic. I was grossed out many times. Not worth all the hype. It seems as though Burroughs story is VERY embellished.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Contains images I could live without, disturbing for even me. I finished the book however.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was a great book. It was great to be a voyeur in the sense of 'watching the crazy people down the street' way. It was fascinating watching Augusten transform himself to fit into his new families roles. At times I wanted to shake the parents and tell them to wake up and see what was going on, but then it wouldn't have made the story what it was. I hope the author's other books are just as enjoyable.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Really great book. A little disturbing, but I could not put it down.
Dayna F. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I bought this book at a yard sale for the humorous cover. When I started reading it, I just thought 'Wow...so dysfunctional...' - but, my strict Christian upbringing would not allow me to finish the book. I reached a certain point and had to put the book away...far, far away. Then, a few months later, I discovered that they made a movie. My jaw dropped.
Needless to say, I don't recommend this book for those who have young readers at home that may be intrigued by the cover and start reading it :)
Linda (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Personally, this book wasn't very appealing to me. It didn't keep my interest like a good "who-done-it". After reading this one and his brothers "Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's", I've learned these types of books aren't for me. I like books that make my imagination work overtime and this one didn't do it for me. I thought it was well written but didn't have that "can't but it down" quality.
Christine V. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Dysfunctionally funny! Just when you thought life with your family was "crazy". This is laugh out loud funny. My favorite part of the book has to be Agusten's first day at the pyschiatrist's house with the little boy pooping under the piano. What a great first impression! It is very vulgar and crude, but I think that's what makes this so darn funny. Truley a talented writer. This is one of the ONLY books that I recommend watching the movie shortly after reading it. Happy dysfunctional reading!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I fully expected to love this book with all of my heart. It wasn't a complete disappointment but it left me feeling a little used. Augusten Burroughs is a loquacious but incredibly self-indulgent writer. It took me three weeks to get through his story, and this is coming from someone who devours book as soon I get my hands on it. I was not impressed.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A very good book about a boy growing up with a crazy mother and an even crazier family he was sent to live with.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great book and an easy read...much better than the movie.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Not for the meek, this book will have you shaking your head and laughing at the same time. Burroughs is a gifted writer, with the ability to jump all over the place let never makes you feel ungrounded - even when he was. The truth is ALWAYS stranger than fiction.
Carol C. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
My first Burroughs read. Loved it! Inspiring to see he rose above it all. Looking forward to reading his other work!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Hilarious memoir, at times I would find myself thinking "this can not be true." It's that bizaar.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fascinating but a little too explicit.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book was funny and times and a little scary at others but all in all it showed an really out there but interesting life.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
this is one of the best books I've ever read...everyone who says they didn't like it is crazy! I had to keep reminding myself that this is a true story---sad, but true. I laughed a lot and LOVED this book-couldn't put it down!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Weird but good book!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Not funny at all. Very disturbing. I didn't like it.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Kind of disturbing in places, didn't like it as much as I thought & had a hard time finishing it. Very different book.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I bought the book thinking that it would be funny. While parts of the book are amusing, as a mother I just kept feeling incredibly sorry for the main character as well as some of the other children in the household. I was definitely saddened that a child would have to grow up the way he did. Amazing tale - just not hilarious like the jacket described.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Odd, disturbing, and impossible to put down. I like it, I think. I'm not really sure. I'm glad I read it.
Amy S. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Slow start but got more interesting as the book went on.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Like it says...freaky-deaky, strange but interesting book...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
It definitely kept me reading, but it was strange!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
fascinating, engrossing, scary. a tale of survival.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Strange and disturbing. If it was not written with humor, it would be impossible to read
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is a Crazy ride! It was disturbing and very hard to put down.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A very honest memoir.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This story is especially relevant to educators dealing with children from disfuntional families. It is also funny and entertaining.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Warped is the only word that can sum up this book. It is a memoir - so the author is writing about part of his own life...and what a messed up part it is! If you've seen the movie, you've seen nothing, until you read the book.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I adore this book, one of my all-time favorite writers. You may laugh out loud repeatedly. Try Dry and Magical Thinking as well!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book was horrible. It was full of profane vulgarity and it is a mark on the face of literature. However, I paid full price for it and want to at least get a trade out of it.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
The true story of a boy whose mother gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Once I started I couldn't put this book down! Burroughs writes with such honesty. It's hard to imagine that the book is based on the events of his life. He presents the subjet matter in a very raw and uncluttered way with just the right amount of emotion.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I wanted to read "Running with Scissors" for a long time, and when I actually did ... big disappointment.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I could not finish this book, I found it distubing and inappropriate.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I could not believe that this was a true story! It was a bit disturbing to me, but an interesting read...rather sad that these families actually behaved and lived as described.
Ceylan G. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
LOVED IT! Burroughs has a way of making his horrific childhood hilarious and sad at the same time.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Very well-written but contains some very disturbing sex scenes.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I loved this book and have gone on to read his others. Not for the faint of heart. His memoir is graphic and disturbing, but it is his humanity, courage, and ability to survive that keeps you reading. Among the best I've read this year.
Book is in excellent shape.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
While I enjoyed this book, and realizing there are some families more dysfunctional than mine, there are some descriptions of sex I could have lived without.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
My fiance and I both read this book and loved it! In many ways it was an exaggerated version of our own lives. I could definitely relate to his stories in a sick sort of way. Absolutely worth the read and it doesn't take long to read, as you find yourself just having to know how messed up one group of people could actually get.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
There is a passage early in Augusten Burroughs's harrowing and highly entertaining memoir, Running with Scissors, that speaks volumes about the author. While going to the garbage dump with his father, young Augusten spots a chipped, glass-top coffee table that he longs to bring home. "I knew I could hide the chip by fanning a display of magazines on the surface, like in a doctor's office," he writes, "And it certainly wouldn't be dirty after I polished it with Windex for three hours." There were certainly numerous chips in the childhood Burroughs describes: an alcoholic father, an unstable mother who gives him up for adoption to her therapist, and an adolescence spent as part of the therapist's eccentric extended family, gobbling prescription meds and fooling around with both an old electroshock machine and a pedophile who lives in a shed out back. But just as he dreamed of doing with that old table, Burroughs employs a vigorous program of decoration and fervent polishing to a life that many would have simply thrown in a landfill. Despite her abandonment, he never gives up on his increasingly unbalanced mother. And rather than despair about his lot, he glamorizes it: planning a "beauty empire" and performing an a capella version of "You Light Up My Life" at a local mental ward. Burroughs's perspective achieves a crucial balance for a memoir: emotional but not self-involved, observant but not clinical, funny but not deliberately comic. And it's ultimately a feel-good story: as he steers through a challenging childhood, there's always a sense that Burroughs's survivor mentality will guide him through and that the coffee table will be salvaged after all.
--John Moe
L. G. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was an awesome book. he's probably one of the best writers with an eye for detail. While a lot of people found the book funny, I didn't - just sort of sad, really. Definitely one of the best reads of the year for me.
Bonnie S. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Are this guy and his story for real??? Is this another "how much can we get away with" and still be believed and not get sued? Interesting, yes. Believable? Well, I guess I have to agree with truth is stranger than fiction, but...
Actually, this book sucks.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A real fun read with some dark humor. Ready for release.
Good book to pass the time but not totally mind grabbing
A little strange, but interesting. It was a movie too.
Rachelle S. (Intresting read, but could this really be true??
Melissa P. (I liked this one, but not as much as Dry and Magical Thinking. I think his writing gets better with experience!
Jody W. (I laughed out loud while reading this book, at it's peculiarities and absurdities.
A memoir of a boy with a VERY interesting upbringing. If you think your family has skeletons in the closet, read this. Very funny!
Shreya - Great Neck reviewed on 2/19/2007...This book was alright, not my favorite memoir... I think the writing style was a little too simplistic for me...
A true story of a boy whose father left and his mother is crazy. She sends him to live with her psychiatrist, where crazy patients live with the family. The home is littered with trash. The 13 yr old boy has a gay relationship with a 35 yr old, who lives with the family.
I found this book very interesting. Maybe I am naive but it's hard to believe it's a true story; that someone actually lived this life. I recommend it.
A disturbing family story at best, but a definite page turner. It's like watching a train-wreck - you just can't help yourself.
Michelle R. (Very distressing read. Be prepared to feel sick when you read it. It makes me reconsider ever saying my life was hard!
I read this for a book club. This is a deeply disturbing and also deeply funny book. It is unbelievable that someone could live through some of the vignettes described by the author.
This was a disturbing story of a disturbed people. I didn't really care for it but it seems lots of people do.
I started off hopeful, but by the end didn't really enjoy this book. I'm no prude, but some of the scenes left me feeling sticky. The characters I did like weren't really developed that deeply, and while some ideas/images from the book might last, the overall plot wasn't that powerful.
Good book! Must be willing to be openminded... there are some fairly graphic and unsettling parts to this book. It's over the edge, which I like--but not for everyone!!
The story of a very bizzare childhood. To think that anyone would have to grow up in that situation, though he did keep an upbeat attitude throughout everything!
This is a wonderful memoir of a boy whose mother and father were divorced and his mentally ill mother gave him away to her psychiatrist who invited patients to live in his home.
I'm not giving it justice here - I read this book in two days and I have 4 children! I could not put it down - the things this boy went through were amazing and I'm looking forward to reading his next book!
PAM L. (Wow, what a read, sad, funny, discusting all in one. This man is amazing.
The first of Augusten Burroughs memoirs and probably the most frightening, yet funny.
Based on the mixed reviews of this book, I wasn't sure I'd like it. Even if you keep an open mind while reading, some of it is still hard to read.... but i think its still worth reading.
I did not believe all the information in this book. I think some instances are preposterous.
I expected so much more from this book. Instead it was just twisted and strange with little real substance. Sometimes it felt like he was writing just for the shock value. I would recommend Dry but not Running With Scissors.
As a psychologist, I have NO IDEA what to make of this. Totally disturbing, yet written in a fantastic Sedarisesque style.
This is a strange, rather graphic book about the author's highly dysfunctional upbringing. I found it disturbing and fascinating at the same time. Recommended, but come with an open mind.
Interesting book. It is now also a movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow. About an absolutely crazy family.
Not really my kind of book. While well-written, it got kind of tiring reading about a child/young adult that lived years and years with no supervision. Critics called it funny...I never laughed, though the author did manage to use a tone that kept the story from being overwhelming sad and tragic.
Lori C. (An interesting read, will be curious to see how the movie is adapted from the book.
Augustine Burroughs' Memoir is about growing up in a really fractured and funny family relationship. He spends the formative years learning about life in the wacky household of his Mother's psychiatrist. A lot of kinky humor. Be advised that the author is homosexual and this plays out frequently in his writing.
I thought it was terrible, but hey, it's a bestseller and is being made into a Hollywood movie, so I'm sure some of you are interested, like I was. Good if you're into drugs, feces, pedophilia, psychotic episodes.
Didn't really like it. The writing was okay but it seemed as if he was trying to outdo himself as the story went on. Heard Dry was much better but I'm not in a hurry to find out.
CRAZY but awesome. I can't believe this is all true. It's a powerhouse book for a book club to read together. Love it!
This is now a movie that has many good actors, but even though it's true, Adam Sandler should be the main character. If you like Adam Sandler you'll really like this book. Sorry, but I'm not a fan of most of his movies.
Jennifer L. (Interesting story, I laughed out loud, I made faces....It's a bit unbelievable, but I quick read.
I have to agree with the Boston Globe - "Reads like David Sedaris writing The Hotel New Hampshire"
This is great. The people in the book are so outrageous that I have had to remind myself that it is a memoir. It kept me entertained the whole way through. Augusten Burroughs is one of a kind.
Whatever you do, don't skip to page 110 and start reading.
Rita K. (Mr. Burroughs had a very unusual childhood. This story will amaze you, and disgust you. I guess if he could survive this, he could survive anything - and become a best selling author. Was this story exagerated? For the author's sake - I hope so.
Crazy memoir - at times I questioned if events that took place in this book could really happen but it is a memoir... Quick read - I was dying to find out what could possible happen to him next.
A pretty far-fetched, fantastical "memoir" that in the light of James Frey's scandal, comes off very questionable. Some drug use, abuse, and, albeit consenual, a sometimes abusive gay relationship between an adult and minor. Writing style seems to try too hard to drop in pop-culture references and to come off "cool." After a while, it settles in.
Very interesting and funny. A quick read. Can't wait for the sequel.
Chris H. (While there were some witty moments early in this book, I found it very depressing overall.
I really enjoyed this book. I hadn't ever read an author quite like this one. The reviewers were right, it's funny, irreverent and in places horrific. It is great. He writes like David Sedaris.
An interesting read, be prepared for the ultimate in dysfunctional.
R B. (I did not find this book funny or hilarious in any way whatsoever. If indeed, any of his story is true, I simply found it depressing and sickening. His writing style is very peurile, and while he manages to tell his story, he seems to jump around and focus on the purely sensational.
Leah (Wow. If you think that you had a messed up childhood read this book. It will make you feel better.
Emily B. (I did not care for this book. I read it for a book club of mine.
Tracy S. (This book is a heartwrenching and somehow humorous memoir of a kid growing up in the '70's and '80's with rotten parents and a crazy therapist father figure.
Great read! I've added his other titles to my WL!
Hilarious, sad, and while the rumor mill believes it's fabricated - I've been in the field long enough to know that it's probably not THAT much of a stretch from the truth. People really do have lives like these. To write a book about it is true bravery. I'd love to meet Augusten Burroughs.
What a memoir! Truth is crazier than fiction, I can't see anyone making this stuff up. Once you start reading it you continue to see what these cfolks do next. I read this in about 2 days.
Reading this book is like watching a train wreck--it's horrifying but you can't look away. It makes you feel like you had a really healthy childhood. Fast read.
Very well written and catches you by surprise with how crazy this poor guys life was when he was young. It is amazing that he is not as crazy as his family. Some bad language and graphic sex seens.
Sad, hysterically funny, and everything in between. I feel so sorry for Burroughs, and I admire him for creating a good life out of his insane childhood.
WOW!! What a book and what a life he had! Just one incidence of all the disfunction in this world!
Jennie B. (Here is an amazing memoir of a childhood lived in my hometown. Well-written, sometimes shocking, often hilarious. The cultural reference points all ring true, as do the emotions. This book is not for the faint of heart, but the truth never is. Strongly recommended.
Although this is a true story , there are many parts that you would wish are not true. It is an amazing story of survival. The author's mother gives up her son ( at @ age 12) to be raised by her onorthodox psychiatrist. Burroughs defies all odds and after reading the book, I believe that he should be a public speaker and share his experiences so that children who grow up in dysfunctional families will believe that they can overcome anything!!
Jamie B. (Very good (but strange) book. I couldn't put it down. I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next!
very interesting read. can't wait to read Dry....can his life get any more bizarre??
At times hilarious, at times harrowing, Burroughs ranks with David Sedaris in translating his unconventional (to say the least) childhood into a memoir. Rules were unheard of, the Christmas tree stayed up all year-round, Valium was consumed like candy and, if things got dull, an electroshock-therapy machine could provide entertainment. An extraordinary book.
A bizarre but true story.....funny and yet appalling. The movie will be out soon. Read the book first.
Interesting story....Look forward to seeing the movie (to be released Fall 2006)
Nicole V. (One of the best books I've ever read! Just so morbidly shocking!
Absolutely stunning book -- funny, smart, shocking if you don't get out much ;), elegantly written.
I didn't like this book and stopped reading before I was even to the half way point. Too much immorality for my liking.
I was dissapointed with how disturbing this book was. It was funny, in a sad sort of way. Not laugh out loud funny. A good read none the less.
S W. (this is my first read with this author....story moves easily...I understand why it is a memoir and not a biography....it does get very "raw" in places... I have his next book "Dry" and his 3rd book is on my wish list, but not sure I will follow this book with his next..think I need a break from this author before going right to his next book.Overall worth the read, but not for the gentle at heart due to its shock value.
Running With Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor's bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, whree Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull, an electroshock-therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing, and bestselling account of an ordinary boy's survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.
A very quick read; rather quirky, hard to believe that this is an actual autobiography
This is basically an autobiography of a boy, his mother, and the insanity he faced by the age of 12. Although it has some disturbing moments, the events are also extremely funny.
Excellent story, Enjoyed every bit of this bizarre book. It was great. Can't wait for the movie!
Damaris D. (I could only read it for so long everyday. It is that crazy of a book. If even one quarter of it is true, then Augusten Burroughs deserves either a medal or some thorazine. Unbelievable. I just couldn't stop reading it. It is a well articulated 10-car-pileup.
Nicole M. (I give this book a rating of B+ I liked it and was shocked by some of it but by the end I wasn't surprised by their crazy behaviors anymore and was ready for it to end. It'll probly be a while before I read the follow up "Dry."
This book is pretty good, a little hard to relate to though. Not for the easily grossed out!
Funny read. Another strange memoir. You might need a brown paper cover if reading in public.
quite unbelievable; the story did not seem to flow much
I loved this memoir! It was like David Sedaris crossed with the films of David Lynch. At points, I found myself holding my breath because I couldn't imagine what would happen next. My own childhood seems downright normal to me now!
The child manages his way through an insane childhood - an alcoholic father, an unstable mother who lets her therapist adopt him, an electroshock machine and a pedaphile. Somehow, he makes it to the other side.
Interesting at times, but basically reminicent of a series of Howard Stern shock jock moments. I can't say that I was impressed at the quality of writing or the believability of this "true" story. If anyone cared to look I wouldn't be shocked if this book ended up like "A Million Little Pieces".
I enjoyed it very much, it was hard to believe it was a memoir, not fiction. Very interesting.
Pamela G. (I thought this book was a lot more disturbing than hilarious. I can understand the appeal, but I'll be sticking with David Sedaris and Chuck Palahniuk from now on.
Interesting story. A little more graphic than I planned on reading.
This was really...unususal. Interesting because I was constantly trying to figure out A) What would happen next and B) How someone could possibly survive such a bizzare childhood *Shakes head* I finished it, but it's not one of my best books I've ever read.
Bizarre. Even more bizarre when you remember it's all true.
Burroughs' writing style is very entertaining and creative, but for a memoir, I didn't find this book very believable. Some compare Burroughs to Sedaris. Their styles are similar; the only difference is that Sedaris' accounts actually seem true.
Really interesting -- talk about dysfunctional. Waiting for his other books.
I loved this book it was so funny the characters were great!Dont miss reading this!
Joan L. (Loved this book. This memoir is so twisted, it's hard to believe it is non-fiction. I couldn't put it down!
A little graphic and gross in parts (the fortune telling turds) but a fascinating memoir. I read this in about two days, it was so engrossing.
If you are looking for a quirky read, this is it! It was not as sad as "A Child Called It" but certainly as dysfunctional.
An interesting tale of a boy who's mother has mental issues. Not as humorous as I expected and it's very graphic at times.
Grace P. (I know how many people have read and loved this book, but I found it upsetting and disturbing. The bookjacket likened it to "David Sedaris writing 'The Hotel New Hampshire.'" That seems rather apt. And while I like both David Sedaris and John Irving, the combo of the two is kind of frightening.
I started to read this book but only got about a third of the way, didn't like, and quit
Some os the subject matter is quite shocking, but it is a riveting book, painful and painfully funny. I enjoyed it, and suggest it to anyone who liked the "Child called It" books by Dave Pelser.
Yvonne M. S. (One of the best memoirs I have read this year. For all the sad and terrible moments that arise Burrough's knows how to laugh at himself and his situation. Be sure to read his follow-up DRY, for the humor and recklessness that continues into his early adulthood. I will definately be reading more from this couragous man.
"Bookman gave me attention. We would go for long walks and talk about all sorts of things. Like how awful the nuns were in his Catholic school when he was a kid and how you have to roll your lips over your teeth when you give a blowjob," writes Burroughs (Sellevision) about his affair, at age 13, with the 33-year-old son of his mother's psychiatrist. That his mother sent him to live with her shrink (who felt that the affair was good therapy for Burroughs) shows that this is not just another 1980s coming-of-age story. The son of a poet with a "wild mental imbalance" and a professor with a "pitch-black dark side," Burroughs is sent to live with Dr. Finch when his parents separate and his mother comes out as a lesbian. While life in the Finch household is often overwhelming (the doctor talks about masturbating to photos of Golda Meir while his wife rages about his adulterous behavior), Burroughs learns "your life [is] your own and no adult should be allowed to shape it for you." There are wonderful moments of paradoxical humor Burroughs, who accepts his homosexuality as a teen, rejects the squeaky-clean pop icon Anita Bryant because she was "tacky and classless" as well as some horrifying moments, as when one of Finch's daughters has a semi-breakdown and thinks that her cat has come back from the dead. Beautifully written with a finely tuned sense of style and wit the occasional clich‚ ("Life would be fabric-softener, tuna-salad-on-white, PTA-meeting normal") stands out anomalously this memoir of a nightmarish youth is both compulsively entertaining and tremendously provocative.
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The blurbs compare this book to David Sedaris, David Sedaris writing The Hotel New Hampshire, David Sedaris meets John Waters, and to Dave Eggers\'s A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. I\'d say David Sedaris meets J. T. LeRoy. I can\'t wait to read the sequel, Dry.
A \"crazy\" memoir that reminds th reader of books by David Sedaris. Can this really be one mans life? Yes! tragic and interesting, some might say funny. A New York Times Best Seller.
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