Lust and Wonder
A Memoir
Augusten Burroughs
This
memoir by best selling author of Sellevision, Running with
Scissors and Dry is
a look at his search over the years for love, although not always
in the right places or with the right people. It's witty, funny and
sometimes sad and tragic. I'm not sure how many people would be able
to bare their soul on paper as much as this and make it entertaining,
but Burroughs excels at this. In fact, I couldn't help but feel that
I was sitting at a dinner table just listening to the author
narrating his life story. It's honest, sometimes brutally so, and
always well observed and insightful.
I
can readily picture the characters from his life, especially Dennis,
the long term boyfriend, who wants to catalog his dislikes in letter
form as he can't bring himself to discuss them face to face, after
Burroughs questions his love. The marriage therapist who declined
to counsel the couple after just one visit, but who couldn't bring
herself to notify the couple personally. Instead she sends word via
the physician who recommended her. Burroughs has a way of making you
feel for his friends and lovers even when they don't always show
their best sides.
Eventually
he does find what he's looking for, which makes the end of the book
lighter, even if the author continues to imagine a world of worst
case scenarios. Overall, this was an enjoyable book that I wasn't
able to put down.
Thanks
to St. Martin's Press for supplying the advance readers copy.
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