by Augusten Burroughs
An autobiography of a childhood that unravels into a
tragi-comedy of Shakespearian magnitude.
Reviewed by: Helen Harvey
About Helen Harvey
Were this account of an anything but “normal”
childhood a work of fiction I would categorize it as a
hysterically funny and surreal romp through an
adolescence of nightmarish proportions. Sadly, this
book is not fiction, and I found myself disgusted and
guilty for laughing at what, today would, and should,
have the authorities and powers that be knocking each
other over in their rush to extract the poor child
from such suffering.
Finding himself dumped by a ‘wanna-be’ poet of a
mother upon her depraved psychiatrist and his
ill-adjusted family, Augusten struggles for love,
attention, and with homosexuality, amongst squalor
befitting a human tragedy the likes of which would
make national news headlines. With a vintage
electro-shock therapy machine for a plaything, and the
altogether unsavory influence of being befriended by a
pedophile, you know that with every turn of the page
things can only get worse – and they surely do.
Yet from this tragedy comes great hilarity, and it is
impossible to resist reading just one more page before
putting the book down. It is an irresistible
crash-course into just how twisted and sick adults can
be, and just how horrendous childhood can be, while at
the same time being a life-lesson in just how grateful
you should be for having lived within a family that
cared enough about you to make you do your homework,
ground you for staying out after 7pm on a school
night, only let you ride your bicycle if you’re
wearing a helmet, and other boring family stuff like
that.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Running With Scissors
Copyright © by Helen Harvey, 2002
Reviewed by Helen Harvey:
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