I am reading the book "Running with Scissors" and I am having a hard time putting it down! It is a great read for me. I tend to enjoy contemporary writing that has a dysfunctional flare. I just do. Last night when I got home from work I was curious as to what the writer looked like. In the book he talks a lot about what he wore, how he wore his hair, and such so it made me curious to see what he looked like. So I did a google on Augusten Burroughs - and pulled up his website, along with some articles about the book. The article that is the most detailed is from Vanity Fair magazine and its called "Ruthless with Scissors". The article details interviews with the family that is featured in the book, and lets them disbute the fabrications in the book, as well as talking about how the book has effected their lives. At the time I read the article I was 3/4 done with the book, and asked myself "How much does it matter?" in regards to the question posed "Is this true?"
Alright, after having spent time in social service I can tell you that you can sit down with someone and hear a very outrageous story of childhood from the most "normal" looking of people. (Those stuck with me more because the appearance was was deceiving.) There are a lot of people who have lived through and survived some difficult situations and some downright crazy ones. So I can really feel that this story is possible. I just finished reading the story I got at 11pm on Friday night, and after reading it all I can say with a lot of certainty that this memoir was not probable. After reading the various articles that were written about the family talked about in the book - its easy to see that there has been a lot of hurt from this book.
When reading the book I didn't keep in mind that this book was a memoir. I think from page 3 I knew it was a story and should be treated as such. I never once thought "Gee who are these people?" or "What ever happened to Natalie or Hope?" No... these characters are as fictional as Big Bird and Blue. I don't think the book should have been published as a memoir. While the story is just a story to me - it certainly wasn't to the family that took him in.
Recent Comments