A Wolf at the Table

Starred review from March 24, 2008
A searing, emotional portrait of a son who wants nothing more than the love his father will not grant him, Burroughs's latest memoir (after 2004's Dry
) is indeed powerful. Absent is the wry humor of Running with Scissors
and the absurd poignancy of Burroughs's years living with his mother's Svengali-like psychiatrist. Instead, Burroughs focuses on the years he lived both in awe and fear of his philosophy professor father in Amherst, Mass. Despite frequent trips with his mother to escape his father's alcoholic rages, Burroughs was determined to win his father's affection, secretly touching the man's wallet and cigarettes and even going so far as to make a surrogate dad with pillows and discarded clothing. Only after his father's neglect—or cruelty—leads to the death of Burroughs's beloved guinea pig during one of the family's many separations does the son turn against the father. Avoiding self-pity, Burroughs paints his father with unwavering honesty, forcing the reader to confront, as he did, a man who even on his deathbed, refused his son a hint of affection. His father missed so much, Burroughs muses, not knowing his son. Luckily, Burroughs does not deny the reader such an enormous pleasure.

April 28, 2008
Superb production values transform an ordinary audio into a special experience. Original songs by Patti Smith, Sea Wolf, Ingrid Michaelson and Tegan Quin (from Tegan and Sara), said to be inspired by this work, are a welcome accompaniment to Burroughs's dark relationship with his father. So, too, are the wonderful sound effects, including the cacophony of a Mexican outdoor market and frightening forest noises. The narration itself doesn't live up to the carefully orchestrated acoustical touches nor is it as good as the author's delightful audio renditions of his previous works. Burroughs reads extremely slowly, as if he is savoring every word he has written; however, the average listener will eventually cringe at the plodding pace and emphasis on every syllable. In contrast, the quick rhythms of his own younger self as well as those of his Southern parents are welcome diversions. This audio would best serve adult speakers of English as a second language brushing up on their listening skills. Native speakers will need hefty doses of caffeine to get through it. A St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 24).

March 1, 2008
Burroughs childhood was the stuff of nightmares long before he was adopted by his troubled mothers therapist (a harrowing experience rendered to brutal and often hilarious effect in his 2002 best-seller, Running with Scissors). His earliest years were spent in fear of his biological father, John, an alcoholic with a chilling smile and a black heart. All young Augusten ever wanted was his dads attention and approval. He rarely received either. In fact, the late John G. Robison, head of the philosophy department at the University of Massachusetts, seemed to derive pleasure from making his son suffer. When Augusten and his mother fled the house following one of Johns liquor-fueled rampages, the mean, moody man promised to care for his sons beloved pet gerbil. Instead, he left the animal to die. Augusten dreaded the idea that he was just like his father, a fear that grew deeper with each passing year. Following the publication of Running with Scissors, Burroughs was sued by his adoptive family, who claimed his book was fraught with hyperbole and lies. One almost hopes that this sad, sporadically funny offering took some liberties with the truth. Expect lots of interest in Burroughs first memoir in five years.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)