Editorial Review

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor. ... Read more

Reviews

True to Life Account
I grew up in Welch, WV and was acquainted with Jeanette and Brian(Lori was older and Maureen was younger). I can attest that her harrowing account of growing up with an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother in the coalfields of WV was as she says. This was a compelling read, all the more so, because it was about people and places I knew so well. As I read, I was filled with sorrow and shame because I was one of those people who didn't want to have close association with them because they were so different from me. I try to asuage my guilt by telling myself I saw things from a child's maturity level. I wish I could apologize and find myself wondering what would have happened if I had befriended Jeanette. She could have enriched my like tremendously. For those of you who doubt things could not have happened like it was written, don't. I knew it and I saw it, and to a degree, lived it. And as tragic as it was, it was true.

WHAT A COURAGEOUS MEMOIR - - BRAVO!
First, "The Glass Castle" is a real page turner - - I couldn't put it down and finished it in about four hours - - a record for me!

It's probably the most thoughtful and sensitive memoir I can ever remember reading - - told with such grace, kindness and fabulous sense of humor.

It's probably the best account ever written of a dysfunctional family -- and it must have taken Walls so much courage to put pen to paper and recount the details of her rather bizarre childhood - - which although it's like none other and is so dramatic - - any reader will relate to it. Readers will find bits and pieces of their own parents in Rex and Rose Mary Walls.

Her journey across the country, ending up in a poor mining town in West Virginia and then finally in New York City, is a fascinating tale of survival.

Her zest for life, even when eating margarine and sugar and bundled in a cardboard box with sweaters, coats and huddling with her pets, is unbelievably beautiful - - and motivating.

If I could give a book ten stars, it would be "The Glass Castle."

Inferno to Paradiso (or close enough)
Jeannette Wall's trek, as depicted in "Glass Castle", recalls Dante's
journey through Hell and eventual ascenscion to Paradise. The comparison may seem risibly over-dramatic, but just as Dante had to go through the experience of the Netherworlds before he could be led to Heaven, so, too, is Jeannette's eventual triumph the FRUIT of a childhood filled with poverty and, what some would call, parental neglect or even abuse.

In the opening section about Jeannette's early childhood, sort of the outer rungs of hell, we are introduced to the author's quirky family. Her father, Rex, is a brainy underachiever who cannot keep a job and has a bit of a "drinking situation".
The mother is an eccentric artist who cannot be bothered too much
by mundane tasks- you know, like cooking or cleaning the house. The children, all extremely bright, are often underfed and left to fend for themselves. However, if the parents have failings, they also have redeeming qualities. The children are immersed in an environment that values art, music, intellectual pursuits, freedom and self-sufficiency and spurns racism and all forms of bourgeois superficiality. Above all, the reader never doubts that Rex and his wife truly love the children. One gets the feeling throughout that Jeanette never doubts that either.
In any case, the early years are bittersweet. If there is squalor and hunger there is also humor and magic. Most of all, there is hope. The family frequently moves and, although that is frustrating, it also provided the background for a myth: that the next town would provide prosperity.

But then to Welch they did go! And, it is in this West Virginia town where her father grew up,the "Nation's Coal Bin", that Jeannette and the rest of the family descend into the lower regions of hell. All the problems are exacerbated. The father, having returned to the place he said he never would, drinks with abandon and applies more and more of the family's slim resources toward his habit. Jeanette resorts to scaveging trash barrels for sustenance and is humiliated for her tattered clothing. There is not water in the house for bathing and no heat in Winter. Swallowed by the appalachian mountains with only the two-lane US 52 out, you feel stuck. Even the pilgrim parents are unable to muster the strength to break the gravity of this place. With this immobility came the final destruction of the myth (that the family would move somewhere else and find prosperity) and, as a consequence, the destruction of hope. However, it is in this darkness that Jeannette finds her calling. She becomes a reporter for the "Maroon Wave", the Welch High School student newspaper. The rest of the book details how her dream to become a "high falutin" journalist led her to New York City and her current incarnation. Maybe not Paradiso, but close enough considering her formative years.

A number of components conflate to push Jeannette towards a succeful resolution. Certainly the positive legacy of her parents: culture, books, self-sufficiency, etc. But also the dire situation gave her a sense of urgency and the focus that comes with it: She had nothing to lose. She was lucky enough to have discovered early on a career path and did not have the leisure to ruminate ENDLESSLY on it.. This latter often brings self-doubts that paralyze youth. Unlike so many memoirs about unhappy childhoods, the author never plays the John Bradshaw card by irately denouncing her parents, nor does she try to facilely excuse them. Life is more complex than that and she understand that syzygys cannot be tampered with, lest you destroy the whole. You cant take eggs out of the cake.

On a personal note, I grew up in Welch, went to Welch High School and knew Jeannette (though not very well) who was two grades behind me. I have not seen her since High School. For those reviewers who expressed doubts about the authenticity of her story, I can tell you that at least the Welch part of the story rings true to my memory.

One for Your Reading List.
I was grateful that the chapters are short in this disturbing memoir, because I could only take in a little at a time. It's difficult to imagine a more dysfunctional household than the one in which Walls grew up. What sets her book apart is the distinctive voice in which she narrates that dysfunction, and her growing awareness that she's entitled to a decent life.

We meet the fiesty Jeannette as a toddler, badly burned while cooking hot dogs on a stove for herself. No, she wasn't defying her mother's orders. She was simply taking care of herself in a household where both parents thumbed their noses at such simple conventions as regular meals, sound shelter, decent clothing, running hot water and protection from sexual predators. On one thing, though, they didn't scrimp: the children were taught to read at an early age. I'm convinced that held the key to their survival. Thanks to public libraries, Jeannette read the entire Laura Ingalls Wilder prairie series before she entered school. It must have helped normalize the survivalist lifestyle that her parents adopted.

The difference is that it wasn't necessary. Rex, her father, was when sober an accomplished electrician and science maven. Her mother, Rose Mary, had a college degree but found teaching, like motherhood, an imposition on her life as an artist. The three older children--Lori, Jeannette and Bryan--functioned as a family within the family. The youngest, Maureen, grew dependent on the kindess of strangers and eventually set out on her own.

This is a uniquely American story that wanders all over the landscape from California and Arizona to West Virginia and New York. Although we see the cruelty with which these neglected chilidren are treated, we also see the people who help them and their own protection of their family. As Jeannette views it, the worst possible thing would be separation from her siblings, and I'm inclined to agree with her. Certainly, this book tests my assumption that children get their values from their parents. The Walls children formed theirs in opposition to their parents' in many ways, but they also managed to hang onto the dogged independence and sense of wonder that they admired in Mom and Dad.

I hope this book will enter the list of child survival stories that in my mind includes Tobias Wolfe's "Duke of Deception" and Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes." Certainly I would recommend it for readers everywhere who are convinced they were deprived.

Venus Belongs to Walls
"My parents, Rose Mary and Rex Walls, and their wedding day - 1956".

There it is. A photo of a young couple, in love, flush with promise. The bride looking shy at the camera. The groom, square jawed and filled with good humor. It's stunning to think that this handsome, newly married couple, would live their lives in squalor, alcoholism and dreams. This picture is very much part of the story of Jeannette Walls and her family, as it sets the tone on the very first page of this wonderful, heartbreaking memoir.

Jeannette's sisters Lori, Maureen and brother Brian, endured a childhood that could have been torn out of the history pages citing the Great Depression. It's hard to believe that these were the 1960's and 1970's in America. Starvation, bad hygiene, and lack of personal safety was an everyday habit in the Walls home - or homes - since they moved from town to town. The kid's upbringing was almost literally, either sink or swim. Much like the wind blown Joshua Tree they saw by the side of the road during one of their family "skadaddles", the kids grew against the force, became tough, and learned survivial despite the adversities.

Both parents were incredibly bright and talented beings. Sadly, they had big schemes on which they could never follow through. Rex Walls was a mathematician who came from a squalor home in West Virginia, and Rose Mary was a prolific artist and teacher who was raised in an upper middle class family out west. What seemed to bond them was an adamant need to spurn the norms of society. This resulted in an inability to stay at the same job for long. They'd lose their homes, and inevitably shack up in their car or any broken down house they could find. This meant the children suffered. They'd constantly be uprooted, and taken out of school. With no money for everyday items, they'd find food and clothes in dumpsters. School children or other family members would abuse them, physically or sexually. Father, a raging drunk, drank up all the money they made. In one period of time, while living in a small home that could be described as a shack, the parents refused to lock their doors, which invited wanderers to come in and out during the night making the children open targets for various perversions.

All long range plans they devined would either die out or be scratched, such as the building of a glass castle in which Rex had drawn up meticulous architectual plans. The aforementioned ramshackled home they lived in came with a backyard where Rex and his kids began to dig a hole for the foundation of this little palace. Sadly, the job was left abandoned. More of a ditch than a foundation, it was ultimately turned into their own landfill when they didn't have tax money for municiple garbage removal. It's quite a metaphor for their lives - dreams left abandoned for garbage. Yet, despite all the trouble and strife, one theme remains consistant: their love for each other was strong. The family, kids especially, stood by each other through all the bad times.

The parents remained stubborn in clinging to poverty, deeming it poetic and noble, turning down any means of charity, even from their own children. For instance, when the kids had grown and found their way to Manhattan to start anew, the parents followed them, finding shelter in their cramped apartments. Despite the incessant pleas of their children to stay with them, they declined, opting to go it alone, ultimately setting up house in an abandoned building, embracing what we would call utter despair, as a one great big wonderful adventure.

The stories unfold with a pure voice, no judgement or bitterness clouds Walls' telling of her family. Each horrible, enraging moment is given a morsel of wonder, such as Rex gazing up at the stars one Christmas, and giving Jeanette the planet Venus as a present since monetary gifts were impossible. In such a remembrance, and many others told between the frighening scenes, Walls makes it clear that her folks were free souls who shared their love in strange ways.

This book will give you chills, and it will also make you think about homelessness and the unique stories these souls carry. Much praise should be given to Walls and her siblings, for having walked through fire, and coming out alive.

Courage to move forward....
Jeannette Walls is familiar as a face and voice for MSNBC.com. Her husband is writer John Taylor. Her parents were non conventional and non-conforming, and she was often left to take care for herself.

Through the book I kept looking for bitterness or residual shame just as the author often had to rummage for food in a dumpster but she is so contented and the book is her memoir of thriving and letting go of negative feelings. Her parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls and their four children had a bizarre existence, but Jeanette is testament to survival and functional achievement regardless of what type of spoon you're born with in your mouth. The spoon in her mouth may have been plastic but she turned her life into gold.

Great memoir
The author describes her fascinating childhood in which her family moves around the country, following her father's dreams, staying ahead of law enforcement and bill collectors, and living the family's carefree attitude. While her father's dreams are what sustains the family for many years, slowly the four children become disillusioned as their father continually fails to provide all of the things he promises them. The father's inability to hold down a job and stay sober forces the family to live in destitution, and while the mother is continually writing and painting, this does not put food on the table. The four children learn to fend for themselves, take care of each other, and determine what is really important in their lives.

Quote: "As Brian and I watched, the hole for the Glass Castle's foundation slowly filled with garbage."

This was a really excellent memoir, which raised excellent questions about family, prioritization, dreams, reality, and the power of perseverance to overcome whatever challenges a person faces. The author relates her inner struggle when she wants desperately to believe in her father's big dreams, while having to scrounge in trash cans to find enough food. Although it was a bit slow in the beginning, things picked up rapidly. The book moved quickly, particularly because it is organized into short chapters. I thought the most significant portions related to the siblings holding together while they were growing up and making the most of difficult circumstances.

Wonderful Memoir
When your children complain about how they suffered, don't rely: just give them a copy of this book and tell them to come and see you when they're finished. Jeannette Walls tells her story of a childhood spent being dragged around the country as her father does the "skedaddle" to avoid creditors and while her mother refuses to face his contining slide into alcoholism and the family's ever descending circumstances. The children understand that they are living at the bottom of the food chain, often living with no heat or indoor plumbing, but are powerless to change things until one by one they graduate from high school and simply leave. This book is an absolute must read. One of my top ten of 2005. Beautifully written and compelling.

Overcoming Skedaddle
Perhaps it was a fierce intelligence that lifted Jeannette Walls out of the well of despair into which her "parents" were forever dipping her (an apt metaphor considering her first swimming lesson). I put quotes around the word parents in the last sentence because, in this riveting memoir, it is the children who do the actual parenting. Young Jeannette, eager to get to school in the morning, would frst have to drag her mother out of bed and send her off to school as well. Mom, you see, was a teacher -- a teacher who didn't care to go to work, even if it meant that her children would not eat for days on end. She was, she said, an artist. When confronted, Mom would whine, suggesting her young children find work themselves. Almost immediately, they do. Jeannette, especially, displays an unerring ambition, and the reader wants to applaud as we see her turning toward a full belief in her abilities as both parent to her parents and then as a writer, which she understands immediately will be her ticket to respectability and, possibly, riches.

During the book (I couldn't put it down for a minute), there were several times I wanted to slap both parents, intensely feeling the pure disgust the children had to hide. I imagine fear of the unknown, of being taken away and put into foster homes, made hiding that disgust imperative. Coming clean here, however, Ms. Walls brilliantly succeeds in illuminating that which makes her father and mother quite special, apart from the normal loyalty blindly afforded one's family. Both parents are obviously bright, though lacking even a glimmer of responsibility. It is clear that the children have inherited this intelligence but . . . will they survive on this alone? Can they? Every setback becomes an invitation for Dad to climb back into the bottle and for Mom, obssessed with observing and recording the world around her, to be guilted into returning to teaching, a job she hates . . . Because it's a job. The most heart-wrenching part of this book for me was, oddly enough, a scene where a young Jeannette, possessing only two pair of threadbare pants, colors her skin with matching magic markers to simulate the "patches" the family could not afford. We are talking bone-crushing poverty here. A passage where her father takes her to a bar and uses his young daughter as bait for a man he intends to beat at pool -- allowing the man to take the young girl upstairs after he's fleeced him out of $80, placed Dad beyond the pale of redemption for me. And I kept waiting for Jeannette to feel the same way. Being a streetsmart survivor who can handle anyting isn't enough. This is a child we're talking about. It's one horror after another. Yet, through the tenacity of the children and the creativity of their parents, we know they will somehow be all right. In fact, we already know at the beginning that Jeannette will do well for herself in life. This fact, however, does not stop us from rooting for these kids the whole way, binding the reader to them as they slowly break from those who would betray them, while still loving them, and find their own adult lives elsewhere (New York City), where we know they can do nothing but improve their lives.

One after another, Jeannette and her siblings move to Manhattan and, through hard work, immediately attain a measure of the domestic security that was denied them from the time they were born. Jeannette, in a section that reads almost as if she is embarrassed to be recognized for her talent and intelligence, receives an Ivy League scholarship and advances quickly in Manhattan, eventually chronicling the social lives of the rich and famous from her Park Avenue apartment. Park Avenue! What a transition from the damp, moldy confines of a broken down up-hollow shack in West Virginia.

However, Mom and Dad miss the comfort of child labor. Having only themselves to rely upon has apparently caused them to realize their limitations and dependence upon their own children. They do not intend to let their little breadwinners get fully away from them.

These characters are indelible. I did not want the book to end. In fact, I found the ending rather abrupt with several unanswered questions. What becomes of the fragile Maureen? What becomes of the land in Texas? Overall, though, this memoir is a rich, satisfying read and a testament to the spirit people like Jeannette Walls and her siblings use to somehow elevate themselves above the dark side of their heritage. Going along for the ride, we find ourselves elevated as well.
... Read more

Editorial Review

From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s

Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as "The Thunderbolt Kid."

Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends.

Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written.It will enchant anyone who has ever been young. ... Read more

Reviews

I was literally sent downstairs for laughing too loud.
Seriously. I was up past bedtime, and I was reading Bryson's description of lame 1950's toys. I won't give it away, but imagine what he can do with the topic of "electric football". After a particularly vigorous episode of chortling, my wife trudged out of bed to decree that, if I insisted on continuing to read, I'd have to take it downstairs.

And that's what this book is, a laugh-out-loud remembrance of a simpler, sillier time. Bryson's travelogues are what made him famous, and he never would have made it without a fantastic memory for detail and an ability to convey a vivid mental picture of the topics he chooses. His descriptions of 1950's Des Moines are consistently evocative. It's like a travelogue unearthed from a 50 year old time capsule. I feel like I have visited there.

Still, readers of Bryson known that what truly sets him apart is his uncanny ability to attract and describe morons, as well as all manner of idiotic situations (generally self-inflicted). For a man who can do this on, say, a simple trip to Australia, imagine how much comedy gold can be mined from a childhood in the Midwest of the 50's. It is, as they say, a target-rich environment. His remembrances include family, friends, school, Des Moines, lame childhood toys, nuclear bombs, and more. Even things like TV dinners, which we have all heard mocked before, are skewered in new and amusing ways.

For all of that, though, the memoir is not mean spirited. I think that the ridicule works so well because it is easy to sense Bryson's real affection for his subjects (well, at least the ones who aren't carbonized by the x-ray vision of the Thunderbolt Kid). He's poking fun, but in a way that family and friends might poke fun at each other over old childhood foibles at a Thanksgiving dinner. It's the humor that you get when your wife knows that you're ridiculous, but loves you just the same. This book belongs with such classic tributes to youth as The Wonder Years, Stand By Me, and A Christmas Story. Buy it, and enjoy it. Just try not to read it next to someone's bedroom.

The FUNNIEST book I have read in years!!!
This is a wonderful, funny, and ultimately very human book, which reminds us all, no matter who we are or where we live (I'm Australian) of the total joys of a happy childhood.

Bill Bryson is the first to confess that his was a normal, uneventful and by the standards of today, relatively bland childhood. But thankfully this has been rendered into a book that will have you laughing aloud, as we hear of his evolution into the fearless Thunderbolt Kid, complete with super hero talents; the list of alien (now commonplace) foods that never graced the family table, and the unique and gruesome ways he managed to hurt himself whilst playing (I was particularly fond of the tale where he hit his head on a rock and his friends bought pieces of his "brain" to his house - kids can be so thoughtful).

This is a ray of sunshine in the literary world. It is truly the most delightful thing that I have read in a very long time, and I am a voracious devourer of books. I enjoy Bill's travel books, as he is a talented and observant writer, but this is a cut above - I think his very best to date.

Do yourselves a favour. Buy yourself a couple of hours of happiness and read this book. Buy it for your friends and relatives, and relive your happy and normal childhood all over again. You will all treasure that moment where you remembered how you were a super-hero/alien/king or queen, and then get back to your normal, uneventful, adult lives.

Made in America's Heartland
"Getting into the strippers' tent would become the principal preoccupation of my pubescent years." - Bill Bryson in THUNDERBOLT KID

"Essentially matinees were an invitation to four thousand children to riot for four hours in a large darkened space." - Bill Bryson in THUNDERBOLT KID

As I mature gracefully, reading the coming-of-age reminiscences of others that grew up about the same time I did - the 1950s - becomes an absorbing leisure activity. Perhaps I just need to supplement my failing memory with theirs. In any case, several fine volumes of the genre come to mind: Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood by Susan Allen Toth, Sleeping Arrangements by Laura Shaine Cunningham, When All the World Was Young: A Memoir by Barbara Holland, and Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin. As you may have noticed, all four of these are by female authors who are recalling their girlhood. On the other hand, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID, by Bill Bryson, is all about boyhood. And, as I think you'll agree, boys are an entirely different species from girls. I should know as I used to be one of the former. For example, boys have a propensity for shenanigans that would elicit an "Eeeuw!" from the gentler sex, as the following passage on Lincoln Logs, of which I myself had a set, illustrates:

"What Buddy Doberman and I discovered was that if you peed on Lincoln Logs you bleached them white. As a result we created, over a period of weeks, the world's first albino Lincoln Log cabin, which we took to school as part of a project on Abraham Lincoln's early years."

Or this regarding the elementary school's space heaters:

"The most infamous radiator-based activity was of course to pee on the radiator in one of the boys' bathrooms. This created an enormous sour stink that permeated whole wings of the school for days on end and could not be got rid of through any amount of scrubbing or airing."

I'm virtually certain that Susan, Laura, Barbara and Doris never did either.

Bill's recollections otherwise ran the gamut of those of any kid of either sex from that era: family vacations, the first televisions, favorite TV shows, the nature of contemporary comic books, toys, soda pop and candies, parents' occupations and eccentricities, Mom's cooking, the specter of The Bomb and Godless Communism, drop and cover drills, Saturday afternoons at the movie matinees, the National Pastime (major league baseball), the State Fair, Dick and Jane books, visits to Grandpa's farm, paper routes, strange relatives, and Best Friends. Oddly, there's no mention anywhere of a family pet. Is it that he never had one? How is this possible?

Then, of course, there's the budding fascination with sex that includes the discovery of Ol' Dad's secret stash of girlie mags and the unfulfilled, feverish desire to see play pal Mary O'Leary nekkid.

As in the author's other books, his ability to tell the story with a wry and self-deprecating wit is unmatched by any contemporary writer that I've read with the exception of Barbara Holland. Both are national treasures.

Bryson's young adventures took place in Des Moines, Iowa, a much different environment than the Southern California in which I had mine. But, there's a degree of similarity that transcends region so long as that region lies in the U.S. of A. One of Bill's nostalgias in particular that I wouldn't have recalled in a million years but is oh, so true was:

"Of all the tragic losses since the 1950s, mimeograph paper may be the greatest. With its rapturously fragrant, sweetly aromatic pale blue ink, mimeograph paper was literally intoxicating."

It's in the nature of the aging human to recall previous times as so much better. Nowadays, as we're inundated with rampant political correctness, discredited heroes, and the pathetic likes of Paris, Britney and Lindsay, I can look back and say about many things, as Bill does:

"... I saw the last of something really special. It's something I seem to say a lot these days."

Laugh out loud funny
Any Baby Boomer who thinks fondly on a childhood in the 1950s will enjoy this book immensely. Born in 1951 and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Bill Bryson had what we might consider the average middle-class life in the geographic center of America. As such, it's easy for us to nod in agreement at many of the details he recalls: spider-web-like strands of airplane glue that stuck to everything except small plastic model pieces; the confusion of having two different actors play the Lone Ranger on TV; the stilted and unrealistic conversations we read in our Dick and Jane textbooks; and the fact that we all spent our free time outside, making up our own games. Bryson additionally got into a few unusual scrapes with some of his neighborhood buddies, and the distance of time makes each one of their escapades a real hoot. Those post-war days were indeed the best of times and the worst of times. The nation grew wealthy and happier and stronger, and technological advances like television made us feel more powerful. Simultaneously the Cold War intensified, and we grew ever more fearful of a nuclear attack from Russia. It was a unique and great time to be a kid.

"Happily," Bryson writes, "we were indestructible. We didn't need seat belts, air bags, smoke detectors, bottled water, or the Heimlich maneuver. We didn't require child-safety caps on our medicines. We didn't need helmets when we rode our bikes or pads for our knees and elbows when we went skating. We knew without a written reminder that bleach was not a refreshing drink and that gasoline when exposed to a match had a tendency to combust. We didn't have to worry about what we ate because nearly all foods were good for us: sugar gave us energy, red meat made us strong, ice cream gave us healthy bones, coffee kept us alert and purring productively." (pages 69-70)

To his own experiences, Bryson adds historical tidbits that now seem unbelievable, except that we suddenly remember when they were true. Everyone smoked. TV dinners were invented and enjoyed, even though each of the food components had an aluminum taste. The civil rights movement hadn't yet taken full form. No one knew or cared about the dangers of DDT or witnessing a nuclear test from a ridge a hundred miles away. And yet, most of us survived the decade.

Reading this memoir will make you wistful for those days of atomic toilets, comic book Kiddie Corrals, unrated movies, and grape Nehi bubbles up your nose. It'll also have you laughing right out of your chaise longue and Capri pants.

Amazing that this wild child grew up to be Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson was born in 1951 in Des Moines, Iowa. Talk about lucky! "I can't imagine there has ever been a more gratifying time or place to be alive than America in the 1950s," he writes. "We became the richest country in the world without needing the rest of the world."

And Billy Bryson --- white, Protestant, son of a brilliant sportswriter and the home furnishings editor of the Des Moines Register --- was in just the right place to take full advantage.

As many of you know, Bryson grew up to live in England and write first class travel books --- A Walk in the Woods, his account of walking the Appalachian Trail with his out-of-shape friend, Steve Katz, is both informative and hilarious --- and serious studies of language, like Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words. But as a kid, he was a pure doofus. He had no interest in school, his city's cultural institutions or its many opportunities for youth athletics.

By the testimony of this memoir, Billy Bryson had only one childhood obsession: trouble. Namely, how much damage to property and civility could one fresh-faced boy --- and, of course, his posse of equally privileged homies --- do each and every day.

And because kids roamed free in those days and time stretched to the horizon, Billy had all of Des Moines as his target.

Exhibit A: He liked to hide on the top floor of an office building with a central atrium. Seven stories below was a restaurant: "A peanut M&M that falls seventy feet into a bowl of tomato soup makes one heck of a splash, I can tell you."

Exhibit B: He delighted in using a magnifying glass to focus a beam of sunlight on the bald head of his napping Uncle Dick to see what would happen: "What happened was that you burned an amazingly swift, deep hole that would leave Dick and a team of specialists at Iowa Lutheran Hospital puzzled for weeks."

Exhibit C: He once peed on brown Lincoln Logs to turn them white --- and then watched, deadpan, as a teacher licked the toy logs to prove they'd been bleached with lemon juice.

Weird characters abound. Like Bill's mother, who wrote about the home, but was derelict in the domestic arts: "As a rule you knew it was time to eat when you could hear potatoes exploding in the oven." Like Bill's father, who was so cheap that when the Brysons finally drove out to Disneyland, Bill asked his mother, "Have I got leukemia?" Like another kid's dad, doing a swan dive from the high board, changing his mind in mid-air and landing flat: "At such a speed water effectively becomes a solid." And like Uncle Dee, who had a surgically-made hole in his neck: "Whatever he ate turned into a light spray from his throat hole."

Are you laughing yet? Methinks you should be. There is funny, and then there is Bill Bryson, who makes you howl with laughter and fight for breath. "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" is not a book for the seriously ill, the commuter who uses public transportation or even the easily grossed-out. But for everyone over 50 who grew up in a house and had parents who owned a car, health and circumstances matter not --- this is the story of at least part of your youth.

It was a time of flattop haircuts ("landing spots for some very small experimental aircraft"). Cigarettes. Cocktails. Cars with no seat belts, drinks thick with sugar, medicine with no child-proofing. Televisions everywhere. Electric football games. Misbehave, and you get sent to "the cloakroom." Paper routes.

Every once in a while, Bryson sprinkles the pages with seriousness that is all the more powerful for its scarcity. Did you know that Lewis Strauss, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, started his career as a shoe salesman? Did you know that, at the peak of the Red Scare, "thirty-two of the forty-eight states had loyalty oaths"? Did you know about Lamar Smith, an African American, who successfully voted in Mississippi --- only to be shot dead on the courthouse steps?

Books that are nostalgic and funny and have seriousness just under the surface tend to have sad, "those were the days" endings. The first mall is built, and right there we know the central business district is doomed. Graduation is like a break shot in pool --- the old gang scatters and never reunites. And so on.

Bryson avoids the gooey emotions by saving his best crimes and his zaniest characters --- Steve Katz, co-star of "A Walk in the Woods" --- for last. Fake drivers' licenses. Beer robberies. And nobility, for in Des Moines, at least, there was, for one gang of kids, honor among thieves.

"I was," Bryson says, "enormously stupid." Yes. He was, and this book is the proof.

But he also says that his book is "about not very much, about being small and getting larger slowly." Wrong. "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" is about being wide-awake and seeing everything and getting every last weird detail down exactly right.

And that makes his memoir almost surely the most enjoyable book you'll read this year.

Vintage Bryson
This is classic Bryson. Full of the trademark gentle humour, charming observations, quirky asides and laugh out loud moments.
I'm a convert to Bryson and so pleased that I discovered this wonderful writer. It started after I read 'Shakespeare My B*tt!' by the UK based author John Donoghue who was described in a review as 'Bill Bryson with a bayonet' (see his work at www.marsupialelvis.com).....curiosity got the better of me and I decided to try the 'real thing'. What a discovery!
As a result I now have the full library of Bryson books and love each one. And this one is just as funny as all those that came before. He manages to capture some of all our childhoods in his writing.If you like Bryson, you'll love this. Vintage Bryson

A wonderful memoir for baby boomers
I always enjoy Bill Bryson's travel books (NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND, A WALK IN THE WOODS) and his books on language (THE MOTHER TONGUE).

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID is a memoir, and since Bryson and I grew up in the same decades, I found a lot to like in this book. His writing is always funniest when it's personal and self-deprecating, and his stories of himself as a child are vastly entertaining.

But this book is more than memoir or a string of funny stories about his childhood. Bryson captures the time and place -- 50's small-town America -- and serves those "simpler times" up with affection. In those pre-minivan days a bicycle was a kid's ticket to ride; the movies were a gateway to the world; and a costume, whether the Thunderbolt Kid or Annie Oakley (am I saying too much?), was the passport to bravery and adventure.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE THUNDERBOLT KID, and probably would have enjoyed it no matter which decades were mine. Maybe it's a book of particular interest to the first wave of Baby Boomers, but the humor and whimsy of its presentation are wonderful counterpoint to its well-researched social context.

You're bound to laugh out loud at this book. If you like laughing out loud, then by all means read THE THUNDERBOLT KID.

High school freshmen in 2006 or 1956, you'll love this!
I've read Bill Bryson before and usually I'm left wanting after a couple of chapters. Not this time! I was laughing so much my jaded 14-year-old stopped reading Stephen King, and actually took the book out of my hands. She laughed too, because she has an 8-year-old brother. I don't usually buy books for friends and family at the holidays -- tastes are too subjective -- but this one I probably will.

One warning: it is a TV-14 book, with an occasional f-bomb and some graphic descriptions of body parts (as told from a boy's perspective) so, although I recommend it, keep in mind that fundamentalist relatives and 10-year-olds are not the intended audience.

Both informative and entertaining
I have read two other books by Bryson and enjoyed them but wasn't sure I'd like this, probably because it was about being a child in the fifties (my childhood experiences were in the seventies) in Iowa America (I'm in Yorkshire, England) however I shouldn't have doubted his talent for relating life experiences to just about everyone.

I laughed out loud at his father's out of character taking the family to Disneyland as well as the motley crew of childhood relatives and friends he describes.
He could actually be describing any of our childhoods, from teenage crushes, the hierarchy of a gang of mates, Saturday morning cinema, comics and school. Which ever western country you grew up in you no doubt learnt to read from a book where 'Father' always wore a suit and 'Mother' a frilly apron and everyone said "look" at the beginning of each sentence!!

As well as being informative about 1950's America, it's a really entertaining read for those who like to look back happily on their childhood.
... Read more

Editorial Review

"The Lost Boy" is the harrowing but ultimately uplifting true story of a boy's journey through the foster-care system in search of a family to love. This is Dave Pelzer's long-awaited sequel to "A Child Called "It". The Lost Boy" is Pelzer's story--a moving sequel and inspirational read for all. ... Read more

Reviews

Heart-wrenching, amazing and uplifting true stroy., May 12, 2000
The Lost Boy is an absolutely amazing true story of Dave Pelzer, which chronicles his years from 12 to 18 years of age as a foster child. This is book two of three and now I must go and read the other two books in the trilogy. I could not put this book down. I would recommend this book to everyone.

This will book will make you cry, it will make you mad, and at the end, you will be cheering and crying tears of joy for Dave. This book will break your heart and if you are a parent, you will be outraged at the abuse. Sadly, child abuse is so prevalent, and there are so many cunning, and devious parents out there, that some children do not get out and the abuse is "allowed" to go on and on or the child is killed.

Dave's strength, determination, and unbreakable spirit shine throughout this book. How he survived the brutality can only be called a miracle. It breaks my heart to read of such incredible abuse and one does have to thank the foster parents, social works and teachers in this child's life. Dave says, "It takes a community to save a child", and I wholeheartedly agree.

Dave takes you through his five different foster families during his adolescent years and his desperate determination to find the love of a family and a "home" propels him by not abandoning hope.

Dave's inner strength, courage, and fortitude are a shining inspiration to us all. God bless you Dave and the work that you are doing to help other children. Thank you for opening our eyes and sharing "your" story.

Will there ever be Justice for abuse?, March 24, 2000
This book is a sequel to the book, "A Child Called It." Like the first book, this one is also a very emotional experience for the reader. I experienced feelings of anger, sadness, and frustration. The first chapter reveals how the first book ended with the boy being rescued from his abusive mother. The proceeding chapters go in depth of the child's life in foster care and institutions, always in search of a loving family to care for him. Whats frustrating about this particular book, and like the first, is that it never reveals any consequences the abusive mother recieved. In fact, in this sequel, she still tries to get to him and continues to manipulate the system. What's appalling is she is allowed to do this with little or no consequences. I feel this book should be read by everyone in order to make anyone who can make a difference in our society aware of this issue. It's my hope that in the last sequel, it reveals some of the consequences the abuser recieves to put closure to this issue. Thats why, I feel, the reader feels so frustrated and helpless. These are excellent books by Dave Pelzer. I highly recommend them.

From a Foster Mother's Heart..., June 9, 2000
Thank you, Mr. Pelzer, for writing your heart in this book. As a foster mother of three little ones, 5, 5, and 3, my heart always breaks for what they have seen and what I do not know yet that they have seen or experienced. You have let the world know that all foster parents are not monsters--and in fact, we try very hard to make our homes better and safer than some biological families' homes. The reason people become foster parents varies as widely as the reason children go into foster care. Each child is special and each child deserves the best care and the sweetest love they can receive. I could not put your book down after I bought it at the airport. My heart broke for your loss and your continued struggle to understand why your mother did those horrific things to you and your family. One could quickly blame the alchohol, but my heart ached as you continually tried to uncover what it was you could have done to make things turn out differently. Sometimes, we do not find the answers in this lifetime---your courage and honesty are appreciated. I highly recommend this book to any parent or anyone who is curious about "the system." My hat is off to you, Mr. Pelzer.

Amazing, March 22, 2000
After reading A Child Called It, I of course, had to read Lost Boy. Though, I was very happy to see David got away from his mother, I was more compelled to learn that the school system got involved, finally! Being in foster care itself, can't be a easy task, i.e. living out of a paper sack with the only prized possessions he ever owned, but not knowing from moment to moment if you are going to be pulled out of that home. This book is one of those books that you just can't put down, you have to turn the page to see how David pulls through each situation. Don't pick up this book if you don't have a few hours to spend starting and finishing this book. It is a MUST read! I have purchased A Man Named Dave and have begun to read it. This series is compelling!

Intriquing & Inspiring, May 13, 2002
After reading Dave Pelzer's "A Child Called It," it really compelled me to read "The Lost Boy." Pelzer explains the life of a foster child (himself) better than anyone else could. I do recommend you read "It" before reading this book in order to better understand the whole story line. It was a very captivating book, which made it hard to put down. "The Lost Boy" is a very inspiring, true story of a young boy's numerous replacement foster-families that he traveled through, until he found the right one who loved him more than he thought ever possible. Just when you thought nothing else could be worse in his life, things go even more downhill for this unfortunate, young boy. Nothing seems to fall in its proper place for David.

I think the reason why I was so hooked on this book was because it was a continuation from Pelzer's first book that I enjoyed so much. It was moving learning and reading about Dave Pelzer's life and what actually does happen to foster children when everything doesn't work. I never knew that it was rare for a child to stay in a foster home for long periods of time, but it was made clear in this book. It touched my heart in so many ways and made me especially sympathetic for those many children who have had rough lives because of their horrendous families.

Provides insight into the needs of rescued victims of abuse, May 12, 1999
This book and the previous A CHILD CALLED IT provide an engrossing view of child abuse and the needs of those rescued from its grip. It is most helpful precisely because it comes from the point of view of the child as he is living it rather than from well-meaning experts who look from the outside in. As the guardian of a formerly abused youngster, I was particularly interested in the emotional stages that David went through after his rescue. His skill in expressing his own frustratation with himself and his reactions to those who wanted to help him is extraordinary. His story has helped me to help my own "foster" son and to better understand what he has gone through even though he himself cannot yet explain much of his behavior. I hope he will someday feel comfortable about reading THE LOST BOY and perhaps telling his own story after the wounds of his experience have become less raw. I anxiously await the third book in the series, for I wonder how the final healing has taken place for Mr. Pelzer. What has happened to his parents; did he ever learn why his mother behaved as she did? How has he learned to parent his own child in the absence of a proper example in his childhood? I think the answers to these questions might show the way for many like him who are even now struggling not to survive, or to find a family, but to heal.

The Lost Boy, December 15, 2000
After reading A Child Called IT, I could not help but read the lost boy. And now after reading the lost boy I can't wait to read A man called Dave. The lost boy was about a boy who went through the worst childhood anyone could ever image, or even wish upon anyone else to go through. This book only covers from ages 12-18, which is a lot more pleasant that what he went through the rest of the years. After his school realized what had been happening to David, they called the police and social services and was taken away from his mother. When his mother discovered that David had revealed the family secret she was ferious. But she couldn't do anything to him, they went to court and he was warded to the state until the age of 18, so his mother couldn't get to him. Over the next five years David was stiched from foster home to foster home. A few of the places he became comfortable in but that for one reason or another was taken away. Over the years his mother had said that he was a bad child and that no one could love him. She had said it so much that he belived it. At first he would would have nightmares about her coming to take him back to "the house." His nother had a certain power over him, that was hard for him to get away from. His mother got visitation rights, so she would go and visit him at the home where he was staying, but most of the time she wouldn't even talk to him. She would talk to his foster parent and tell them to be careful because he would try to be sneaky, and that he was such a bad child when he lived with her. When she visited him she never called him by his name, instead, she would call him "The Boy." Around age 17 or 18, David hadn't talked to his father in so long that he decides to go and find him. David ends up finding him, but when he does he is not the man he remembers. He is a drunk and he has no love left in his eyes. His eyes were dark and lost. Reading this book made me realize how strong David was. He had the worst childhood that anyone could ever imagine, and he is still alive and kept his faith through it all.

Foster Mom's Perspective, April 14, 2000
I am a 31 yr old single foster mother to a 4 yr old boy. By chance I saw "The Lost Boy" in a grocery store & bought it immediately. The insight into the mind of an abused child was invaluable to me. Since then I have purchased and read his other 2 books. The excerpts in the back of the book from the adults involved in Dave's life were especially helpful to me. When things get tough, I go back & re-read them to remind myself that somehow I am impacting my child. I hope that no matter what happens in my little guy's life, that he will remember me in a positive light. These books are painful to read, but shows how it IS possible to beat the odds. I hope that everyone who reads the series becomes more involved in some way, politically, financially or otherwise to make a difference. God bless you Dave.

The Lost Boy, December 21, 1999
This is a very interesting, heartfelt book. David Pelzer is an amazing human being and his story has made me really understand just what goes through these childrens minds. My sister is a foster mother in Iowa and has adopted 6 of her foster children, all of them abused. I see so much of each and evey one of them in Davids story. Thank you David as hard as it was for you, for letting us in and giving us the chance to understand, if any good came from this let it be known you opened alot of eyes and hearts. I could not put this book down, it made me cry, it taught me, it made proud of this young mans effort to continue. David Pelzer you are a very talented young man and I only wish you the best and happiness in your life.

Good but not the first, September 29, 2002
a Ken Grant of Massachusetts and New Hampshire is said to have wrote the first such book of this kind on the market but to have been harassed and blackballed in preventing its publication,"The Wanderer". Grant once lived at the New England Home in Boston.

Grant wrote of the experiences and people Bad and Good that he encountered while an abandoned,abused,handicapped child in state child care for over 15 years, representing less than 1% of the children who end up in state-sponsored care.

Grant later went on to receive a college degree and even to lecture grad students on issues facing such children.

This book serves a valuable purpose in forwarding little known issues for general public review and consumption. ... Read more

Editorial Review

"Have mercy on me, Lord, I am Cuban." In 1962, Carlos Eire was one of 14,000 children airlifted out of Cuba -- exiled from his family, his country, and his own childhood by the revolution. The memories of Carlos's life in Havana, cut short when he was just eleven years old, are at the heart of this stunning, evocative, and unforgettable memoir.

Waiting for Snow in Havana is both an exorcism and an ode to a paradise lost. For the Cuba of Carlos's youth -- with its lizards and turquoise seas and sun-drenched siestas -- becomes an island of condemnation once a cigar-smoking guerrilla named Fidel Castro ousts President Batista on January 1, 1959. Suddenly the music in the streets sounds like gunfire. Christmas is made illegal, political dissent leads to imprisonment, and too many of Carlos's friends are leaving Cuba for a place as far away and unthinkable as the United States. Carlos will end up there, too, and fulfill his mother's dreams by becoming a modern American man -- even if his soul remains in the country he left behind.

Narrated with the urgency of a confession, Waiting for Snow in Havana is a eulogy for a native land and a loving testament to the collective spirit of Cubans everywhere. ... Read more

Reviews

A Burned, Thick Beauty, July 26, 2004
This book may very well be the most moving book that I will end up reading this year. Some of that no doubt has to do with learning a bit about my own Cuban heritage (mi abuela es de Cuba), but it also has to do with reading an author of uncommon grace and depth, who lacks neither humor nor bitterness in remembering and longing for his abruptly ended childhood. You can't help but to get misty eyed in the midst of your laughter; Eire lets the reader feel in ways that most authors can, at their best, only dream of.

It is rare that an author can combine multiple streams of thought into a [raging] river that contains both depth and complexity, but Eire appears to be one such author, combining history, memoir, theology and philosophy into a thick narrative about his childhood exile from Cuba. He is endowed with a tremendous sense of the poetic; he writes sensuously of Cuban nights before the Revolution, the perplexities of childhood (some experience really are universal) and the uneasiness of Cuba after Castro seized power.

Eire is not without bitterness, either, as he reflects upon his exile and the difficulties it caused his family. He never saw his father again after he left Cuba, but his father also chose to not come over to the US with his mother; the mockery and sarcasm that Eire directs towards his father is understandable given the relational distance that his father placed within the relationship.

The real highlight of the book, however, is Eire's ability to evoke emotion from the reader as he recalls his childhood. Reading his memories of Roman Catholic masses and schools is absolutely side splitting; the mixture of memory and imagination is written in a stream-of-consciousness style that brings to light the subjective reality of various events. In reading of the (privileged) state of Eire's life before Castro, the anger that he feels due to Castro makes that much more sense.

This is a book well worth reading. The voice of exile that is Eire's is a beautiful one that runs deeper than the surface: it has its scars and memories, its hopes and prayers. I highly recommend it.

Memories, memories!, January 9, 2005
We hear the figure of six million dead Jews in the Hollocaust and we can't grasp it. We read Ann Frank and we weep. Sometimes tragedies that overwhelm us in macroeconomic terms, become reality when viewed through the eyes of one individual. Carlos Eire has been able to do this.

Like Mr. Eire I grew up in Havana in the 50's. I too was a Pedro Pan in the 60's. I too came without a penny and have been able to make my way in this wonderful new land. Each of his "facts" and memories correspond to my facts and memories of the same period. The book is as true to life as it can be for me and a great refresher for others who may have lived through similar times. For those not familiar with this period, the careful details he enumerates bring to life a society that has been gone for half a century. I commend the author on this great work.

Magical evocation of innocence lost, February 13, 2004
Carlos Eire has created a memorable record of his childhood in Havana writng beautifully of his lovely surroundings populated by colorful characters, many of them related to him. The shadow of impending doom in the shape of Fidel's revolution slowly but relentlessly advances over this idylic scene and ultimately results in his secure world and his family being torn apart.
This book brilliantly combines a distinctly Cuban coming of age tale with a view into Cuba at the time of the revolution as experienced through the eyes of a comfortable middle class child.
Eire's writing is so evocative of the feelings he associates with the various episodes in his early life that the reader is drawn into his experience in a very visceral way.
I thought this book was beautifully written and at times emotionally wrenching. A wonderful eye-opening read . Highest reccomendation.

Miserere mei, Domine, Cubanus sum., November 24, 2003
Carlos Eire's ironic yet desperately needful alteration of St. Jerome's prayer:

" Have mercy on me, Lord, I am a Cuban. "

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Hundreds of books have been written about the horrors inflicted on the Cuban people by Castro, or to call him by the official title he bestowed upon himself, in a characteristic moment of humility, " The Maximum Leader. "

Some have been written by survivors of Casro's prison camps, or by other Cubans, who nowdays are as bewildered as they are angered when some Hollywood Celeb--or some other famous twit-- makes a trip to Havana to shoot the breeze with Fidel. (Pol Pot and Nero being unavailable) And come back singing his praises.

For Carlos Eire, his reawakening came in the aftermath of the Elian Gonzales affair. Carlos knew the kid was being sent back to hell by a sleazy administration under the eyes of a largely uncaring American public.

Eire had done well for himself. A happily married family man and a respected professor at Yale, he thought he had put his Cuban past behind him, that it was no longer was capable of hurting him.

He was wrong. As he admitted on T.V., He became wildly frantic and was unable to know a moment's peace until he finished writing his story, the confessions of a boy growing up in Havana at the time of Castro's takeover.

For a hurriedly written memoir, this is a magnificent masterpiece. More poignant than the graphic documentations of tortured prisoners.

Eire is truly an amazing writer. He weaves vivid imagery and dark humor into a fast paced, fascinating tale. As he states in his preamble: " This is not a work of fiction. But the author would like it to be. "

This is a Greek tragedy set in the Caribbean. Fate may not be personified, but it's there, whether one calls it luck or any other name. Moderns who are into positive thinking may not relate to that aspect of it; Sophocles would have no problem.

But for anyone who appreciates great writing, this work leaves one stunned by its brilliance and its honesty.

A Top Ten book, March 1, 2004
This is one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a long time. I can't remember the last time I gave 5 stars. Using tales of his childhood in pre-Castro Cuba, full of wonderful characters and magical places, he tells of his awakening to the changes caused by a revolution that he can not control.

What makes this book so amazing is Mr. Eire's use of the English language - both in his descriptions of his beloved country and his use of various writing styles. In one particular chapter, the writing style speaks louder about the emotion of an event than the words themselves. It is brilliant.

Mr. Eire uses childhood events to describe emotion in a way not seen often in today's writing. How he can use a boy's tyrannical (and deadly) pranks with lizards to describe the gut-wrenching anger over losing his parents and his whole world is beyond me - but it works magnificently!

This is a beautiful portrait of a boy's life disrupted and the courage of a man that pieces it back together again. Out of that pain comes an intimate portrait of a man's attempt to make sense of it all.

Read it - then pass it on or buy the book for everyone you know!

Waiting for Snow in Havana-Well Worth the Wait, March 10, 2003
At long last, a book that tells the truth about how the Cuban Revolution affected Children whose only crime was being born in Cuba in the 1950's! We meet Carlos and his family on January 1st 1959. Carlos is 8 years old and is world is going to change dramatically and forever. Batista has fled and Castro is marching down the main street in Havana atop a Sherman tank. Within three years, life will totally change for Carlos and his older brother Tony. Eventually they will join the more than 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban children leaving for the USA towards and unknown future. The adventures continue...and seen through the eyes of Carlos it takes on an almost magical quality. Wherever Carlos Eire takes us on this Magical Mystery tour there in never a dull moment...whether ducking whizzing bullets or picking flowers for his mother in the park with his friends, or playing in the backyard of a neighbor who has a live chimp as a pet-one is totally enthralled in this rich narrative. For anyone who enjoys seeing the world through the eyes of a child, sprinkled with the insightful and almost transcendent wisdom of someone who has experienced and survived a cataclysmic shift in personal and cultural identity, Waiting for Snow in Havana was well worth the wait!!

A New Purveyor of Magical Realism, April 15, 2003
Carlos Eire arrives on the literary scene with a tasty eye for the magical, a sense of humor that is ingratiating, an ability to capture the tenor of Cuba at the time of the Revolution, an adult's sense of tragedy as perceived through the trusting eyes of a child. WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA: Confessions of a Cuban Boy is wonderful rollercoaster of a ride that recalls the unimaginable beauty of Cuba before the fall, walks through the tangled streets of a city destroyed by a dictator, and finally looks back (and down) at the Cuba of today from a vantage in the United States.

Eire knows children well, so well that at times his writing is so convincingly that of a wide-eyed child that the reader needs to back up a few pages to realize this is a memoir and not a novel. In the end he has more thoroughly than any other writer given us an insider's view of Cuba in the 50's and 60's that it is possible for us to understand the mountainous changes that Fidel Castro effected on this lovely island. To say more would be to spoil an E-ride in Disneyland. Read this book for the joy of a child's perception, the insight of an expatriate's knowledge, and the philosophy of a man of heart and hope. A fine Debut Novel.

Heartwrenching love letter to a vanished world, January 13, 2006
Carlos Eire was one of the many people whose lives were irrevocably changed when Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959. His memoir, written 40 years after the fact, is almost 400 pages of amazing detail of his life as a boy in Cuba and then some of what happened to him once he entered the United States. You get the idea that these are just a fraction of the memories he carries around with him. (I don't know whether to feel sorry for him, or to be envious; I too was removed from an island I loved as child, in vastly different - and less violent - circumstances, but I fear my memories would barely fill a teacup, while his are as vast as the ocean.)

The writing is vivid, transporting you to a different world, one that does not exist anymore. You can practically see, hear and smell their home, the sea, the firecrackers they exploded with gleeful abandon. It's all so heartwrenching, so hopeful, so sad, so beautiful.

As stated by another reviewer, the voice does vary - from an exuberant youth when talking about playing as a child, to a rueful adult, ashamed of some of his actions as a child. He is still puzzled over what happened and how he ended up where he is, partially thinking he doesn't deserve his life now, partially thinking he deserves more than he got. There's a lot of unspoken "What If?s". What if his cousin had succeeded in killing Castro? What if the Bay of Pigs invasion had been successful? What if his mother hadn't joined them in the US? What if his father had? What if it had never happened at all?

This is not told in a straight, linear fashion, but closer to stream of consciousness, except each chapter seems to have a theme. One chapter is about his first love; one is about his cousin's revolutionary activities; one about church and religion; one about luck. Of course, some of the ideas show up throughout the book - love and longing, religion and god, family and forgiveness (or lack thereof, in some cases) - universal themes that we can all relate to.

A Cuban Pentimento, September 28, 2003
This book ostensibly is a memoir about the author's last few years as a child in Cuba, before being airlifted, without his parents, to the US in 1962 as part of the infamous Operation Pedro (Peter) Pan, and also about his initially very difficult adaptation to life in the US. But as the reader peels back layer after layer of Professor Eire's story, he soon realizes that it is far, far more than a memoir. It is a novel-like tour of both life's mysteries and life's little details as seen through the eyes of a child, in this case made far more poignant because of the author's particular life circumstances. Professor Nieto Eire weaves a special kind of historical/spiritual tapestry, recounting real events through use of natural and religious imagery to give the reader not just a sense for what physically happened to him and his loved ones, but also what happened to him spiritually and intellectually, when Fidel Castro elected in 1959 to imprison the Cuban soul. This book is high (very high) literature indeed, and what I most enjoyed about it is its ability, in the space of any five pages, to evoke from the reader a wide range of emotions; from joy to sadness, from laughter to tears, from dread to relief. Through it all, the reader develops an understanding for the uniquely Cuban experience, and also for how special a person Carlos Eire must be.

A moving chronicle of a childhood lost to a revolution, June 2, 2004
Very beautiful and as lyrical as one can possible get, "Waiting for Snow in Havana" embraces with equal fervor, both the beauty and innocence of childhood with its laughter, pranks and endless fascinations with lizards and the heartbreaking tragedy and the ensuing political upheaval that would eventually destroy it all. I'll admit that Mr. Eire is occasionally prone to fits of self-indulgence, rambling endlessly about trivialities and the collaboration of a sympathetic editor didn't help matters, but this is ultimately a gorgeous and haunting memoir that should be read by anyone interested in the Diaspora, Cuban or otherwise. The humorous segments are laugh out loud funny (especially if you, like me, are Cuban and can relate to the quirkiness that is inherent to the Cuban temperament) and the sorrowful ones were enough to bring tears to my eyes. The pages are seemingly perfumed with a palpable sense of longing yet eternal optimism lends its unmistakable scent to the heady brew. To those directly affected by the Cuban revolution, Operation Pedro Pan and/or endless exile, this beautifully rendered chronicle will bring back many wonderful, if equally painful memories and to those fortunate enough to have been spared those sorrows, it is my fervent hope that it will serve as insight into the beauty and warmth of the Cuban people and our much cherished culture. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Disturbingly hilarious, January 20, 2003
I found myself laughing hysterically at this book while simultaneously shaking my head in horror. It's the story of Burrough's life from the age of roughly 13 to 16. Burrough's lived a middle-classed life, but the people around him were gradually losing it. His mother began to have "psychotic breaks" (although it sounds like she may have had bipolar disorder) and hooked up with a bizarre psychiatrist - Dr. Finch. Soon, every aspect of their lives are touched by Dr. Finch and his equally bizarre family. At times, the events are horrifying, such as Burrough's molestation by Dr. Finch's adopted son. Remarkably, Burrough's manages to find the humor even in these situations. People are likely to compare Burrough's to another gay humorist, David Sedaris; however, Burrough's stories are far darker than those of Sedaris, although both of them write great funny stories. This book was a tremendously quick read, and I laughed out loud more than any recent book I've read. Highly recommended on that basis, but some readers are likely to be highly offended by some of the content.

Could anyone's life BE any stranger!!!, June 3, 2004
I saw the cover and chuckled, thinking, aw, this will be a cute story. My God, how wrong was I? Augusten Burroughs writes a memoir of his young years growing up in not only one, but two totally disfunctional households. His parents despise each other and you begin to wonder on which page one might kill the other.
Mom is totally dependent on her psychiatrist, spending endless hours with him. He is portrayed as a Santa Claus-type person...
a right jolly old elf. When Augusten is left to stay with psychiatrist and family, we are plunged into a household that goes WAY beyond bizarre! You really have to read it to believe it. I honestly looked at his picture on the back cover at least
20 times while reading the book wondering how this guy could look so normal after what he had been through!
This is one mind-blowing read. I was so intrigued by his story that I went on NPR's web-site to listen to his interviews.
Gosh, he sounds so grounded...and yet how could it be?

Don't expect to be sent into fits of laughter., October 26, 2006
Here's the thing about memoirs. Sometimes you read them and you catch yourself saying, "Well, why would the author have the character do that?" Or, "What was the point of the protagonist doing this?" Then you remember it's a memoir--based on real life--and that real life doesn't always conform to the rules of fiction writing.

So, while I'd like to complain about the meaninglessness of having the main character form a really close bond with Natalie, only to throw it away in three pages because of an arguably tough situation right at the end, I can't. Because, as far as I know, the author is simply telling us what happened, and it doesn't necessarily have to have any meaning.

I think I went into this book expecting "The Royal Tennenbaums." This is because the back of the book (which, to my high annoyance, has no synopsis) has multiple quotes from reviewers calling the book "hilarious" or "riotously funny" or "hysterical." That, plus the previews of the movie, make it seem as though the story is going to be fun, quirky ... uhhh ... funny. Maybe a little dark, as Royal was, but not dreadful.

Here are things I simply cannot find funny:

Hateful, selfish parents
Attempted murder of one spouse on the other
Verbal abuse
Parents who disown their children
Child molestation
Selling children

And, uh, that's pretty much what this whole book is about. Its very core is about a mother who goes bananas and just says hateful things to her son, before completely abandoning him. The father isn't present at all. The child is left to fend for himself at a psycho psychiatrists house, along with other kids, from the age of 12 or 13, depending on when you judge the true neglect begins. No one at his school, none of the neighbors, NO ONE ever saw these kids and thought, "Gee, maybe something should be done for these kids?"

I don't find that funny, I find it incredibly sad.

And despite the protagonist's "maturity," it is RAPE when a 33-year-old man has sex with a 13-year-old. Just like it's RAPE when a 40-year-old ADOPTS an 11-year-old so he can have sex with her undeterred.

I know why people find this book charming. The author does have a skill for finding the humor in some awful situations. Some of the dialogue is downright witty. And, any reader can look at the book and say, "Well, his childhood couldn't have been all that bad. I mean, look how successful he's turned out to be."

Sure, true. And honestly, I might not have minded this book so much had someone ever said to me, "It's very disturbing and sad, but the author has a gift for finding some light in the darkness" I might have gone into reading the book with the right mindest and really liked it. But I was expecting funny and what I read seemed to me anything but.

Disturbingly honest--and disturbingly funny, March 16, 2003
When he was a teenager in Massachusetts during the 1970s, Augusten Burroughs kept daily journals recording everything that happened to him. "Running with Scissors" is a result of those journals, but it's unlikely that anyone who suffered experiences like his would need a journal to recall them. Instead, his diaries both gave him the therapeutic outlet he needed while growing up and supplied this book with the rich detail that makes it, at times, so unbelievable.

Burrough's mother was a struggling poet who wanted to be like Anne Sexton, and, lacking any talent, she instead suffered Sexton's psychotic episodes. The father, unable to deal with his wife's instability, drank himself out of the relationship. Eventually, Burroughs is abandoned by his family and adopted by his mother's psychiatrist, a certifiable lunatic who dispenses drugs and sex far more diligently than sound advice and who believes discipline is an evil to be avoided at all costs. To complicate an already disastrous situation, other members of this adopted family include several deeply disturbed individuals, including a pedophile who finds a ready victim in the 14-year-old Burroughs.

I read this book two months ago, and, while I found it simultaneously appalling and enjoyable, I didn't know what to make of it. Since then, I've read several press reports that address some of the rumors generated by this book's publication. No, none of the people described in this book have sued (or threatened to sue) the author for libel. True, no child with the name "Augusten Burroughs" ever lived anywhere near Northampton--because Burroughs legally changed his name when he was 18. In sum, I've read nothing to indicate that Burroughs is making it all up.

Yet there are two criticisms of the book I don't understand. Unfortunately for Burroughs, the back cover includes a single blurb comparing him to David Sedaris, and many readers, unable to think for themselves, contrast the two authors and find Burroughs lacking. Other than being gay and funny (and it's insulting that that is all it takes for people to link the two authors), Burroughs and Sedaris have nothing in common--each has his own writing style and a unique sense of humor. It would be just as pertinent to compare him to Ru Paul.

The second criticism is that Burroughs reproduces conversations verbatim from thirty years ago. Putting aside the fact that he was able to consult diaries to refresh his memory, this technique is not uncommon. J. R. Ackerley, Annie Dillard, and Philip Roth--to name just three I've read recently--all use the same conceit in their classic memoirs. Burroughs is not as good as these three writers--his prose is a bit austere, and the book teeters on the edge of John Waters-inspired camp. Nevertheless, criticism of "recreated" dialogue seems gratuitous: any detail in any autobiography can be censured on the same grounds. Burroughs quite successfully recreates for the reader certain episodes of his life--episodes no human being would have been able to forget--and the exact wording of recalled dialogue matters as much as the exact color of the polyester shirt he was wearing at the time.

Regardless of its faults (both real and alleged), the book is vivid proof that Burroughs emerged from his past with a profound sense of dignity. In a recent interview, he said of the older man who sexually abused him: "Mostly I still feel an incredible rage that he would do that to a young person, but just as much as I feel that rage I feel sorry for him, because he was someone who was mentally ill and had the most atrocious therapist possible." This quote alone displays his uncanny ability to step back and reflect detachedly on his experiences and to be both empathetic and sympathetic even towards those who deserve his venom. Some readers will be disturbed by Burroughs's ability to laugh (and make us laugh) at what happened to him. Yet the book probably would have unbearable otherwise--and, if it weren't for his sense of humor, it's unlikely the author would be around to tell us his story at all.

Funny Moments In a Childhood Of Pathos, December 24, 2002
The only beef I had with what I considered to be well written book was that I spent much of the time reading it utterly horrified at what this guy went through in his childhhod. Falling under the category of truth is stranger than fiction, Augusten Burroughs is lucky to have any sense of humor at all in regards to his past. A near psychotic Mother, a non existant emotionally detached Father, and a Doctor that gives a hideous name to psychiatry, are just a fraction of his distorted reality. I wanted to love it and again only didn't because I found myself so depressed at the circumstances. From reading some other reviews, I guess many people have compared him to David Sedaris, and that seems inevitable given they both had some wacky incidents in their lives. I just never felt that Sedaris' were as potentially dangerous and destructive as the world Burroughs presents.

Not funny, disturbing and upsetting, February 4, 2007
We have all heard the bad rap some writers have gotten over what constitutes a memoir. Did it really happen? Have you fabricated parts to make it more enticing to the reader? Will Oprah come down hard on you when she finds out you fibbed on the details? While reading "Running With Scissors" I found myself asking these questions over and over again. Could it really be possible there was a man who had his children retrieve his excrement and save it on the family's picnic table, believing they were direct messages from God? The same man who gave his blessing to a "relationship" between his 30 something year old adopted son and 13 year old Augusten, his patient/ward? Could it be possible this man was a psychiatrist and he wasn't arrested for child abuse but eventually just insurance fraud?
If just half of this memoir is true, Augusten Burroughs is lucky to be alive and able to tell his story. Some people who have read this book call it funny or hilarious and I just don't see that. Shocking, disturbing, unbelievable are terms that come to mind but not funny. I suppose it's like laughing at absurdities but I still find the entire story more incredulous than anything. The subject matter of insanity, psychic breaks, pedophilia, and child neglect hardly warrants a chuckle and it chills me to the core that this all might actually have happened. Burroughs tells a frightening story of his turbulent adolescence and he somehow made it out alive but don't make the mistake of thinking you are going to find comedy between these pages. Reading this book was like watching a train wreck, hard to look away but repulsed just the same.

Hard to Believe, March 7, 2007
Augusten's parents have always had problems. His father is an alcoholic and his mother has some sort of mental illness that causes her to have periodic psychotic episodes. As a result of this stress, Augusten spent his early life in obsessive-compulsive behaviors, spending hours polishing jewelry or making sure his hair was absolutely flat on his head. When Augusten's parents decide to divorce, his mother becomes more and more attached to her psychiatrist, an unconventional man who lives with his family and various patients in an old run-down Victorian house. When Augusten's mother needs some time to focus on herself, she sends twelve-year-old Augusten to live with Dr. Finch.

The Finch household is always in chaos. The children are not expected to follow any sorts of rules, and they seem to spend most of their time exploring dangerous or destructive hobbies, such as playing with an electric shock machine or tearing down the ceiling of the kitchen. At first Augusten is horrified, but soon he becomes complacent. He no longer feels like he has to look perfect. He becomes friendly with Dr. Finch's daughter, and he starts to think of the Finch household as his home.

However, despite being able to loosen up, Augusten's life is certainly not ideal. He decides, with Dr. Finch's blessing, to stop going to school in the seventh grade. Much of his time is spent going to movies, smoking marijuana and drinking. He is raped by another of Finch's adopted sons, a man in his thirties with whom Augusten then begins a longtime sexual relationship.

In the end, Augusten survives his teenage years. His life goes on and he looks back on this time in his life with a sense of humor, to the point that he tries to make his memoir into a comedy.

My first problem with this book is that I don't believe it. Everything about this family was so outrageous, it could not possibly have been as bad as Burroughs makes it out to be. He describes the Finch household as being on a street of tidy Victorians inhabited by nice, normal neighbors. Yet not one of them ever complained about the weirdness of the Finch family? Nobody ever called social services about the children living in squalor, not attending school, setting up their living space in the front yard?

I did like the idea that children are resilient enough to have been horribly neglected and abused, as most of the children in this story are, but still turn out okay in the end. Augusten and Natalie, both sexually abused by older men at impressionable ages, were able to pull their lives together. They each had the strength to move on from their childhoods and become productive adults. It's an admirable idea.

However, I found it distasteful that Burroughs would decide to turn the horrifying neglect and abuse of his childhood (if, in fact, any of it is true) into a lighthearted comedy. I suppose after living through such circumstances a person would build up a defense so as not to go crazy, but I can't imagine reading this and chuckling about the silly antics of that child-raping Neil or kooky old Dr. Finch, giving Augusten the drugs and booze he needs to stage a suicide attempt. Are these situations really funny to anyone?

I must have read the wrong "Running with Scissors.", August 5, 2003
Reading this book, which I just finished, brought me a couple of surprises. The first was that, although the author is a competent writer, I could not for the life of me understand the list of accolades this memoir has received by both the elite media and average readers alike. Huh? Is this what's passing for excellence in literature these day? It's perfectly okay, but I approached it with high expectations and felt cheated by the end. It fell short of the real genius of a dazzling comedic writer like David Sedaris (an obvious influence), with his wonderfully detailed, well-structured, finely etched stories and essays. Sedaris doesn't just write humorous one liners--he writes hilarious, heartfelt situations, kooky but real characters, with a brilliant and complicated satirical eye.

Burroughs sometimes ends a paragraph with a tacked-on quip that you might hear on an average TV sitcom, but that's about the extent of the comedy. Actually, this book was more on the lines of a Jerry Springer episode. You may stop to watch while flipping the channels, interested in looking at the freak show, but the majority of the time you don't feel for any of the participants--and you don't laugh at them. You cringe. They are two-dimensional, cartoon-like characters who simply disgust--it's the same with the characters in "Running with Scissors."

Which leads me to the second surprise: nothing in this book was anymore shocking than something you would see on an average daytime talk show. What disgusted me were Mr. Burroughs descriptions of the people in his life and his different environments. What stands out in my mind is crusty masturbated-on blankets, heads flaking with huge dandruff scales, greasy MacDonald's fingers leaving fingerprints on everything, flabby bodies stuffed into sweat stained polyester-uniforms, decaying poultry bones left all over the house, and constant chain smoking in filthy, roach infested rooms. When I closed the book, I felt like I wanted to bathe. There's not a single person in the book to like, to root for. And that, by the way, includes the narrator, who is not a particularly, intelligent, witty or a nice person--at least not during the time frame of this memoir. He starts off being a neat freak obsessed with pop culture celebrities, but turns into a pig almost overnight. For all I know, Mr. Burroughs may have grown up to be a very charming dinner companion. But by the end of this book, you just want the freak show to end so you can switch the channel.

A story with potential, underwritten, October 24, 2005
I wanted to like this book, and don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it on some level. Although some of the scenes are grotesque, they are certainly alive with detail and stick in your brain the way well-written scenes should. However, I feel like Burroughs had a great opportunity to write a truly moving memoir here and he passed it by. The amazing amount of material he had to work with- his insane mother, the intriguing Finch family, his affair with a pedophile- these things could have produced a deep and memorable book. But Burroughs doesn't go that far. I felt as though he skated the surface, anxious to fit in as many gross and weird scenes as possible, without delving into character development or drawing any conclusions from what occurred.

Examples of what I mean: Did anyone feel as though they knew Natalie? We don't even get a clear description of her until the last few chapters, yet she's a main character. Same with Hope, who starts out as the capable and sweet receptionist of the dr. and is later shown as religious and weird- during the cat scene, I actually had to flip to the front of the book and verify that this was the same Finch daughter, because she was acting so different from the original image of her we had been given. Ditto for the dr. and the revelations at the end of the book about him (I won't give it away)- and for Augusten himself. These characters slowly begin to show their colors in the first few chapters, then suddenly they do a bunch of weird stuff and act in ways we don't expect, and then the book is abruptly over, with a dissatisfying epilogue about where these people ended up. We never get to know them on more than a surface level.

This could have been a classic memoir- Burroughs certainly had the material for one. But he crammed an awful lot of events into such a small space that we're left feeling, as one other reviewer said, as though we've just watched an episode of Donahue. We're amused and intrigued but we don't really know these people, or what it all means.

Too Tragic to Be Funny, September 24, 2006
When I first started this book I thought it was going to be funny and maybe full of childhood pain. I had no idea it could degenerate so quickly. This is pathos not pain. If everything in this book is true, then BRAVO to Burroughs for surviving it and being able to write about it with love and gentle humor. Also, if its totatlly true, then where are the officials who should have taken this poor kid away from his mother and locked the Dr. up?

However, I found parts of it too horrific to be consumed by the general audience. There was some stuff in the book I just didn't need to know and I would have enjoyed it much better not knowing. I don't think this makes me a prude, just a little more selective. One doesn't need to dig through the remnants of vomit to know that one has just thrown up.

This is indeed a horrifying memoir and reminds us that some people should not have children. Maybe his childhood made Augusten who he is today, but no one should have to live through that kind of tragedy because everyone doesn't make it through something this horrific quite as unscathed as Burroughs.

... Read more

Editorial Review

A New York Times Notable Book
A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year”
A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love. ... Read more

Reviews

Heartwarming insight. As rich in art as it is in history., March 8, 2005
I read Persepolis tonight.

I mean the whole thing. I started it after dinner, and just finished it at the 153rd page. For those of you who've read, or should I say "experienced" this work, that won't come as a surprise. For those of you who haven't, consider it a high-endorsement. I had other plans for my night...

..I also had my doubts about this work. Despite the rave reviews, I've never even read a comic book. That, coupled with the fact that at first glance, it seemed very...well, childish?

Oh the shame! Marjane Satrapi has created an apologetic convert out of me.

Persepolis is the story of one girls experience during the fall of the Shah of Iran, the ensuing Islamic Revolution (which included Stalin like "purges"), and war with Iraq. Only it's not told in plain text, but rather is a pictured in a comic book style.

A history buff myself, I have an above-average awareness of the historical goings on of that period. However, told in this unorthodox style, with pictures, through the creative and emotional eyes of a child, the "facts" gained a vibrance and color for me like never before. The human side of history had so much more meaning, and seemed to imprint a deeper and easier understanding in my mind than most accounts.

When I was thinking about what was so compelling about this book, I thought of Edward Tufte. He's a famous professor and scientist in the field of displaying information graphically. I went to a seminar by him once. He passionately explained the concept of neural bandwidth, and how most text and plain graphs don't take advantage of the massive processing power of our minds. The pictures in Persepolis, coupled with Marjane's rich historical account seemed to take advantage of that latent neural ability. For me, they compounded and achieved something of an emotional critical mass of understanding that few books have.

So, like I said, I'm a convert. I just ordered her second work "The Story of a Return". Only this time, I'll have a nice bottle of wine, and no plans for the night.

Enjoy,

Christian Hunter
Santa Barbara, California

The Iranian revolution viewed by a little girl: touching!, July 18, 2003
PERSEPOLIS is a graphical autobiography of the author, who experienced the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war as a child in the 1970s and 1980s. It is told in the beatiful black and white graphical language of a comic strip where simple pictures communicate strong feelings, much better than words could.

But PERSEPOLIS is also the story or a whole generation of young Iranians, who left their land in the quest of better conditions during the post-revolutionary era. I belong to this generation myself and I totally identified with the experiences Ms SATRAPI went through- her childhood in post revolutionary Iran, her description of Iranian society at the time, her exile in Austria- also in the volumes 2 & 3 (which already appeared in French).

Though conceived as a comic book, the book has messages which are not childish in nature: the child, through the naiveness of her views, points out to many of the contradictions of Iranian society that adults are unwilling to face.

It is also one of the rare unbiased personal accounts of what happened in Iran at the time of ther evolution and as such, is an interesting document on this period of Iranian history.
(It certainly contains more information on Iran and its people than the junk broadcasted on most TV channels).

Some readers (including reviews posted here) criticize this book for not being a realistic description of Iran. Though I totally disagree with this criticism, the main point is that PERSEPOLIS is NOT a history book nor a sociological study. It is a story, the story of a childhood and the author has never claimed it to be otherwise.

I definitely recommend this book, first to all Iranians who live abroad, especially those who did not grow up in Iran and did not
experience the revolution, and then to all readers interested in getting a human, insider view of what Iranian society was like in the early 1980s.

Outstanding memoir, May 9, 2003
At last this gem reaches us in America, after raking in awards all over Europe. Not only is it a very timely and revealing peek inside daily life in Iran, it's also a very personal, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking slice of one remarkable girl's life. There really is nothing quite like it, it's true. I've given copies of it to all my friends, many of whom never read graphic novels or comic books, but they all agree: this is something special. It's not suitable for kids though, because of its depiction of torture and violence and other mature themes you might expect in a society under the yoke of fundamentalist islamic rule. But for everyone else, I highly recommend PERSEPOLIS.
This is an exceptional childhood memoir, that ranks with Angela's Ashes for its depth and authenticity. This one will be around forever.

An excellent coming-of-age tale in war-torn Iran, September 7, 2004
In "Persepolis," Marjane Satrapi writes a fascinating and moving memoir of her childhood in Iran, a country torn by uprisings, war, and political and cultural upheaval. She has written this graphic autobiography as a testament to her beloved Iran and as a remembrance of those who have suffered, lost their lives, or fled their homeland due to war and oppression. She says that "One can forgive but one should never forget."

The story opens at Satrapi's birth under the Shah's regime, and follows her life through Iran's revolution, conversion to an Islamic regime, and war with Iraq. A precocious single child of progressive activist parents, she is a witness to the complications and contradictions of Iranian daily life, both private and public. She recalls the first day the girls are forced to wear the veil at school. Through a child's innocent eyes, she describes her fears of the imprisonment, torture, and execution of friends, family, and neighbors, as well as of the bombings, oppression, and harassment that have become part of the fabric of her life. In spite of the turmoil, the author is a typical adolescent who takes risks by obtaining forbidden rock star posters, attending parties, wearing jewelry and jeans, and arguing politics with her teachers. Above all else, she is a spunky and lovable child who looks for freedom wherever she can obtain it and manages to triumph over her restrictive surroundings.

The illustrations provide a simple but powerful depiction of the events in the author's life. Many of the drawings have a dream-like quality that accentuates the emotional impact of the joys, sadness, violence, and familial love that Satrapi experiences. This touching story reminds me of Hosseini's "The Kite Runner." I recommend both as excellent coming-of-age stories in tumultuous foreign settings.

Eileen Rieback

Wonderful, alternative memoir, May 30, 2003
Challenged by reading traditional memoirs that only give you a vague sense of what it's like to live in a foreign land? Look no more! Marjane Satrapi's book about growing up during the Iranian revolution is engaging, witty, well drawn and something you'll finish in one sitting. Ms. Satrapi finds the common thread of everyone's childhood (her recollection of wanting to grow up to be a prophet is hilarious) but also expresses her unique voice and identity as the daughter of liberal Iranians whose views ended up being thwarted by the new regime that was ushered in following the 1979 revolution. Even if you don't have an interest in Iranian history/politics, I guarantee you'll love this book!

BRAVO MS. SATRAPI, May 21, 2003
Although my French is not that good, I purchased all three volumes of Persepolis while I was in Paris (I wasn't sure if it had been translated to English) and read them all in one day! This interesting and adorable book pulls you in from the very start and keeps you interested until the end. So much so that you wish that the story of Marji would just keep going. I highly recommend this to all Iranians and non/Iranians alike. Particulary those women who experienced life in Iran and then left for another country at an early age. It's a MUST READ.
Shahrzad Sepanlou

Maus for our generation, May 29, 2003
Being an American woman roughly Marjane's age, I grew up knowing nearly nothing of the conflict in the Middle East, certainly not understanding it. This work fantastically illustrates all that happened in Iran (a lot!) in the late twentieth century, and how a teenage girl came to understand it and form her own opinions. It is extremely well-told and illustrated. I read the book in one setting and anxiously await the next two volumes to be translated into English. For any fan of graphic novels, I highly recommend this one.

'To Kill a Mockingbird' for today's world, August 23, 2004
'Persepolis' is an astonishing retelling of the author's youth during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Gross horrors occur including bombings, murders, arrests and riots but what is so extraordinary about Marjane Satrapi's story is how otherwise it is so ordinary. She experiments with cigarettes, listens to punk music and hangs posters on her walls -- all the trimmings of an American adolescent's life. This gives 'Persepolis' a universal appeal, an accessability that makes the differences all the more shocking. The stark reality that Satrapi and her family live in constant danger is effecting, and it will not leave you when you put the book down. The style Satrapi uses in her drawings clearly sets the tone of her story. There is a childish innocence to the illustrations perfectly suited to the worldview of our narrator, herself a child at the beginning. Her gradual awakening to the ways of the world has all of the truth and optimism that make 'To Kill a Mockingbird' the classic it is today. 'Persepolis' earns its place among stories like that and 'The Catcher in the Rye'. I would highly recommend it to anyone, and can't wait for the sequel.

Excellent read in the vein of Maus and Palestine, June 10, 2003
If you enjoyed Art Spiegelmen's Maus or Joe Sacco's Palestine, you are sure to enjoy Marjane Sartrapi's Persepolis. The story telling is bold first persson, and the drawings are stark and striking in their pure black and white sympathy.

I cannot wait until the sequel is translated into English.

compelling story, November 18, 2004
Satrapi's tale evokes a wide range of emotions from the reader. I was charmed by her excitement to get Western "contraband" smuggled into Iran that featured American popular music. At the same time, the tragic losses that are experienced by the oppressive government in Iran- losses of both individual freedoms and lives of those who dissent- remind one of the gravity of the situation that Satrapi grew up in.

The art is simple and black and white, which for me reinforced the perspective of our youthful heroine. Still, the images were adept at conveying emotion when they needed to; the rare use of large panels made the few that do appear seem very large and powerful.

The highest compliments I can pay "Persepolis" is that I would recommend it to friends who ordinarily do not read graphic novels, and that I could not put it down once I started it. A simple story in the best sense of the world- that anyone can identify with it and enjoy it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Be Inspired by the Stories

In 1922, The Farmer's Wife magazine posed this question to their readers: "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in light of your own experience, have her marry a farmer?" The magazine at that time had 750,000 subscribers, and received over 7,000 letters. The best answers to this question are included in this book, along with the traditional quilt blocks they inspired.

Laurie Aaron Hird provides everything you need to be inspired and create your own sampler quilt:

• 111 six-inch quilt blocks, with construction diagrams for piecing the blocks and template cutting directions
• Complete instruction for making a sampler quilt in any traditional size: lap, twin, queen or king
• CD with easy-to-print, full-sized templates for all 111 blocks, and printable quilt construction diagrams
• 42 letters from the 1922 Farmer?s Wife contest to give you a priceless glimpse into our country?s past

Reviews

No instructions for the CD, September 15, 2009
I received this book yesterday after much anticipation and it is not what I expected. Unlike the Civil War quilt book, the patterns are not diagrammed full size and there are no measurements so it is impossible to make the blocks unless you get the templates from the CD. However, as yet I have not had any luck getting the CD to load. I cannot find any instructions on using the CD anywhere in the book. Also the paper used for the pages is not good quality in my opinion. That being said, this is a beautiful quilt and the letters are wonderful to read. I would still like to make this quilt but unless I can figure out how to load the CD, I will have to redraft every block! If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know.

Added 10-19-09
The CD is fine now thanks to suggestions from many people. It is not a program but just a file of the templates, one per page. Most of the blocks are very easy to redraft and that is what I am doing as I make the blocks. This is really a beautiful quilt and book. I do wish there was a file to print out ALL the templates on a few pages as this would save lots of paper. I also would have prefered the CD to include the full size diagrams of each block. That being said I would still highly recommend this book to any quilter.

Overall Satisfaction, September 18, 2009
Laurie's new book is delightful to look at and, the finished quilt is beautifl even though the fabrics do not reflect the era.

The biggest problem with the book no where does it state the actual size of the template pieces. All 106 templates are one to a page and therefore, you need to waste paper and ink to print these out. Laurie and the publisher should get on board with today's quilter. With effort and patience you could locate these public domain blocks in BlockBase and print from there.

I would hesitate to purchase another one of Lauie's book without seeing it in person.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt, September 21, 2009
I LOVE this book. The stories are charming and I find the templates easy to work with. While maybe not a good choice for a first-time quilter (there are no instructions on how to assemble each and every block) I found it easy to put the blocks together (that I have done to date) based on the layout provided on each page.

I would highly recommend this book! Especially for those who enjoy piecing (hand or machine). This book differs from similar type books in that this is a book that you can piece together each block easily from the samples or with the templates rather than having to foundation piece the blocks to get them to work. This would be typical of the era.

I loved the fact that the quilt was pieced in reproduction fabrics!

Yes, I did find the fact that I could only print one template on a page a bit of a bummer, but that's a fix for further editions. It sure did make it easy to print templates quickly as each template was clearly marked.

Not what it promises, April 18, 2010
The book review says "everything you need to create.....quilt." Well, that's not true. The book itself does not contain any patterns. If you just want to read the stories it's very nice. If you want to quilt--things are lacking. In addition to the book you'll need a computer and lots of paper. For quilters who don't have or use computers, having to have the patterns printed for them at a copy store will add perhaps $l0 to $15 to the cost of the book. Some 100+ pages of patterns. As other reviewers have noted that's excessive. One little pattern piece per page. In addition, I didn't catch in the reviews that there are errors in the book. It's necessary to go to the book's website and find a list of errors and their corrections. I've done a lot of sampler quilts and most of those patterns have written and printed pattern instructions on 8 pages or so. Nice stories--otherwise big disappointment, inconvenient, and added expense to create a quilt.

No dimensions..., August 17, 2010
The quilt itself is absolutely beautiful. The up-close color photos of the individual squares are very helpful in choosing colors and fabrics for the quilt. The frustrating part is that each pattern piece, not the pattern for the entire block, is located on a pdf file on the CD and there are no dimensions. For example, the Attic Windows block is comprised of two of the #2 pdf file, two of the #14 pdf file, one of the #1 file, and two of the #3 file so you have to print seven pages (they recommend not copying the printed pieces because they may be distorted). The Shooting Star block requires multiples of eleven different pattern pieces. There are a total of 106 different pdf files for the pattern pieces so it is is more like 111 jigsaw puzzles than quilt blocks. The book recommends that you print all 106 files and put them in a 3-ring binder. Another suggestion is to copy them onto plastic templates and write the number on each one. Because there are no dimensions, you are forced to print a simple square or rectangle unnecessarily when you could have just measured it on the fabric if you knew what size it was. The value of the book is in the history of the quilt and in the color photos of the block. The instruction (or lack thereof) to recreate the quilt is poor.

Historians only.....maybe?, March 22, 2010
I purchased this book thinking I had a great set of stories and quilt blocks from the past. Over the last few months as I have been attempting to make the blocks from the "templates" included in the book, I am ready to toss the whole thing in the trash. I have been quilting for 38 years, I cannot imagine just starting out and trying to put this together.

The templates are all placed on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, when the template is 1 inch by 1 inch. You must print out the template in order to make the block, but when you do use the template, it doesn't matter. Because the blocks are different sizes, IF they even go together.

I will not purchase another book by this author, nor this publisher, no facts were checked when creating the templates and obviously no blocks were made, which makes me doubt the "facts" as presented otherwise, also.

The editor should have hired someone to at least check the measurements.

This book was a waste of money. It was a great concept with lack of follow-through.

Fantastic book, disapointing patterns, April 10, 2010
I love the idea of this book and am currently creating a Dear Jane quilt. When I saw this book, I thought it would be right up my alley. I was so excited that it came with software----what a deal! Then I received the book/software combination....the software was less than ideal. It's in pdf format and has just one template outline per page. Printing off all the patterns would be about 106 pages then you'd have to figure out which pieces of the 106 go with which blocks and transfer your cutting template. It's disappointing at best.

Luckily somewhere along the way, I learned about EQ and have invested in some of their software, so when I found out that The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt - A Companion CD for EQ6, I ordered that as well. If I'd have known ahead of time, I probably would have just ordered the CD but the book is nice to have, to read up on background stories and visualize the blocks before printing them off. Have fun and order the CD. You can thank me later. =)

Happy Quilting!

no measurements, December 29, 2009
I received this book as a gift. I loved the stories, the pictures of the blocks and finished quilts. I will probably make this in the future;HOWEVER, I have had trouble running the CD, the first time I tried it worked but I did not have time to print each individual template ( could not several be on one page?). When I went to use it tonight, the disc snapped in half inside the disc hold while running. Any way to get a replacement? For future reference, I feel it would have been helpful to have measurements for each pattern piece that could be rotary cut, thus eliminating printing so many templates. Thanks

Shame, November 16, 2009
The book is very interesting. It's a shame the software is such a dud. And there is no excuse for it. I won't buy the sold separate cd program when I paid for one in the book.

A Slice of American Culture, April 23, 2010
The 42 thoughtful letters written by farmers' wives in 26 states, from New Hampshire to California, are interesting and fun to read. These letters were all written in 1922 but the personal, familial and cultural issues are barely different from today's. This is a great bedside or coffee table book because it is just as enjoyable as a sampler, to read one or two letters at a time, as it would be to spend an evening reading them all. Laurie Hird's quilt is beautiful and inspiring and it was a brilliant idea to combine these letters and quilt blocks into one wonderful book. ... Read more

Editorial Review

I tell of a time, a place, and a way of life long gone. For many years I have had the urge to describe that treasure trove, lest it vanish forever. So, partly in response to the basic human instinct to share feelings and experiences, and partly for the sheer joy and excitement of it all, I report on my early life. It was quite a romp.

So begins Mildred Kalish’s story of growing up on her grandparents’ Iowa farm during the depths of the Great Depression. With her father banished from the household for mysterious transgressions, five-year-old Mildred and her family could easily have been overwhelmed by the challenge of simply trying to survive. This, however, is not a tale of suffering.

Kalish counts herself among the lucky of that era. She had caring grandparents who possessed—and valiantly tried to impose—all the pioneer virtues of their forebears, teachers who inspired and befriended her, and a barnyard full of animals ready to be tamed and loved. She and her siblings and their cousins from the farm across the way played as hard as they worked, running barefoot through the fields, as free and wild as they dared.

Filled with recipes and how-tos for everything from catching and skinning a rabbit to preparing homemade skin and hair beautifiers, apple cream pie, and the world’s best head cheese (start by scrubbing the head of the pig until it is pink and clean), Little Heathens portrays a world of hardship and hard work tempered by simple rewards. There was the unsurpassed flavor of tender new dandelion greens harvested as soon as the snow melted; the taste of crystal clear marble-sized balls of honey robbed from a bumblebee nest; the sweet smell from the body of a lamb sleeping on sun-warmed grass; and the magical quality of oat shocking under the light of a full harvest moon.

Little Heathens offers a loving but realistic portrait of a “hearty-handshake Methodist” family that gave its members a remarkable legacy of kinship, kindness, and remembered pleasures. Recounted in a luminous narrative filled with tenderness and humor, Kalish’s memoir of her childhood shows how the right stuff can make even the bleakest of times seem like “quite a romp.”


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Reviews

This book is a winner, July 8, 2007
This is an entrancing memoir of days now long gone, but vivid in the minds of those who lived them. While I lived on an Iowa farm in western Iowa rather than eastern Iowa, and was a boy, and was about six years younger than the author, this book recalled so much of what it was like that reading it was sn unmitigated delight. The author recognizes "the all-too-human tendency to gloss over the bad and glorify, or at least magnify, the good" when recalling one's childhood, but it sure makes greater reading to read of one's appreciated childhood than it does to read of one who looks back thereon in bitterness. Thus this book beats, e.g., Angela's Ashes by a mile in enjoyable reading.

Depression Modern, June 8, 2007
Little Heathens, the memoir of an Iowa farm childhood, is a marvelously vivid encounter with an iconic way of life that has largely gone the way of the elm tree. The author Mildred Kalish, valedictorian of her high school class back in 1940, turns a sharp, remarkably objective eye on those descendents of the pioneers, "more 19th century than 20th," who raised her to live off the land through Iowa's "fierce blizzards" and some of America's worst times.

But this is not Little-House-on-the-Prairie. Yes, Kalish can rustle up the poignant details of honey gathering and head-cheese making. She can tell you how to domesticate raccoons and explain the proper use of beets to draw boils. What's unique here, though, is Kalish's portrait of an austere people whose Puritan tradition frowned on joy, prohibited affection in word or touch, "built character" with an open bible and homilies that dotted their days.

Fortunately, while Kalish grew up hearing that "whistling girls and crowing hens will always come to some bad end," such warnings never dampened the spirits of the "little heathens" -- as her grandmother called the farm's children. Eight decades later she has brought those stern sepia-toned faces back to full color through their words (from "Oh my soul" to "shit from shinola"), their ideals ("better to wear out than rust out"), and their deepest pleasures ("the kinship of souls that is created when everyone gathers in the kitchen to prepare a meal"). Reading Little Heathens, you become part of that lovely kinship for a while.

superb memoir, June 2, 2007
Mildred Armstrong Kalish provides a deep look back to growing up on a farm in Iowa during the Depression. Ms. Kalish's family of seven lived a frugal lifestyle in which three generations resided in the home with the only missing person being her exiled father although why she was not sure. Her cousins lived on nearby farms so the extended family was nearby to help if needed.

The key to this superb discerning memoir is Ms. Kalish avoids acrimony and sugared (except when grandpa bought some) nostalgia to provide a vivid picture of a bygone era in which an extended family was there to raise the children with positive values. Life on the farm during harsh economic conditions was fun to a preadolescent Mildred although some chores were simply work. With black and white pictures to enhance the era and "farm food" recipes that were not microwave, LITTLE HEATHENS is a well written winner providing a powerful look at the 1930s in the Midwest. Ms. Kalish showcases how different life was back then from today when for instance the three Klausner brothers live in Georgia, New Jersey and Texas respectively and outhouses is a Three Stooges' joke.

Harriet Klausner

THE GOOD OLD DAYS remembered, August 26, 2007
I loved every word of this book! The author grew up fresh and innocent and kind and loving in a very difficult, but pure, time in our history. In this too-short book she goes into all aspects of that life -- the fun, the harships, the extended family, the recipes, schooling, holidays, etc. I would really love another book or two by her, fleshing out some of these chapters. I would especially love a cookbook. I loved the short chapters on their animals and pets! I would like more on her school studies and friends. And more old photos.

After reading this book, I fervently wished I could know Mildred Armstrong Kalish. She is obviously a smart and sweet lady, appearing to be very much like my beloved grandmother who was raised in Kansas a few years prior to the time of which this author writes. It is amazing to think what changes she has been through, what changes our country has been through! I hope I don't sound too old when I say that I miss the good ole days, even though I wasn't fortunate enough to have lived through them. I miss the excitement over even the smallest things (birth of an animal, fresh-baked foods) and the simple but important teachings of her ever-present family. I would like more details about the members of her family and herself after she left town and began other adventures -- in the military, teaching, marriage and family, cars, television, etc. HOW this country has changed! Please read this book to re-connect with our roots. It is enlightening and funny and interesting and always educational and entertaining. And everyone today knows how we love our entertainment!

Worth a look for the recipes alone, October 9, 2007
Even though I am a 42-year-old city girl, this book resonated with me. Ms. Kalish writes with gratifying specificity of "the little things that make up a life." You'll wonder how her generation had enough energy to do the endless work it took to survive on a family farm. I'd recommend her story to anyone who is interested in what daily life was like in another era.

But here's what moved me to write this review: Ms. Kalish's recipe for Apple Cream Pie! It is an odd, open-faced creation with big chunks of apples and heavy cream poured on top. I've been baking apple pies from scratch all my life, but people keep telling me this is the best one I have ever made. Don't miss her recipe for pie crust, either. Her vegetable-oil crust is not only healthier and much easier than traditional pie crusts, but addictively delicate and crisp. When she tells you, in her intro to the recipe, that you'll never bother making any other type of crust again, she's not lying. I intend to try all the other recipes in this book. How generous of Ms. Kalish to share her time-tested gems with the world.

Memoirs from the Great Depression Era, August 27, 2007
Mildred Armstrong Kalish is a retired English Professor who has much wisdom to offer in "Little Heathens". She wrote this book because she deemed it important to share, with the reading public, the great memories and the lifelong lessons she learned growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression.

For someone like me, the information I have about the depression era of the 1930's is comprised of facts from history books and periodicals, along with personal accounts from older family members and others who are quick to share what life was like during these times of economic uncertainty. The information offered by grandparents and some of my older aunts and uncles reflects a time that was difficult, but also a time that people came together as a family and took care of each other. When I heard about this book, I was curious about its contents. Would it be similar to the tales often told by older individuals who survived this bleak period in American history? Or, would it offer a fresh take on the situation and present a different overall assessment of this troublesome era?

I fully expected this book to offer the typical gloomy account of the depression era 1930's but I am happy to report that the author didn't write the book in this manner. She doesn't speak in blissful, optimistic terms about the Great Depression and her life was by no means without its share of tough times. But Kalish had a different overall experience. Her family was tightly knit and completely self- sufficient. No one worried too much about unemployment or looking for ways to earn a living. The farm took care of everything necessary for survival and even though the work was physically demanding and the days were long, there was never any serious worry about having enough food to eat or a warm bed to sleep in at night. Everything was taken care of, and each family member had specific responsibilities for maintaining the household.

This book offers many different lessons about life and chief among them is the recurring theme about self- sufficiency. Most of us live a very different lifestyle from the one described in this book and we would be completely helpless if forced to survive without electricity, grocery stores, computers, cell phones, and most other modern- day conveniences. Kalish describes over and over again in this book her experiences on the farm and how she and her family learned to live with what they had. Not only did she and her siblings know the basics of growing food, making clothing, etc., they also learned different cures for common illnesses and unique and creative ways to have fun.

What I enjoy best about this book is the author's sense of optimism and pride. She doesn't speak of the Great Depression as a time of economic difficulties and strife, but rather as a time when she and her extended family worked as a cohesive team: an organized unit fully trained and ready to tackle any obstacle that stood in the way of survival. Kalish speaks with fondness when she describes one of her aunt's influences when it came to cooking or the fascinating experience of milking a cow. She describes her life as challenging, but also as entertaining and full of learning experiences.

Overall, "Little Heathens" is an optimistic, honest, "feel- good" type of book that will appeal mainly to those who grew up during the Great Depression and who can relate directly to its many words of infinite wisdom. For the rest of us, this book is still enjoyable and valuable for the many life lessons contained within. Mildred Armstrong Kalish learned to be a survivor, and these instincts certainly were responsible for her future success as an educator. She and her various family members have many things to be grateful for and chief among them was the strong family bonds and the spirit of togetherness that made everything possible. It makes for a satisfying read and a refreshing change from the stories of gloom and doom so commonly associated with this era in American history.

Iowa Life We Miss Sooo Much!, July 12, 2007
If you have never been on a farm and wonder what life was like when we had no videogames, cell phones, etc., you can do no better than to read this book. Having grown up on a farm in north central Iowa, I can tell you that this story is absolutely true and many of us miss it terribly! Iowans have very strong commitments, to life, to education, to religion, and to a life of independence. Few Americans can claim to living a life that is full. We are all missing something. In this book, you find real people living full, rich lives and they are much the better for it. Read this book and you will understand America much better!

An Interesting look back at Yesterday. . ., August 20, 2007
I delved into this book with great anticipation. The author is only a few years younger than my mother and the area she writes about in rural Iowa is just 50 miles east of where my grandfather was born. It brought back a lot of memories for me as I am sure it will for many other readers.

There were many things to like in this book that combines anecdotes from the 1930s with recipes and how to do things the old way. I enjoyed the anecdotes and would have enjoyed the book if it had been sprinkled with less of the recipes and more of the stories from the 1930s--stories which ranged from poignant to laugh-out-loud funny. Her stories range from such events as box socials (and giving a complete explanation of what one is for those who may not know) to how to gather honey from bees (and what happens if you do it the wrong way). She tells of how hard work it was it was back in the day, but does recall there was time for a bit of leisure as well.

At once a memoir, a how-to book, and a cookbook, Kalish tells her story with enthusiasm but with a bit of pompousness that was a bit unnecessary. She acts as if she was the only person ever to know how to do some of these things described and that her way was the only way. Heck, I am 25 years younger than she is and I can remember doing many of the same things at my grandparents' farm in North Dakota two decades later, and even do some of these same things today. Although the subtitle mentions "hard times" it is clear that due to help from her grandparents and a self-sufficient farm, Kalish and her siblings never really went without anything on her farm during the depression so anyone who is reading this book and expects it to be a true hardship tale best look elsewhere. It is a great look down memory lane for those from Kalish's generation who I am sure will enjoy reading and reminiscing about another time and place. It seems though that most of the time the author is writing for an audience who hasn't lived through any of these events, remembers none of these times (stoking an old wood fire, splitting wood,making head cheese, butchering a chicken, making May Day baskets). That said, it is quick interesting read but recommended with reservations as although a memoir, how-to book and cookbook, it doesn't completely succeed at any of these.

A Wonderful Memoir, December 20, 2007
Little Heathens is a wonderful memoir, heartwarming, but without a hint of treacle. Mildred Kalish grew up during tough times on an Iowa farm and lived a life many would complain about, but there is no bitterness in her story, simply an appreciation of her life and a love of her family. I read a lot of books and I have to say this one is like no other--an inspiring, yet wholly enjoyable story. I recommended this one to two people during the space of half an hour, one is 75, the other is 11, and both simply loved it. I would recommend it to all in between as well. Little Heathens is an engaging, fascinating story. Enjoy.

This is how children should be raised!!, November 8, 2009
Little Heathens was a page turner! Mildred Kalish's story of her childhood made me realize, as a teacher, how the simple things in life are crucial to a child's overall development. In an age of high tech devices, we are truly missing the mark on what children need as tools for life's hardships. Hard work, discipline and an overall appreciation for our environment. Mildred Kalish articulated so well what was expected of her, the learning that took place and the resulting closeness she and her family members had. How the togetherness in completing daily chores with her siblings added to her well being. Loved the recipes and household tips! I now yearn for a day in her past! ... Read more

Editorial Review

In Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller’s endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller’s debut is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes hilarious prose, she stares down disaster and looks back with rage and love at the life of an extraordinary family in an extraordinary time. ... Read more

Reviews

A unique and fascinating biography, March 13, 2002
After reading Entertainment Weekly's review of this book, my curiousity led me to purchase it for my wife, since she enjoys reading true tales of other women. However, I started reading it before she did and I quickly was drawn into Alexandra Fuller's world.

Her style is a little disconcerting at first (simply because she is speaking in her own voice and the language and slang she grew up with), and it takes a while to fall into the flow of her jumping around in her life in the early chapters, but I almost immediately was drawn into her world.

I really enjoy writers who have a style all their own and Fuller definitely has her own unique voice. Her language is sometimes choppy, but it stills conveys meaning and understanding.

What I partuclarly liked was the subtle way she conveyed the changing of the guard in Africa, as black rule began to become the rule, rather than the exception. Without directly commenting on the changes either positively or negatively, she conveys the confusion that the change brought about and suggests that whether blacks or whites are in control, the common people of most African nations remain oppressed by their leaders.I think Ms. Fuller makes it clear that regardless of their race, whites and blacks are Africans and that something must eventually be done about the oppresive political environment present in so many African nations. This book is particulary relevant given the recent turmoil over the apparent re-election of Robert Mugabe.

I was fascinated by her mother, but wished she had provided more information about her sister. At one point she hints that her sister may have been molested by a neighbor and that a neighbor may have attempted to do the same to her, but she is vague on details, perhaps deliberately so.

I also was a little disappointed that there was not more detail on her and her sister's lives in their late teens and early adulthood, but she still manages to convey a tremendous amount of information about their lives as young adults in a relatively short span.

Overall this is a fascinating look at a way of life that is rapidly dying out and I would be curious to see if her parents are eventually forced to leave Africa. I guess its a mark of a good author that when they finish their tale, you're asking for more.

The end of white Rhodesia as seen through ordinary eyes, March 20, 2002
Dissatisfied reviewers of Alexandra Fuller's "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" tend to dwell on the degree to which the book fails to conform to their own agendas and expectations. These reviewers lament Fuller's perceived lack of attention to women's issues, the plight of black Zimbabweans, and the horrors of the Rhodesian War, to name a few. In other words, rather than praise Fuller for the story she tells, they criticize her for stories they believe she fails to tell. To bad for them; they are missing out on a great book.

In addition to being smart, funny, entertainnig, and well-written, Fuller's memoir provides invaluable insight into the end of white rule in southern Africa. The Fullers are hardly members of a wealthly, landed, colonial ruling class. They are poor, rootless, prone to drinking and fighting. Where is the privilege, however minimal, for which they and other white Rhodesians fought? Why on earth would they stay on in places like Zambia and Malawi after the end of white rule? Fuller offers no definite answers to these questions -- though possible answers lurk in the loving and intricate passages in which Fuller describes the sights, sounds, and smells of southern African life. As the story of ordinary white Africans living through a defining moment in southern African history, this book works particularly well.

Those who enjoy Fuller's book might also want to read "Mukiwa," Peter Godwin's equally excellent memoir of growing up in white Rhodesia. Godwin (who, like Fuller, spent much of his youth in the eastern part of Rhodesia, near the border with Mozambique) is about ten years older than Fuller. As such, he offers more about the origins of the war. Godwin also fought with the Rhodesian Army in the 1970s (these experiences make up a large portion of his narrative) and returned to his homeland as a journalist in the 1980s, to cover prime minister Robert Mugabe's reign of terror against his opposition. This more political and historical approach provides a nice companion to Fuller's work.

Riveting and unpretentious, May 20, 2002
If there's one thing Alexandra Fuller can do, it's write. This unsentimental memoir of a white African childhood on various hardscrabble farms from 1972 to 1990, amidst periods of "unrest," including Rhodesia's long struggle against white rule, captivates as it horrifies. With humor and unflinching honesty, Fuller immerses the reader in the welter of smells, searing heat, torrential rains and myriad dangers from man, animal and plantlife.

Her opening:
"Mum says, 'Don't come creeping into our room at night.'
They sleep with loaded guns beside them on the bedside rugs. She says, 'Don't startle us when we're sleeping.'
'Why not?'
'We might shoot you.'
'Oh.'
'By mistake.'
'Okay.' As it is, there seems a good enough chance of getting shot on purpose. 'Okay, I won't.' "

With these few lines, Fuller captures her tone - fluctuations of fear, bewilderment and humor. Her story is told primarily in present tense from her childhood point of view, though she skips around in chronology in order to follow theme threads: school, war, poverty, her mother's alcoholism and unpredictability. Her mother, Nicola, is ferocious, larger than life; a woman who can drag her daughter off without breakfast to spend the day on horseback rounding up wild cows or laze away a rainy day sprawled with both daughters on her bed reading. A woman whose manic-depressive tendencies were exacerbated by the heartbreaking deaths of three of her five children and exaggerated by alcohol. She's brave, unpredictable, loving and scary.

Racism in Fuller's world is a given, unquestioned by the child who sasses her nanny by threatening to fire her. Her parents are so poor they sell Nicola's rings each planting season and redeem them at harvest. Yet they have a houseful of servants and field hands. One day, her mother out, Fuller is bitten by something on her "downthere." Despite her terrified wailing, her black nanny refuses to aid her. When Nicola finally arrives, she drags the child inside, exasperated, and warns her, " 'Never, ever pull down your shorts in front of an African again."

Fuller concludes the incident: "That's how I remember Karoi. And the dust-stinging wind blowing through the mealies on a hot, dry September night....And the beginning of the army guys: men in camouflage, breaking like a ribbon out of the back of an army lorry and uncurling onto the road, heads shaved, faces fresh and blank. Men cradling guns. And the beginning of men not in camouflage anymore, looking blank-faced, limbs lost."

There's a dark, manic hilarity to much of the book - the teenage Fuller crossing the border on her way to boarding school, her mother comatose from an all-night drunk. "Dad nods, smokes. I crush out my cigarette. We're both hoping Mum doesn't say anything to get us shot." There are also gut-wrenching tragedies and moments of abject terror. The death of a sibling, her parents' grief-addled drunken driving, war. And there is Africa, a place of extremes, a place full of noises, smells and weather to make the rest of the world tame and drab in comparison, a place Fuller captures lovingly in her vivid, muscular, poetic prose.

Do Let's Read This Book Tonight, January 6, 2002
What a pleasure it is to start off the new year with a wonderful new book. I probably never would have picked this book up, except for the glowing reviews it's been getting. And, are they ever deserved. This is the story of Bobo Fuller, daughter of gone-to-the-dogs parents in 1970's Rhodesia, on the losing (depending on your point of view) side of a civil war. Covering her growing-up years of moving from one place to another in Africa always searching for a way to exist in a place where white Africans no longer had power and privilege, Ms. Fuller writes unsparingly, unsentimentally, and honestly about her family and their remarkable experiences. Don't miss this terrific book.

Luminous, August 31, 2005
One reviewer here gave this book one star because he thought the protagonist and her family racist. He is mostly right. None of that need detract from the fact that this is a superb book with a transparency and sense of place rarely seen.

you may not always agree with what you read in it but that does not make it any less worth reading. Speaking as a mixed race man who has lived in many places in Africa, I found this to be honest and well-observed. The fact that the author does not attempt to re-write her family history to appear politically correct speaks for her honesty.

Go read this magnificent book.

A harsh life, but yet there's humor and no self pity at all, November 10, 2002
Subtitled, "An African Childhood," this delightful autobiography by Alexandra Fuller transported me right into her world. Born in 1969, her early childhood was spent in sweltering hot Rhodesia, where her parents slept with guns next to their bed, and her father was often away, fighting with other white men against the guerillas who eventually won the war. Her parents were poor, life was brutal and harsh, and the climate was always sticky and uncomfortable. And yet, this is a tale laced with humor as she casts her child's eye view at the many disruptions and disappointments of her family's life as they moved from Rhodesia to Malawi and then to Zambia.

Ms. Fuller's world was full of hot sweaty days, hard work, mosquitoes and ticks and snakes. There's only occasional electricity, drinking water is foul, and any kind of plumbing is a luxury. But there's always beer and alcohol, and lots of cigarettes, all of which is taken for granted as a way of life by her and her sister, the two surviving siblings out of five. I couldn't help thinking about my own children and their easy life here in New York, as I looked at the photographs throughout the book as the two young girls grew up and the parents grew wrinkled and gray. I love the writer's descriptions and the way she uses words. The children sing songs about fighting through "thickandthin" and the family camps with other "expats-like-us". Young Alexandra, nicknamed "Bobo" learns to clean, load and shoot a gun. Her father chain smokes cigarettes as he drives their Land Rover over inhospitable roads. Her mother loves animals and keeps packs of dogs around in a losing battle to control their fleas. The children attend boarding schools that change in racial composition as the politics change. And yet there's never a single word of self pity in spite of failing crops and ramshackle living conditions.

I loved this book and read it fast, enjoying Ms. Fuller's voice. The Africa she describes became real to me as I let myself plunge into her world for a little while. There was an excellent map which helped me locate the places she describes as well as the family snapshots. Most of all though, there was a sense throughout of what it really felt like to be that little girl who grew up to share her memories with her readers. I thank her for doing that and give this book one of my highest recommendations. Read it. It's a real treat!

A Quick Trip Back in Time, March 11, 2002
Evokes images of childhood and Africa that are at the same time luscious and abhorrent, but that draw you into the life of this young girl like few other early childhood biographies have achieved. Miss Fuller is completely unapologetic about her parents and accepts them for who they are are and doesn't try to excuse or blame them -- how refreshing!

This is hardly an objective review, as I like Ms. Fuller grew up in the white farming community of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and I'm also a survivor of the pink prison (Arundel School) and now reside in the US. But unlike Bobo, I grew up a wealthy farm with relatively normal parents in a very abnormal world of the white colonialist in black Africa. I resonate strongly with her images which are dead on. I still wake each morning listening to hear the "work harder" doves and the "go away" birds. Thanks Bobo for giving me a couple hours to relapse into a world that no longer exists but was home for some of us. Looks like those "Use of English" classes taught by Mrs. Twiss at Arundel paid off....

"But we have hippo in the garden.", October 4, 2003
"I am African by accident, not by birth," Alexendra Fuller writes in this childhood memoir; "so while soul, heart, and the bent of my mind are African, my skin blaringly begs to differ and is resolutely white" (p. 305). Fuller was born in Derbyshire, England in 1969, and moved to Rhodesia with her parents and older sister in 1972, while she was still learning "toddler English" (p. 10). She then moved to Wyoming in 1994, where she now lives with her river-guide husband, Charlie, and their two children. Fuller's memoir is as much the story of how she came to terms with her family's troubled history, as her love story for Africa (p. 308).

As a memoir, Fuller writes of a childhood that was passionate, troubled, wonderful, oppressive, chaotic, and beautiful. Her complicated mother, Nicola, gave birth to five children; only two survived. Fuller describes her mother as intelligent, but a racist, glamorous, but a hard drinker, and just as capable of discussing Shakespeare as killing a spitting cobra with a gun. She describes her father, Tim, as a heavy-drinking racist, yet taciturn and capable, and as a man who loved Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. Fuller's beautiful sister, Vanessa, is best described as the very cool, older sibling we all wish we had to accompany us through childhood. As for her three siblings that didn't survive, well Fuller is quick to note that it doesn't take an African to explain why you don't leave a child in an unmarked grave. "The child will come back to haunt you and wrap itself around you until your own breathing stops under the damp weight of its tiny, ghostly persistence" (p. 211). Hers was no ordinary childhood. And Africa was no ordinary playground.

Fuller writes as if she has African dust in her blood. Her memoir follows her family's moves from Rhodesia to Zambia to Malawi and back to Zambia. Despite the country's hostile, desolate environment, Fuller's love for Africa is always evident, from its snakes, scorpions, biting ticks and leopards, to its "hot, sweet, smoky, salty" smells--"It is like black tea, cut tobacco, fresh fire, old sweat, young grass," she writes (p. 130)--to its sounds--"The grasshoppers and crickets sing and whine. Drying grass crackles. Dogs pant" (p. 131).

A friend encouraged me to read this book, but it was really the book's quirky title and cover photo that nudged me into traveling with Fuller back to the Africa she discovered as a child. What I experienced on that journey was unforgettable. I highly recommend this book.

G. Merritt

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood, September 12, 2002
I loved this book. Alexandra Fuller's writing style is refreshing and unique. Her vivid and sometimes horrifying experiences were totally engrossing. It has been several years since I have become so absorbed in a book that I was bereft when it ended and desperate to find another book to fill the void. I even immediately reread sections rather than let it go. The racism of her parents is not disguised nor apologized for. It is stated as a matter of history, and despite my shock at their attitudes, I appreciated the honesty with which it was recounted. When Alexandra swore never to leave Africa after nearly dying from drinking tea water tainted with Hippo dung, I was incredulous that anyone could wish to live in such harsh conditions. I'm sure it would be fascinating to hear her sister's side of the story, since Alexandra paints their relationship as cruely one-sided.

Believe every good review about this book and treat yourself to a wonderful experience by reading it today.

Brilliant, funny insight into post-colonial Africa, December 30, 2003
What makes this book worth reading -- aside from a captivating style and humorous content -- is precisely what separates it from other excellent books about similar subject matter (Godwin's Mukiwa, Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions): the fact that Fuller makes no attempt to analyze, excuse, or explain the racism and insanity of her family history. Rather than rationalizing her parents' racist attitudes, Fuller chooses instead to simply describe in her wry, matter-of-fact voice precisely how the end of the colonial era was experienced by people implicated in it. She does not try to gloss her childhood experiences with politically correct hindsight, and in so doing thrusts the reader into the desperation and the joy of rural African life in the last three decades. Bobo's mother is one of the most memorable and remarkable personalities I've encountered in African literature. The book is worth reading entirely for its hysterical concluding scenes. Fuller's characters are real and human, in all their extraordinary bizarreness!

Having spent many an hour, like Bobo Fuller, poking grass into ant-lion holes in the hot dusty veld, this moving story captivated me and painted a moving portrait of people fighting the cruelty of the African landscape. Myth and reality are intertwined in a witty and beautiful story. Everyone should read this book! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Welcome to the childhood of Catherine McClure Gildiner. It is the mid-1950s in Lewiston, New York, a sleepy town near Niagara Falls. Divorce is unheard of, mothers wear high heels to the beauty salon, and television has only just arrived.

At the tender age of four, Cathy accompanies Roy, the deliveryman at her father's pharmacy, on his routes. She shares some of their memorable deliveries-sleeping pills to Marilyn Monroe (in town filming Niagara), sedatives to Mad Bear, a violent Tuscarora chief, and fungus cream to Warty, the gentle operator of the town dump. As she reaches her teenage years,

Cathy's irrepressible spirit spurs her from dangerous sled rides that take her "too close to the Falls" to tipsy dances with the town priest.

"Anyone who appreciates a good story, well told, will find it in Too Close to the Falls." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

"Gildiner beautifully portrays her outrageous youth through the innocent, yet sometimes frighteningly worldly eyes of a child." (The Quill & Quire) ... Read more

Reviews

A view of a quaint era from the viewpoint of a unique child., January 25, 2003
I don't read much non-fiction, but I received this book as a gift and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author describes her unconvential childhood growing up near Niagara Falls, NY. Today, Gildiner would probably be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, but back then, she was put to work in her father's drugstore at age four to burn off some of her "excess eneregy"--her doctor's orders! As Gildiner describes her experiences from pre-school through her teen years, she talks in the voice of the child she was then rather than the adult she is now. Her style is extremely effective in transporting the reader into her past life, a life that seems to have been both bewildering and magnificent at the same time. There is something for everyone here: television, racial conflicts, religious questioning, teen sexuality, Hollywood, and much more in this unique view of the "Leave it to Beaver" era.

ONE OF THE VERY BEST, March 22, 2001
One of the very best memoirs I have ever read and I specialize in girlhood memoirs. Born in the same year as the author, I very much enjoyed her recollections of how it was to grow up female in the early fifties. However the writer's childhood was undoubtedly more eccentric and adventurous than mine and probably most of our contemporaries. Her recounting of the wonderful and unique characters she encountered and how they shaped her perceptions of life is both hilarious and deeply affecting. I am truly grateful that she has brought them into my life to entertain and educate me as well. This book ends as she begins her teen years. Should she write a sequel, and I fervently hope she will, I will be first in line to buy it. This book is quite simply a remarkable reading experience!

READ THIS BOOK!, November 11, 2002
This book was an absolute delight to read. It has the innocence and laugh-out-loud humor of a child's perpective.

From the intelligently quirky mother to Warty, the self-appointed caretaker of the city dump, all of the characters ring true. And after just a few sentences Gildiner has you feeling like you really know them.

And then there's the main character, the author as a child, who basically grew up in her father's drug store. It's a miracle she lived long enough, given her adventures and attitude, to write the book. Lucky for us she did.

Each chapter is a short-story unto itself, a la Jean Shepherd. And there just aren't enough of them. After 350 pages you're left feeling cheated because there aren't 350 more.

Read this book.

An unconventional childhood, April 21, 2004
Catherine Gildiner, a clinical psychologist and advice columnist, has written a fascinating memoir about her years growing up in Lewiston NY in the 50s. As a hyperactive and precocious child of four, she was put to work in her father's pharmacy under "doctor's orders." Her unconventional upbringing by older, free-thinking parents, who gave her a lot of leeway to think for herself and take responsibility for her actions, contrasted sharply with her stringent Catholic school education. Gildiner deftly uses her psychology training to show how young Cathy perceived herself and others, and how she struggled to peel through the layers of social and religious convention to see small-town Lewiston as it really was.

The author does an excellent job of painting portraits of the people that influenced her life. These include her mother, a very atypical 50s housewife who never cooked or kept house, her hard working civic-minded father, and Roy, the black pharmacy deliveryman who took Cathy on his rounds. Through her prescription deliveries, Cathy met Warty, a disfigured outcast who worked at the garbage dump, Mad Bear, the chief of the Tuscarora Indian tribe, and Marie, a retired prostitute/abortionist. Cathy bumped heads with an assortment of classmates, nuns, and priests at school and church.

This is a wonderful coming of age story that is poignant and thought-provoking. There were many humorous touches as Cathy described the world through an innocent child's eyes. There was also a dark side to this memoir as she puzzled over the disturbing and often contradictory elements of society that were often kept under wraps during that era. Having grown up in western New York in the 50s, I recognized many of the details of Cathy's childhood, such as beef on weck, early TV programming with its frequent test patterns, the use of fluoroscopes in shoe stores, and the severe lake effect snow storms in the area. This book makes an excellent selection for a discussion group, and the paperback edition includes a reader's guide for that very purpose.

Eileen Rieback

Superb beginning, but a nosedive at the end..., September 19, 2002
The author's engaging style and an endearing cast of characters make this one of the best memoirs I've read in a long time. Her family's eccentricities (eating every meal at restaurants, seven days a week) had me laughing aloud at times, while tales of ordinary people struggling with their human frailties make the story especially poignant. The author is skilled in building the reader's sense of righteous indignation over various injustices that occur along the way, often in connection with her religious education. I was so caught up in the book that I recommended it to several friends. Unfortunately, the story line took a nosedive toward the end. The author's reminiscences about the romantic entanglements of a young priest assigned to teach her religion class just don't ring true to me. Perhaps I'm not in the best position to judge this, as I'm not Catholic and did not attend Catholic school, but the idea of a young priest taking a 15-year-old girl on a romantic dinner date and plying her with wine till she gets drunk seems pretty far-fetched to me, especially in that day and age. As the scene played on, I kept expecting to find that it was a dream or daytime reverie, and that the the author would return us eventually to the real world. Even if the story is true, the tone she sets in the previous chapters doesn't prepare the reader for this turn of events. The promise of the book's beginning falls flat, and the ending comes so abruptly that it seems as if she just couldn't figure out any other way to finish up. Nonetheless, she is an extraordinarily talented writer with enchanting stories to tell, embellished or not, and I hope to see new works from her in the future.

Liked the first 250 pages, not the last 100, December 11, 2004
The first 250 pages of this book cover Catherine Gildiner's unusual childhood. It was pleasing to read a memoire with really nice parents, even if their childraising strategies were bizarre.

But when I got to the parts about Catherine's life age 10 and after, the charming, funny, strange, scenic stories and well-realized characters were replaced with essayistic writing concentrating on her Catholic faith or lack thereof and descriptions of what seemed to me cliched Catholic nuns and priests. I lost interest, but read to the end.

I wish there had been some kind of conclusion drawn, or a wrap up of how her life developed after the last episode, but no such luck. I felt let down.

Oh, well, I was entertained for the better part of a week. What more can you want?

Brilliant recall of thoughts and feelings, May 23, 2003
I was there during the '50's, although I did not know the author, I did know the characters and places she describes so well. How in the world she remembers her reactions so clearly--as a concrete-thinking child her conclusions are so funny to us as adults--yet we remember making similar absurd conclusions as children, and accepting them. Both versions available from amazon, I prefer the version with the authentic names and locations. I would give anything for another book of hers--it is her memory and writing, not the events, that are so endearing.

Irresistible, September 25, 2005
There may be something to the idea that interesting geography creates interesting lives. Young Catherine Gildiner certainly "hit the ground running" in her nascent life. A photograph preceding one of the chapters shows a precocious, Shirley Temple-ish girl in a cowboy outfit, a girl who was consuming life voraciously from the start.

The setting is the early 1950's in Lewiston, New York, near the Niagara escarpment. The upheavals of the 60's are yet to come, but Cathy's fearlessness draws her toward the spirit of change that is beginning to coalesce. Her best friend is a black deliveryman, Roy, who treats her as an equal as they drive about, dispensing pharmacy drugs from her father's business. Cathy glimpses both the upper crust of Lewiston and the outcasts: the drunken misery of the Indians in the area, and a local parallel to the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" named Warty. She meets the local abortionist, and delivers drugs to Marilyn Monroe--in town for the filming of the movie "Niagara". This book has it all. There is peril, courage, friendship, social consciousness... but overriding everything is a tremendous sense of nostalgia. There is so much vividness to Gildiner's memoir that you feel as if you lived it yourself, reading it. It would make a great movie, if Hollywood still made wholesome human-interest stories. Read this book, and for a short while, you'll be transported to a different time and place, to live and breathe it as young Catherine Gildiner did.

From a fellow Lewistonian..., January 7, 2002
I grew up in Lewiston 20 years after Ms. Gildiner (in the same neighborhood, I believe) and really enjoyed her book. She did a great job at capturing the essence of the place... small town charm filled with careless (dangerous) adventures in the gorge and river plus an assortment of oddball characters. I make it a point to visit at least once a year. The only problem I had was that she seemed to stretch her facts a bit at times. Catherine, did you really ride your sled from the power project cliffs to the Riverside Inn? I need some clarification on that one.

Vivid memories, exciting times, June 1, 2000
Shades of Russell Baker's Growing Up--thank goodness for writers like Dr. Gildiner who with such enormous talent bring us back to relive the joys, tears, injustices, delights of childhood--her writing brought me closer to my kids as she refreshed my understanding of how people learn about life and love--I'm waiting for volume II please. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Long before Oliver Sacks became a distinguished neurologist and bestselling writer, he was a small English boy fascinated by metals–also by chemical reactions (the louder and smellier the better), photography, squids and cuttlefish, H.G. Wells, and the periodic table. In this endlessly charming and eloquent memoir, the author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings chronicles his love affair with science and the magnificently odd and sometimes harrowing childhood in which that love affair unfolded.

In Uncle Tungsten we meet Sacks’ extraordinary family, from his surgeon mother (who introduces the fourteen-year-old Oliver to the art of human dissection) and his father, a family doctor who imbues in his son an early enthusiasm for housecalls, to his “Uncle Tungsten,” whose factory produces tungsten-filament lightbulbs. We follow the young Oliver as he is exiled at the age of six to a grim, sadistic boarding school to escape the London Blitz, and later watch as he sets about passionately reliving the exploits of his chemical heroes–in his own home laboratory.Uncle Tungsten is a crystalline view of a brilliant young mind springing to life, a story of growing up which is by turns elegiac, comic, and wistful, full of the electrifying joy of discovery. ... Read more

Reviews

A mesmerizing tour of the elements, August 20, 2002
"It often happens that the mind of a person who is learning a new science, has to pass through all the phases which the science itself has exhibited in its historical evolution." (Stanislao Cannizzaro, Italian chemist, 1826 - 1910).

These words had a powerful resonance for Oliver Sacks. When the gifted neurologist wrote his autobiography, he also wrote a history of chemistry as recapitulated through his own childhood experiences. He grew up in a very scientific family--his mother and father were physicians, and his uncle Dave (the 'Uncle Tungsten' of the title) was both a chemist and a business entrepreneur, who "would spend hundreds of hours watching all the processes in his factories: the sintering and drawing of the tungsten, the making of the coiled coils and molybdenum supports for the filaments, the filling of the bulbs with argon..."

Uncle Tungsten allowed his nephew to perform chemical experiments in his laboratory, which contained samples of almost every element. Oliver's "physics uncle," Uncle Abe had a small telescopic observatory on top of his house, where he demonstrated the wonders of spectroscopy to his nephew: "The whole visible universe--planets, stars, distant galaxies--presented itself for spectroscopic analysis, and I got a vertiginous, almost ecstatic satisfaction from seeing familiar terrestrial elements out in space, seeing what I had known only intellectually before, that the elements were not just terrestrial but cosmic, were indeed the building blocks of the universe."

No wonder young Oliver grew up with a love for the elements and their chemistry!

Rarely do I read an autobiography and envy the author his childhood--most recent examples of this genre, e.g. "A Child Called 'It'" are grim, wailing texts--and that's not to say that Oliver didn't have his bad moments, too. He endured two horrible years at a Dickensian boarding school while London was being bombed by the Germans.

For the most part though, his formative years were spent in a fantastic 'castle of the elements' where his "many uncles and aunts and cousins served as a sort of archive or reference library" to his enquiring mind.

In "Uncle Tungsten," Dr. Sacks shares his learning experiences with us and in the process, writes a far more lucid history of chemistry and physics than any I've ever found in a textbook. He also takes his readers on a mesmerizing, personalized tour of the elements. If you enjoyed P.W. Atkin's quirky "The Periodic Kingdom" or Primo Levi's wonderful memoir "The Periodic Table," I can almost guarantee you'll fall in love with "Uncle Tungsten."

Rediscover the curious child in you!, December 9, 2001
Oliver Sacks, best known for writing about the fantastic consequences of neurological abnormalities (Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat), takes us on a journey through his childhood in Uncle Tungsten. Deftly mixing the most intriguing aspects of the history of chemistry with his own experiences as a boy and adding the spark of a unique writing ability, he's utilized the principles of chemical lab work to produce something new and different--a book that revels in the most fundamental aspects of exploring the physical sciences.

Sacks was fortunate to be born into a family heavily composed of scientists: physicians, chemists, physicists, and metallurgists, like his "Uncle Tungsten." Both of his parents were physicians and indulged his curiousities by allowing him to set up his own lab in their house, where he familiarized himself with the history of chemistry by recreating many famous experiments and also trying many more of his own devising. Descriptions of his family life and his exploration into science are filled with wonder and with love for the world we live in.

Uncle Tungsten is a book to relish--written in everyday language, not in stuffy scientific terms--a book filled with the joy of youth, the fascination of discovery, and the wonderment of life. I would recommend it to anyone interested in science and nature, to anyone trying to understand those around them who love science so much, and to anyone in junior high or high school who wonders why they have to study chemistry!

Joy, curiosity, light, November 20, 2001
Oliver Sacks' memoir is shining, enlivened by curiosity, filled with joy. He has recaptured the boy he was, and "Uncle Tungsten" lets us experience the world as that boy knew it. My husband is a cloud physicist, and reading this book helped me see how he became entranced by science, by the wonders of the physical world, metamorphosing even as we look upon it.

Born in l933, well before television cartoons and video games, Sacks was left to his own devices. His broad intelligence led him down many roads, and his tolerant parents indulged his love for explorations in chemistry. During WW II, when he was six years old, he was evacuated from London home to a country boarding school, where the headmaster inflicted physical and emotional abuse upon his young charges. The trauma Sack underwent there, in addition to the horrors visited upon England by the war, caused him to lose faith in the omnipotent God of his Jewish tradition. His new faith became science, and he brought to it all the passion and dedication of his orthodox forebears.

In adolescence, sadly, he lost this flaming enthusiam, much as many teenagers "lose their faith"; and he turned to the conventional medical career his parents envisioned for him. Now, in late mid-life, his spiritual journey has brought him full circle to his early love again. His joy in scientific enquiry will ignite a similar joy in the reader.

the love time can't diminish, November 2, 2001
It is always a joy to read Dr. Sacks. He is a sensitive, honest, and caring author. His other books (with the exception of "A Leg to Stand On") are all reports of his interactions with people exceptional neurological conditions. In "Uncle Tungsten," Dr. Sacks writes about his own past.

Sacks is a truly gifted writer. Some of his pieces in the past have stunned me with their beauty. That said, he has never created a fuller, more compelling portrait than the depiction he gives of his mother here. What a special woman she must have been. He clearly loves her still. This book is as much of a love story as it is a history.

Sack's recollections are laced through with his early encounters with science in its many forms. He speaks lovingly of his interactions with Chemistry. The education his mother provided him in anatomy also looms large in the images of his early years.

While I have always been a fan of Sacks because of his insights into the human condition, I can see the special appeal this book would have to those who have a love for science (my wife loves biology). Sacks writes of it with passion and awe. It was interesting for me, and I've never been much of a fan of science.

I recommend this book.

God thinks in numbers, July 22, 2008
There are some surprises here: first of all, I honestly thought Sacks is a normal American, probably family immigrated from Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. No, he grew up in London as the youngest boy in a huge family of Jewish scientists, physicians, and industrialists. 100 cousins! Some family branches in South Africa, Palestine, Germany and elsewhere.
Also, I expected a normal autobiography, despite the ominous subtitle 'memories of a chemical boyhood'. I thought I would find out how the man got where he was to be much later. No, we don't. We only learn about his first 14 years. And we learn a lot about the history of chemistry, probably more than most readers would have opted for.
But we also learn the following:
A boy grows up in a huge house in London with a huge family, everything is paradise, there is emotion (from Ma) and stimulation (from all) and whatever a little boy needs.
Then there is WW2 and the boy and his elder brother get evacuated to a boarding school, which is the prototype of all horrors. Bullying drives the brother into paranoia and the hero into closing the shutters with science and chemistry inside and the rest of the world outside.
He is liberated after 4 years and moves back home, but things are not what they were. He remains in his insulation. He ignores the events of the world. Politics incl. Zionism is bullying. He dislikes the punitive God of the orthodox. He is only a chemist.
With puberty and the end of WW2 the infatuation ends, or rather goes subterranean/subcutanean. Sacks learns new things, among others he discovers marine biology, and he reads Cannery Row, which makes him long for America. (previous mentioning of literature is sparse, there is some interest in Wells' science fiction, and there is a fascination with 1984, but that is obviously ahead of itself)
I give it only 4 stars, because I do not like chemistry quite as much (as I worked for a chemical company for 20 years.)

A Wonderful Book, March 5, 2002
There are several authors that occupy the front of my reading list and Oliver Sacks is one of these. I have never been disappointed by anything he has written and I have seen his writing style change and grow into something truly wonderful. This book is no exception. It is an exceptional author who communicates not only his thoughts, words and ideas, but his voice as well. I heard an interview with Dr. Sacks several years ago and while reading Uncle Tungsten, I kept hearing this very careful and precise English accent, which added to the wonder of this exceptional book.

Dr. Sacks carefully weaves the history of his family and his own experiences growing up after World War II, with his fascination with the world around him and the history of chemistry. The product is one of the best science histories I have yet to read.

I wrestled with chemistry in high school. I finally gave up. If I had Dr. Sack's book, the outcome would have been different.

Wish I'd bought it!, December 29, 2001
Once in 10th grade, I fell onto the floor in chemistry class after falling asleep in my chair. In other words, I have the scientific bent of wallpaper. Oliver Sacks' marvelous explanations and anecdotes about the development of chemistry would have kept me awake. About 65% of the book is composed of such material. It is fascinating (with a few exceptions)and I found myself understanding more science in these 300 or so pages than I picked up in all of high school.

Into this mix, Dr. Sacks seamlessly weaves stories of his own childhood. To me, these stories were the highlights of the book. Especially riveting are the stories of his "exile" to boarding school, sent away from London for his own safety at the height of WWII and, even better, his stories about his boyhood obsession with chemistry. As a child, he created everything from flaming compounds to noxious clouds which sent him fleeing outside and which filled his parents' home with toxic gases. Then, there's the highly entertaining exploding cuttlefish incident which rendered a friend's home uninhabitable for months. And I never grew tired of reading about his parents. Both renowned physicians, they were amazingly tolerant of their son's explosions and "stinkogens," but could be surprisingly obtuse when it came to his emotions. One such incident which totally took me aback was his mother's arranging for him to perform an autopsy at age 14 (to his great and understandable dismay).

You'll meet more of this eclectic family -- uncles who were metals experts and pioneers in their fields, an aunt who -- appearing perfect to the outside world -- was wont to blow her nose on the tablecloth in the privacy of her home and many other memorable characters. Perhaps it's just my preference, but I would have preferred more of these stories and a bit less science, even though the pure science part was enlightening, if a bit dry at times. (If you like the human interest angle, as I do, Sacks includes many fascinating and well-written portraits of historic scientific personalities.)

One question I always have is: to buy or to borrow. I borrowed this book from the library, but I wish I'd bought it. I ended up taking copious notes on the science parts, hoping to be able to refer back to this new education and also copying down many of the marvelous family stories so I could continue to enjoy Dr. Sacks' lively choice of words. One of the few times I regret the decision not to buy.

Growing Up Chemically, December 3, 2001
A report card from his early years predicted, "Sacks will go far, if he does not go too far." There need have been no worry, as it turns out. Oliver Sacks has published wonderful stories of his interactions with his neurological patients, like _Awakenings_ and _The Man Who Mistook His Wife for His Hat_, combining scientific teaching with history and with a sincere humanity. But there were times when the young Oliver went too far, and they are included in his fine memoir of his early years, _Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood_. It is a lovable account of a curious boy and his eccentric relatives who had professions in various scientific fields or dabbled in them, and a personal history of discovering chemistry from alchemy to quanta Anyone who has admired Sacks's previous work will find his latest one endearing and instructive.

Sacks was born in 1933 in London. Both his parents were practicing physicians, and took him on house calls. There was an atmosphere that encouraged interest in books, theater, and music, but mostly in science. His Uncle Dave ran a company that made lightbulbs, and his admiration for and expertise in the tungsten which made the filaments made him known as Uncle Tungsten within the family. Many of us had chemistry sets when we were growing up (and one of his chapters is "Stinks and Bangs"), but Sacks seems to have grown up inside one. He was sent away from bomb-targeted London during the Blitz to a school in the midlands, a removal that scarred him in many ways. When he returned, he began to do his own experiments in his laboratory (formerly a laundry room). When the Science Museum opened again after the war, he had a religious vision when viewing its wall-sized periodic table; a two page reproduction of the table is within this book, an illustration of just how much chemistry, as well as memoir, that the book contains. It also has capsule biographies of the chemists through history of whom young Oliver became a fan (not for him movie stars or footballers).

It is extremely strange that in a final chapter, "The End of the Affair," Sacks tells of Oliver's turn away from chemistry. To be sure, he had at an very young age mastered much of the field, but gradually at age 14 he began to turn away from it. The uncertainty and acausality of quantum mechanics played a role, for he realized he was not stirred by the new chemistry as he was the historic version he had pursued. His parents, loving and encouraging but not always understanding, started to show displeasure at his chemical expositions and influenced him more toward medicine. (A demonstration of misguided influence is that his mother brought him home malformed fetuses to dissect, a task which disgusted him: "She never perceived, I think, how distressed I became and probably imagined that I was as enthusiastic here as she was.") Beautifully written, _Uncle Tungsten_ gives us plenty of chemistry, but also a fascinating portrait of an unusual family. Sacks's loving understanding and sympathy for the young Oliver and his unusual upbringing has resulted in a yet another case study, just as humane as those of the other human specimens he has treated before, and deeply personal.

Sacks ReExplains The Universe, December 24, 2001
From sodium to radium to quantum mechanics, this basically autobiographical book tells the story of not only Oliver Sacks life between the ages of basically 4 and 15, but also tells the story of his discovery of the world of Chemistry and Physics and of what the world is composed.

Sacks starts by describing his life as almost a nightmare of incompassion. Living in wartorn London during the Second World War, his school life was filled with horror and pain. But the young Sacks retreated mentally into a world of mathematics, chemistry and physics. From Fibonacci mathematical series to the history of the building of the periodic chart of the elements, Sacks describes not only the discoveries of chemists from Newton through Nils Bohr, but also his incredible empirical chemical experiments. He reveals some basic chemical facts, known truly only to real chemists, despite what basic chemistry one might have had in school, his revelations are truly breathtaking and amazing in some cases.

And as he describes his experiences with life and chemistry, he also tells of the uncertainty that is generated by the search for certainty and stability. While never actually mentioning it by name, he does reference Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, which says that one can know either the velocity or the position of an electron orbiting a atomic nucleus, but one can never know both simultaneously. In many ways it was this uncertainty and Einstein's theory of relativity, that in effect says that everything is relative to your particular frame of reference, that made Sacks progress from his fascination with science and mathematics into a new real world of Biology and Medicine. But, although the discoveries of the great physicists of the 1920's introduced tremendous uncertainty, that is, matter is both a particle and a wave, electrons are never totally predictable and radioactive substances deteriorate at a precise rate, whose half life can be specifically determined, but that precision does nothing to predict exactly the fate of any specific atom. Each atom's existence is determined virtually by chance in a radioactive substance and each can last for a fraction of a second or for 100 million years, until the event that causes it to finally deteriorate actually occurs. Those selfsame discoveries do in fact, lend stability to life in their instability.

Forever after, Sacks would be influenced in his life by those early experiments and discoveries, as well as what he learned by reading about the discoveries of others. And, even to this day, he still sees the world in terms of those early concepts of chemistry, which so infused his boyhood with meaning and substance. A tremendous work, recommended to anyone who has a curious mind and a yearning for finding the meaning of existence.

Sacks has Chemistry, June 11, 2002
If you would like to know more about the childhood of the gentle soul who wrote "Awakenings," or the caring physician who wrote "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", then this book will not disappoint.

I would also highly recommend this book to youth who would like to learn a lot more about chemistry in a form rich in images and history and devoid of any formulas, equations, or end of chapter homework questions.

Oliver Sacks provides a fascinating glimpse into a life and time far removed from our own "warning label" oriented society. While many have written about their war-time childhood in and around London, few can write with Sack's humor and grace. Fewer still can claim such a science/service oriented family.

The title, "Uncle Tungsten" first jumped out at me because I named my own child after the elements: Molybdenum (Molly) and plan to name the one on the way Wolfram - also known as the element Tungsten. Together with my wife, they are the light of my life.

However, Sacks offers the reader far more than a delightful set of his own characters. He provides a broad history of chemistry. This history picks up at the tail end of alchemy and advances in modest detail through to the beginnings of the nuclear and quantum age. As with Sack's prior non-fiction, one need not feel intimidated by the science. He focuses as much on biography as he does on his love for chemistry. With only a vague recollection of high school chemistry, I had no trouble following his threads.

While generally mild mannered, Sacks does offer several surprises. Without spoiling his work, these include noting the availability of some rather extraordinarily toxic chemicals over the counter - sold even to children (should they care to ask), the tragic, traumatic, and gory death of a beloved aunt, as well as his introduction to dissection and human anatomy via the corpse of a fourteen year old girl, a girl his own age.

It's a fun, touching, and interesting read. ... Read more

Editorial Review

From A Child Called "It" to The Lost Boy, from A Man Named Dave to Help Yourself, Dave Pelzer’s inspirational books have helped countless others triumph over hardship and misfortune.In The Privilege of Youth, he shares the missing chapter of his life: as a boy on the threshold of adulthood.With sensitivity and insight, he recounts the relentless taunting he endured from bullies; but he also describes the thrill of making his first real friends—some of whom he still shares close relationships with today.He writes about the simple pleasures of exploring his neighborhood, while trying to forget the hell waiting for him at home.

From high school to a world beyond the four walls that were his prison for so many years, The Privilege of Youth bravely and compassionately charts this crucial turning point in Dave Pelzer’s life and will inspire a whole new generation of readers. ... Read more

Reviews

Compelling, February 12, 2004
This is by far simply one of the most compelling books I have read to date. As are all of the David pelzer series of stories he has written that deals with abuse. I also want to mention a couple of other must read books along with Mr. Pelzers books. BEAUTY FOR ASHES and NIGHTMARES ECHO. Not only will you gain and understand of what the child/teen goes through, but it will make you more aware of what is going on around us.

Sad but moving, January 3, 2005
I think that this book; The Privilege of Youth, is a very good book. i dont recomend people who are depressed to read this book. it took me 3 hours to read this book, as it did David Pelzer's other books, i have not yet read Help Yourself, but i will soon be buying it to read. i hope that people who think it is cool to abuse their children and to hurt people physicaly and mentally, read these books that David Pelzer wrote. it will give them an insite on what they are actually doing to their children. i think that it is completly sick how someone could do such horrible things to someone so young and helpless. i my self was also physicaly and verblly abused throughout my younger years and i am not even a full adult yet, i am 17 yrs old, and i still am abused. The Privilege of Youth is a good book to read. when i was reading it, i related to my self in school. when he was beat up and tortured, i didnt think about myself, but about wanting to belong and wanting to have friends that liked you for who he was, i thought of myself. i only wanted friends that liked me for me, but i never got them. Over all, i think that this book is a very good book to read. David Pelzer inspires all who read his books.

Inspirational and Heroic, October 14, 2004
This book is a great inspirational story about a young man who conquers life obstacles. This book will provide you with the feeling that all things are possible and that no matter what is going on in your life, someone else has it tougher, and someone else has survived worse. In this case it is Dave who has survived worst things than most people. It inspires you because he talks about his struggles and that no matter how hard life gets for him, he will be successful. He truly proves that if you really want to be successful, it can be done.

This is a story of heroism. He shows his heroism because he always seems to overcome obstacles. He doesn't let anything get him down. He seems to have a mentality that if something doesn't kill him, it only make him stronger. That shows us (the readers) how heroic his thoughts and actions are. I truly recommend this book because it will inspire and make you see life from a different perspective, in a more positive way.

Gets to the Heart, August 27, 2004
Gets to the Heart
I have read the whole series of books by David Pelzer, each is better than the last. I recommend these books to everyone I know whether they have been abused or not as they lend insight, courage and determination sometimes in the face where none exist. Again, This newest books shows the depth that david Pelzer is.

Also recommended: Nightmares Echo, All David Pelzer Books, Running With Scissors

A disappointing continuation..., April 9, 2005
I eagerly started reading this book. I was very interested to find out where Dave's life was headed after "The Lost Boy" ended. I soon found out that this book was not nearly as interesting as the first two. I found the writing to be somewhat forced. It seemed as though he downplayed his experiences with foster care and all that went with it.

I am very glad he was able to find a set of friends with whom he felt accepted and loved. However, I did not find reading about their teenage exploits to be all that entertaining. I ended up reading the book halfway and then skimming to the end. Dave Pelzer's writing just didn't hook me as it did previously. Whether it was the subject matter or his writing itself, I'm not sure. The character descriptions lacked depth. It was as if people to him were just a facade he couldn't decipher.

Bottom line, I have grown to care about Dave Peltzer and his life story but this book just didn't do it for me.

Not his best work, May 2, 2008
I have read A Child Called "It", The Lost Boy, A Man Named Dave and Help Yourself and I must say that this book was not Dave's best work. The writing did not keep me interested as his other books have. While reading this I felt like the passion just wasn't there.

Help Yourself Before It's Too Late..., December 28, 2005
This is not your everyday novel. This is a novel full of real-life advice that can help you prepare yourself for real-life challenges.
Dave Pelzer thought that he could help teens get through tough situations just like the ones he went through. He felt that no one deserved to be treated the way we was treated no matter how troubled the child is. He goes on to share all the tips that he discovered during his own personal experience.
The way that Dave divided this book helped me to see all the different "steps" and "parts" of the book. He divided it into three sections: Dealing with Life; Choices you make now and where they can lead you in your futute; and Personal Resolve. ... Read more

Editorial Review

When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana, was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people.Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears.In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small-town America was caught in the amber of the innocent postwar period–people helped their neighbors, went to church on Sunday, and kept barnyard animals in their backyards.

Laced with fine storytelling, sharp wit, dead-on observations, and moments of sheer joy, Haven Kimmel's straight-shooting portrait of her childhood gives us a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and sly as she navigates the quirky adult world that surrounds Zippy. ... Read more

Reviews

Utterly beguiling and wonderful. Deeper than it appears, December 12, 2003
This book is proof that each of us has plenty of material in our `ordinary' lives to use as material for writing a memoir. What most of us DON'T have, however, if Haven Kimmel's ability to write so well that what was really a very simple small-town childhood can be elevated to a 280-page book that utterly captivates. Kimmel achieves what many others have attempted to do and failed: she writes entirely from the child's voice without losing her audience, without becoming cloying, without making us want to smack her and say `get on with it.' By turns wickedly witty, humorous, poignant, sweet, heart-wrenching, wise, A Girl Named Zippy is simply one of the best books I've read this year, a poem to a happy childhood.
I resisted it for over a year, fearing it was going to be a sappy, feel-good story. Wrong. It's utterly original, utterly uplifting, utterly hilarious, utterly wonderful. Do NOT fail to read this book.

One of the best memoirs ever..., November 20, 2002
I just read the last page in A Girl Named Zippy, and now I'm at a loss. I want Zippy back! Normally, I'm not a fan of memoirs or non-fiction in general, but I had heard nothing but praise about this book. Thankfully I listened...

Haven Kimmel, or Zippy as she's come to be known due to the fact she used to zip around the house as a toddler, has opened her life to us. The laughter begins on page 2 when Zippy's sister comments on the type of people who would be willing to read a book about life in teeny Mooreland, Indiana. Well, count me in! Reading this book was such pure, emphatic joy. Zippy reminds me a bit of a female Dennis the Menace -- little bit of a pest, but sweet, mostly innocent, and a lot curious. The stories inside are told with a poignant tone, a wistfullness for the days when life was simple, despite how big it all seemed when you were only 3-feet-tall.

A happy childhood -- a breath of fresh air if you ask me. Stories like this make me grateful I grew up in a small town, and that if I thought hard enough I could come up with some stories of my own. A Girl Named Zippy has something for everybody, and a book that I will forever hold in high regard. Wonderful!

One of the funniest books I've ever read!, June 11, 2001
A friend of mine opens to any page of "Bridget Jones' Diary" when she needs a laugh, but I prefer to do this with "A Girl Named Zippy." For anyone who grew up in a small town, Haven Kimmel's hilarious memoir is bound to strike a chord and elicit a grin. The stories of her father maniacally packing their camper to bursting for camping trips, his imaginative tormenting of their dog-hating neighbors, and the young Zippy giving haircuts to hippies in exchange for a dog had me in stitches! Aside from being a gifted storyteller, Haven is also a talented writer; her vivid descriptions and characterizations make this book read like a novel or short story collection. As I read this book, I couldn't help but think that if Scout of "To Kill a Mockingbird" had been a real girl, she would've grown up to write a memoir a lot like "A Girl Named Zippy." For anyone who wants to read a book that will make you laugh out loud and also give you a glimpse of an American life in simpler times--when a vacation either meant going out of town to visit relatives or taking a camping trip with your family--this is the book for you. Thanks for bringing back so many fond memories of my own rural Maryland upbringing, Haven!

A lot of fun to read!, January 8, 2005
A GIRL NAMED ZIPPY by Haven Kimmel
January 8, 2005

One of my favorite books read in 2004 was this one, A GIRL NAMED ZIPPY by Haven Kimmel. I'm not one to read memoirs, but the front cover caught my eye. The photo of this nearly bald headed little girl in a ruffled blue dress and huge eyes and big ears was something that I couldn't walk away from. And with enough recommendations from other readers, I finally picked up the book at the end of 2004.

Zippy was the nickname of Haven Kimmel, because of the way she used to zip around the room. The book is told from her point of view, but through her eyes as a young precocious girl. We see things as they happened years ago, starting from how she thinks (in her humorous way) her mother and the rest of her family saw her. One of the funniest sections of this memoir was Zippy recalling her mother's journal and writing about Zippy, and the fact that she hadn't spoken a word until the age of three. When Zippy finally spoke her first words and they were "I'll make a deal with you", spoken to her father, her mother's journal entry was "Now that we know she can talk, all I can say is `dear God. Please give that child some hair. Amen'". There were lines like this and many more that had me laughing out loud as I read.

A GIRL NAMED ZIPPY is told in little vignettes, and goes back and forth in time. The reader is reliving Kimmel's childhood through flashes of memory, one leading into another, and not necessarily in chronological order. Although this style doesn't always work, I felt it was perfect for this book. The short chapters made this book a fast read. Each succeeding chapter added a little bit more to the memories of Kimmel's childhood, giving the reader an idea of what her life must have been like in the late 60's and early 70's growing up in that small town of Mooreland, Indiana. It is a town in which (her sister claims) no one sane would have any interest in hearing about, but obviously Melinda was wrong. Kimmel did write that book about their small town lives in Mooreland, and it was interesting enough to get published. I would love to read a sequel, and see what other escapades our dear little Zippy got herself into.

Zippy is a "must read" for women in the Heartland, October 20, 2001
Haven Kimmel has somehow remembered the small details of growing up in Indiana that had long ago faded from my memory. I laughed out loud more than once, what a funny, wonderful read!!! My sisters are reading it now and also loving it. I especially love the finale Christmas in the book. Through the Christmas story, the true nature of midwestern life and values are spoken. Thank you, Haven ... and your sister was wrong. I chose your book even though there were many other non-pork related books on the shelf!!!

Kylie's thoughs on Zippy, April 5, 2004
Do you remember what it is like to be a child? The crazy thoughts and assumptions that ran through your head? A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana, by Haven Kimmel, has exactly what it takes to remind you of your carefree days of being a kid.

With no specific storyline, Kimmel uses pieces of her childhood from the 1960's and 70's to entertain her audience. She vividly describes what it is like to grow up living in the small Indiana town of Mooreland. Throughout the story, many of the townspeople are introduced. The humorous memories take you from Zippy's early childhood into her teenage years. The book reminds you what it is like to be a kid and the never-ending difficulties of growing up.

Zippy is by far the most enjoyable book I have ever read. Kimmel's excerpts are laugh-out-loud funny. She does a great job of painting a picture to make you feel you like you are one of the crazy Mooreland people. Zippy is the perfect book to curl up to on a rainy day. This book is for people of all ages who don't mind a good laugh. I most definitely recommend this book to anyone, because I know they will enjoy it.

I absolutely LOVE this book, August 9, 2004
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I am a big fan of the 'memoir' genre, and this one was great. I find regular people a lot more interesting than celebrities (who really cares about Anne Heche or Pamela Anderson? Really?)and this book was charming and somewhat whimsical. Unconcerned with time-lines, which don't really matter in this book, she seems to write it as she remembers it--it was like having a conversation about childhood with someone, complete with a few small exaggerations. I would recommend this book to everyone!

One of the best (of the many) books I've read this year!, December 7, 2002
I was quite surprised to read two negative reviews (among all the glowing ones) of this charming and delightful book. I think those reviewers totally missed the point, because they couldn't find the truth in Zippy's story. Zippy is a very imaginative child, prone to exaggeration and flights of fancy. These are qualities she clearly inherited from her parents.

We'll never know if the "wicked" old neighbor lady really wanted to kill her; but, Zippy was convinced, and therefore terrorized by this woman. It was Zippy's reality. Who among us hasn't conjured up imaginary demons, scary neighbors and spooky houses when we were children?

I have never before read a book that so accurately captured a child's imagination, emotions and reactions to the characters and situations that made her life uniquely hers.

One reviewer commented that there was no way that the author could remember the events of her childhood with such clarity and detail. Well, let me assure this reviewer that my brother reminds me regularly all of the horrible and just plain stupid things that I did when we were growing up. How much he actually remembers and how much he has invented is not for me to say. I do know that he seems to possess an amazing faculty for recalling the events of our childhood and beyond. Just because I can't, doesn't mean he's lying, does it? Maybe. But who cares? It is the essence of the experience that is being related.

Having grown up in the 'very, very big' town of Muncie that was 'so very far away' I absolutely and positively could relate to every event in this book. By the way, in the name of truth, Muncie is a 30 to 40 minute drive from Mooreland (depending upon whom you are following), which to a young child IS a long, long way. Muncie is a small town by most standards, but NOT if you are from Mooreland.

I was so taken by this book that I drove to Mooreland one day to see Zippy's house, the church, and so on. Kimmel's description of Mooreland is dead-on, even more than 30 years later.

I loved the story of how Zippy's father handled the threat from the neighbors to poison the family dogs. Anyone who grew up around here can see that happening, believe me. Hoosiers have a very bizarre sense of humor, love to make a point and don't take kindly to being threatened. This book captures those attitudes like no book I've ever read.

Another golden moment in the book is when the older sister tells Zippy that she is adopted. The way the kooky parents handle this is absolutely hysterical. Zippy's reaction is unexpected and priceless.

Zippy's struggles with religious issues are beautifully conveyed. This sensitive subject is handled with just the right balance of reverence and independent thinking to make anyone appreciate how Zippy relates to the conflicts and contrasts within her home and her community regarding spiritual issues. Kimmel puts a child's spin on an issue many adults are still debating, and she does it beautifully.

I recently bought several copies of this book to give as gifts to people whom I know can relate and will appreciate this story. One copy, I am sending to a new friend as a way of explaining the occasionally twisted, but decidedly Hoosier, way of seeing things. I just hope Haven will give us a sequel. Meanwhile, I'll have to read this book again and again.

What a brilliant accomplishment by a new author. Bravo!

A Girl Named Zippy, August 17, 2006
The cover photo of an alert non-Gerber baby. An old family photo topping each chapter. These help set a whimsical tone skillfully followed through with words only a mother could love. From tufted-head to stubbed-toe, this book celebrates the spunk of youth with countless recalls of which our inner tot can relate.
We could long for a Dad like hers--who loved his third child enough to casually coin her Zippy. Through her eyes, this family doesn't take itself too seriously.
How Zippy organizes and rationalizes daily undertakings is felt as youthful, reads as youthful. The flightiness of friendships, unnerving nature of neighbors and natural distancing from parents are all taken in stride and delicately expressed. She's a child with shameless pride in plainness. Any precociousness is thankfully not odious. This folk-child character seems too clever to be actual, too enlightened to be real, but we're more than happy to play along.
The book's subtle intrigue--all well told with a perception that belies its na�ve charm. Haven Kimmel has pulled off some retro-realism with finesse. A delightful and amusing read.

Am I missing something? I didn't see much humor here..., October 7, 2002
My aunt and mother asked me to read this to see what I thought. It was billed as a thoughtful, hilarious memoir of a girl growing up in a small mid-western town. Sounded good to me. However, what I found were a few chuckles, some very good writing, but mostly I was taken with the sadness of her story. Her father gambled away her mother's wedding rings. Her mother was depressed and spent all her time reading sci-fi and convincing her she was adopted (cruel). Her neighbors were creeps that threatened to kill her pets. Her friend and her mother had to flee in the middle of the night from an abusive husband and father. Graphic detail of animals being killed, butchered, dying and rotting under houses, etc. All I know is that if this is what people are describing as a funny, heartwarming childhood memoir, I'm sorry for us all. It was nicely written and I'd love to see her try again, but this just wasn't my cup of tea. ... Read more

Editorial Review

In print for fifty years, this gem of lyric prose has enchanted both young and old from its very first edition.

Dylan Thomas, one of the greatest poets and storytellers of the twentieth century, captures a child's-eye view, and an adult's fond memories, of a magical time of presents, aunts and uncles, the frozen sea, and in the best of circumstances, newly fallen snow. ... Read more

Reviews

Eloquent, poetic words; gorgeous pictures, but..., December 7, 2004
This is as nice an edition of Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales" as it is possible to imagine. It is beautifully laid out, in a wide children's picture-book format, with colorful and evocative paintings by illustrator Christopher Raschka.

If you've never encountered Dylan Thomas' vision of his childhood Christmas in Wales before, you're in for a real treat. Boys chase each other through the snow; uncles repair to the drawing room lighting pipes; aunts offer Useless Presents such as mufflers long enough to swing from, and my favorite - the Prothero family's house starts to go on fire, which the gaggle of boys attempts to extinguish with snowballs.

It's clear that a poet wrote this; every word counts not just in the mental images it provokes but also in its glorious SOUND - please try reading it out loud; it is positively musical.

But - I confess the current edition seems mismarketed to me. It's not really a children's book, although older children, at least, may enjoy having it read to them. The picture-book format (and the above product info's insistence that the reading level is "4 to 8 years") might make you, the reader, think of it as a good Christmas present for the pre-school set. But the language is dense and unfamiliar to little ones (the uncles smokes 'briars' not pipes), and the text is longer than a little kid will sit still for (my 5-year-old for example).

I read it to my very attentive 10-year-old as well, and even he had trouble grasping all Thomas' delicious and metaphorical language.

So buy it; read it out loud to yourself in front of an evening fireplace, and Merry Christmas to you all.

A Simple Treasure; A Singular Triumph, January 6, 2003
Dylan Thomas' imagery and prose invoke the secular feelings of Christmas like no other book. His floating word-pictures are both vague and precise, inviting the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. Thomas creates the sensations of memory--blurred, idiosyncratic, and suffused with impression:

"There were church bells, too"
"Inside them?"
"No, no, no, in the bat-black, snow-white belfries, tugged by bishops and storks. And they rang their tidings over the bandaged town, over the frozen foam of the powder and ice-cream hills, over the crackling sea."

Fortunately, the dreamlike imagery never weighs down the book. Instead, Thomas wishes only to convey the warmth, humor, and imagination of his childhood Christmases in Wales. Although this is great modernist literature, it is completely unpretentious and can be enjoyed by all ages. The book seems longer than it is, perhaps because Thomas' depictions linger warmly after one reads about the Christmas fire, the smoking Uncles and drinking aunts, the presents ("...and a celluloid duck that made, when you pressed it, a most unducklike sound, a mewing moo that an ambitious cat might make who wished to be a cow"), the dinner, the caroling at the large strange house where "the wind through the trees made noises as of old and unpleasant and maybe webfooted men in caves," the music, and the soft bedtime.

These episodes are generally no longer than a page each, but they graft onto our own memories--or would-be memories--of what Christmas could or should be like. In sum, it's a pleasure for the both the intellect and the senses, an unsentimental yet warm treat for both young and older audiences. It's one of the truest--and therefore most satisfying--Christmas books you'll ever read.

short but terrific memoir, December 18, 2000
The poetry background of Dylan Thomas gives these reminiscences a certain lyrical quality:

Years and years ago, when I was a boy, when there were wolves in Wales, and birds the color of red-flannel petticoats whisked past the harp-shaped hills, when we sang and wallowed all night and day in caves that smelt like Sunday afternoons in damp front farmhouse parlors, and we chased, with the jawbones of deacons, the English and the bears, before the motor car, before the wheel, before the duchess-faced horse, when we rode the daft and happy hills bareback, it snowed and it snowed. But here a small boy says: "It snowed last year, too. I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea."

"But that was not the same snow," I say. "Our snow was not only shaken from white wash buckets down the sky, it came shawling out of the ground and swam and drifted out of the arms and hands and bodies of the trees; snow grew overnight on the roofs of the houses like a pure and grandfather moss, minutely -ivied the walls and settled on the postman, opening the gate, like a dumb, numb thunder-storm of white, torn Christmas cards."

And they are wonderfully evocative of his Welsh youth.

But for me they also evoked another memory, of a trip that Bud Rouse and I made up to Saratoga. We visited friends of his who worked at the track and had a horse of their own (Double Russian was the name, if memory serves). We had fun at the races, hanging on the far side with all the Hispanic groomsmen and walkers and cussing out prima donna jockeys. And after dinner and a few frosties that night, our host took down a collection of Dylan Thomas poems and we took turns reading them aloud. It was precisely the kind of affected scene that you'd expect in a Manhattan novel or like something out of a gutter version of Jane Austen, but I'll be damned if we didn't have fun.

The best, most treasured, books and writers of our lives become entwined in our existence in just such odd and unique ways. Then any time we encounter them again, they trigger a cascade of memories. For no reason that will ever matter to anyone else, Dylan Thomas is such a writer for me. But I think everyone will enjoy this short but terrific memoir.

GRADE: A

It does not go gentle into that good night., September 25, 2005
Like so many other children's books, Amazon.com takes a perverse pleasure in lumping together all version's of Dylan Thomas's, "A Child's Christmas In Wales". So if a reviewer, like myself, wants to review the book that was illustrated in 2004 by Chris Raschka, I'd better make it as clear as possible right from the start. So here it goes. Ahem. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it gives me the greatest of pleasure to announce that I will now be reviewing "A Child's Christmas In Wales", penned by the great Dylan Thomas and illustrated with grace, aplomb, and a hint of frenzy by accomplished children's book illustrator Chris Raschka. Thank you.

If you, like myself, have gone most of your natural life in ignorance of this story, I'll try to summarize it here. Problem is, summarizing "A Child's Christmas In Wales" is akin to herding cats. This isn't one of those books with a neat little beginning, middle, and end. There's not what you might call "a plot". If the book is ever summarized anywhere it's simply stated that this is Thomas's reminisces of Christmas when he was a child. In doing so, the poet fills this relatively short work with patches of memory, amazing descriptions, and evocative sentences like, "The wind through the trees made noises as of old and unpleasant and maybe webfooted men wheezing in caves". If you're looking for a straightforward Christmas tale with characters, a plot, and a point, go get yourself a copy of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" and enjoy it. If, on the other hand, you would like to begin a tradition in your family of reading aloud this magnificent and truly beautiful collection of evocative images, this the only place to go.

There is no tradition in my family of listening or reading this story during the holiday time of year. In fact, prior to reading this book with Raschka's illustrations, I had never even heard so much as a phrase from it. Basically I came to this book as a clean slate. I was just a former college English major with some mild associations with Dylan but certainly no baggage of any kind. Not knowing the history behind the book, I was under the vague and misguided belief that Dylan had written this tale with the full intent that it be a children's book. Not so much. According to the helpful Foreward at the beginning of this tale, I learned that this book was actually a combination of two separate pieces produced during Thomas's lifetime and put together after. So this isn't like when Michael Chabon or Joyce Carol Oates writes a children's book. More like when Woody Guthrie songs are turned into picture books. A posthumous and lucrative printing.

For the child that has never heard this story read before, I found that Raschka was a perfect fit. Certainly I understand that the book has, in the past, been illustrated by the great Trina Schart Hyman. Hyman, however, is a very literal illustrator. She's excellent at realism and intricate characters, but how well does that work when she's paired with Mr. Thomas? This is a book that contains lines like, "All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged, fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find". Hyman doesn't even bother to deal with sentences like that one. Raschka is another matter entirely. Using a gouache, ink, and torn paper technique, the man who brought the world the manic, "John Coltrane's Giant Steps" has finally met his authorial match. The sentence I just wrote above is accompanied by a snowblown seaside town, so filled with cresting waves and freezing snow that you shiver just looking at it. These are pictures that work on the reader's emotions. I have all the respect in the world for Hyman or even Edward Ardizzone, but as accomplished as they are, they're not the right fit. Raschka is.

I was a little baffled by the blurb on the cover of this version of the tale that read, "This beautifully illustrated edition should bring Dylan Thomas's work to a new generation of children" - President Jimmy Carter. I'm a Carter fan myself, but even I can't see what this perfectly nice former president has to do with poetry, children's literature, or even Christmas itself. It might have been better to put a blurb by the Number 1 poet in America. Problem is, who is that person? And would anyone buy a book if they recommended it? These problems aside, it's wonderful for me to hold this book in my hands and know that at long last a great problem has been corrected. Thomas's book has existed for years without proper packaging. Raschka single-handedly has corrected this problem and the world is a better place for it. So thank you, Mr. Raschka. Thank you.

The best Christmas fable of them all, December 14, 1998
Why, oh why, do we insist on reciting "Twas the Night," perhaps "A Christmas Carol," every holiday season when this, probably the most intelligent, endearing, and entertaining holiday fable ever written, goes unnoticed? Do yourself a favor, buy this book and fall in love with it as I did! Then buy another copy for someone else!

Essential, December 25, 2001
Just finished with the annual tradition of reading this fine work aloud to the whole household, & although Dylan Thomas's perfect (if sometimes tongue-twisting) prose cannot be improved upon, nonetheless, Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations do enhance the story, & make the Welsh poet's vivid reminiscences even vivider. A marvel of beauty, both lyrical (Thomas) and visual (Hyman); a joy to peruse. Make this edition of "A Child's Christmas in Wales" part of your collection, and part of your Yuletide tradition!

Timeless Story. Beautiful Gift. *****, November 3, 2007
With this short story in verse, acclaimed Welsh Poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) exhibits a fierce mastery of imagery that reaches into his own beginnings in seaside Swansea to pull out Christmas reminiscence that, among other things, speaks of snowballs, sleeping uncles, wind-cherried noses, and "cats that slink and sidle over white back-garden walls."

The three copies of this version of "A Child's Christmas ... " I ordered earlier this year, arrived in my mailbox, this week, and I was really pleased to lay eyes them. I was a little disappoionted that the booklet no longer comes with the coordinating envelope that has made it so perfect for "gifting" for so many years, but the texture of the paper that covers the book, and Ellen Raskin's woodcut illustrations still set this publication in a class by itself.

I highly recommend this version of "A Child's Christmas in Wales" as a wonderful read and a choice gift.

It isn't for everyone. Some will find that even listening to the tale is "too much like work." Dylan Thomas does roll on.

There's little punctuation, so, I suggest practicing before reading aloud, but do read it aloud. The youngest of children love it! And, why not ... there are firemen and candy cigarettes, useful presents and useless ones ... lots of merriement for young and old.

Enchanting Poetic Dylan Thomas Classic, July 8, 2003
Dylan Thomas' 'A Child's Christmas in Wales' in it's second print for generations has become an enchanting, simple poetic tale captured in the eyes of a child. The language is delightfully entrancing and the poetry shines with a heavenly radiance. Thomas' style captures an adult's warm memory of a holiday-season that reflects presents, good things to eat, and when it was just right, white blanket of new snow with all it's wonder and the mischief of snowball battles and any exaggeration that moves that will spark the imagination of a child.

This second edition of Thomas' magical tale is lavishly illustration with old-fashioned, scratchboard-like engravings by Fritz Eichenberg. Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales in 1914. He began writing poetry at a very young age and published his first book, '18 Poems' at twenty. From 1943 until his death he broadcasted his own radio talk program on BBC. He read poetry selections, participated in table discussions, and read dramas and essays. His voice became familiar with Americans in the 1950s during his lecture tours at American universities. He had achieved an admirable audience for his poetry. Besides this book and his poetry his other most widely read works are 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog,' 'Quite Early One Morning' and his play, 'Under Milk Wood.'

'A Child's Christmas in Wales' is Thomas' most fine work of art-with it's human quality, touching sentiment, easily understood presentation and child-like wisdom that gives Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' a second glance at holiday tradition. After all we can all find a child in Christmas in all of us.

Second graders from Eakin Elementary share their thoughts, December 17, 1998
I liked the part where the cats were kind of crawling around and the boys were throwing snowballs at them and where Mr. Prothero was waving his slipper over the fire and he looked like he was conducting it. by Sybil Levine

I liked the story when Jim's aunt came down and asked the fire men if they would like something to read. by Morgan Pitt

I liked part where the two boys were throwing snowballs at the house and when the boys said "there might be trolls in there" and they said he reads too much. by Cydney Smith

I like the part when Mr. Prothero said "a wonderful Christmas" and he fanned his slippers and they called the firemen and they tried to call the police and then "Let's call Ernie Jenkins. He loves fires." I also like when the aunt said, "would you like anything to read?" to the firemen. by Jonathan Gilbreath

My favorite part of the story is when the firemen put the fire out and then Miss Prothero says "Would you like anything to read?" I also like the part where he describes the "crackling and carol-singing sea." by Ashley Fox

My favorite part was when Mr. Prothero was banging on the floor with his slipper and when they called the fire department and the firemen were just done putting out the fire and then the aunt came and said, "Would you like to read?" by Harper Ganick

My favorite part was when the kid was on the street. What you do is you take a cigarette out of a little box and wait until an old lady scolds you for smoking and then you eat the candy cigarette. by Davis Gooch

Exquisite holiday story, December 21, 2007
I received my copy of this wonderful book for Christmas when I was an exchange student in Great Britain in 1977. I have loved the story ever since, and try to read it aloud every year. This edition has beautiful woodcut illustrations which enhance the story and seem to really embody the spirit of the work. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

"I was a word-child...but I had no one to listen to me.", October 26, 2004
The child of Ashkenazi Jews who escaped to Jerusalem just before the outbreak of World War II, Amos Klausner (the author's original name) grew up in a scholarly family which encouraged his precocity. His great uncle Joseph was Chair of Jewish History at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and wrote his magnum opus about Jesus of Nazareth. His father read sixteen or seventeen languages, wrote poetry, and had an enormous library, while his mother spoke four or five languages, could read seven or eight, and told elaborate stories.

Amos grew up a solitary child, encouraged to entertain himself while his parents worked. Always a writer at heart, he believed that "it was not enough for me to be intelligent, rational, good, sensitive, creative." He often felt he was a "one-child show...a non-stop performance," always on display to the relatives, his accomplishments never seeming to be enough.

In this elaborate, non-linear autobiography, Oz and his family are seen as archetypal immigrants to Jerusalem, people who arrived when the land was still under British rule and who helped create a new homeland, arguing ferociously about the direction the country should take and the leaders who should lead it. The history of Jerusalem combines with the author's own genealogical records and his memories about his early family life to create a broad picture of the society in which he grew up and in which his writing talent took root.

Detailed, highly descriptive, and filled with introspection about his unusual life, the book shows the tensions within the society and within his family. After his mother's suicide when he was twelve, he broke with his father, joined a kibbutz, and, at fifteen changed his name. His observations about himself in relation to his peers and in relation to the outside world, even at that young age, show his inner turmoil and determination to discover a personal identity.

As the book moves back and forth in time, the author comments about his writing, the people who influenced him, and his "pickpocketing," his "stealing" of the lives of real people in order to invent stories about them. His observations about Israel, its leaders, its never-ending wars with the Arabs, and his experience as a resident of a kibbutz for more than thirty years broaden the scope and provide insight into one man's life in this developing country. Obviously a huge achievement for Oz personally, this is also a huge contribution to the understanding of the growth of a Jewish homeland and to an understanding of how Oz became the writer he is. Much more detailed and leisurely than Oz's novels, this is slow but satisfying reading for those who admire his novels. Mary Whipple

Sorry if I posted twice A Warning:, May 26, 2005
As I wrote yesterday, but deleted because I don't use my real name, this book is everything the news and customers have posted. I will only add this WARNING. Those of you, who, like myself, read about this book as the story of his mother's suicide, have been given a slanted idea about " A Tale of Love and Darkness." Yes, his mother's suicide is here, but far more than that.

As others have said better than I: It's a history of Palestine (pre-Israel), the autobiography of a writer, the way that European Jews experienced lower class/lower middle class life Palestine in the late 30's, early 40's, and all the myriad influences and people that created the great Amos Oz, who is surprisingly modest throughout. REALLY modest.

Yes, as others have said, Oz is my favorite author. BUT, no one should imagine that this will be an easy read, because it is not. It isn't written to excite;is not plot-driven but meditative and far-ranging, as well as non-linear. It differs from Oz' other work, both novels and non-fiction, in that way. It is a long march and the reader must do some hard work to keep up with chronology and mostly to keep one's interest going.

Do not buy this because of a few sensationalist views. Buy this, and yes, I too believe it is a MASTERPIECE, truly AMAZING-- if you are interested in: writing, Israel, Kibbutz life, in exile and hope, in situational despair, in character portraits, and in Oz himself.

His mother's death IS utterly wrenching but hardly the main story and his father comes to life through Oz' genius, as well as his unhappy O how unhappy mom. Also, beware that because he meanders hither and yon, when her death happens it hurts, man o does it! During the second section and esp on the last pages I was sobbing, as her life's end is overwhelmingly sad. But whoever I first read claiming this is the story of his mother, I believe was wrong. It is a HUGE travel and the reader needs energy to keep going, to keep interested until at some point, one is simply hooked.

I recommend this book highly but for experienced readers only, not looking for a quick fix, nor a page turner. For those who want a panoramtic and highly detailed tale, yes buy this and work it. I'm so glad Amos Oz dared to write a book so different from his other ones as he is a private man, a great one, and he got so much right here. Dig in and don't expect to love it all, not at the beginning. I remember almost every vignette now but it took three tries to get 'in'.

Longtime readers of Oz say "This is his masterwork", October 26, 2004

A number of long- time readers of Amos Oz have said that this is by far his greatest work and a true masterpiece.
They say his evocation of the Jerusalem world of the thirties and forties is unmatched. That his description of his problematic and tremendously interesting intellectually overcharged family is done with dignity and distance which is nonetheless heartwarming.
They say that Oz born to the right and having lived his political life largely as champion of the left provides a balanced picture of the fundamental political argument which has divided the Israeli public for years.
They say that this story of a family is also one of the most convincing evocations of the early years of Israel .
They speak of it as a gripping, moving read from start to finish.





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A pleasure to read!, June 11, 2005
This book is intelligent, witty, heartfelt, appealing, and troubling. The author touches on many simple things of everyday life that make his life story unique and have affected his writing. With his superb prose, he puts readers in his own situation thereby giving a sense of what it must have felt like to live the life of Amos Oz. There are precious reminiscences, my favorite being his parents and himself on the one phone line from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv simply giving a weekly hello to relatives. He relates his deep shame at having inadvertently harmed a young Arab boy, what it was like to celebrate the night of Israel's Independence, his experience of being ushered out of an auditorium after laughing at Menachem Begin's use of the word "to arm", how in awe he felt in the presence of David Ben Gurion, how he became aware of his own political leanings, and the difficulty of carving out his own place in kibbutz life. He also opened his soul in revealing the anguish of his mother's illness and the pain of her death.

I love Oz's writing. It's very passionate, but often in an understated way. This is a truly special book. Enjoy it.

Total recall, October 11, 2005
Others have written what this book is about, so I will not try to describe the content of this book. Like the way he presented his mother, Amos Oz is a born story teller and a great painter with words. There is not a place, a person or an activity but that he presents it in such detail that you can actually SEE them. But I must say that often I found the detail excessive. He seems to have total recall, which is often rewarding but can at other times be a bit of a bore. He tells you the number of steps leading up into a house; he describes the smallest objects in a room without asking himself whether they are truly necessary to establish the room's atmosphere; he is inordinately fond of lists. Here, for instance, is a sentence describing his mother working silently and efficiently in the house: "She cooked, baked, did the washing, put the shopping away, ironed, cleaned, tidied, washed the dishes, sliced vegetables, kneaded dough." His aunts, who tell him about the family's life in Poland, also seem to have had total recall: that life is richly reconstructed, but again for my taste the pudding is often over-egged. Then he describes in minute detail and several times exactly which streets he or his mother would take from one location in Jerusalem to another. That might possibly be evocative for Jerusalemites who know the city; but if they know the city, do they need such a guide? These tiresome excesses are most in evidence when he describes his earliest years, until he is about eight years old; but those chapters take up about 2/3rds of this massive book (though his tale is never entirely chronological). Then, when he is eight, the War of Independence happens (excellent description of Jerusalem under siege), to be followed by the establishment of the State of Israel, and now the narrative becomes rather more concentrated and with fewer of the mannerisms of the earlier part. There is a magnificent description how, at the age of 15, this pale, immensely precocious cerebral but romantic youth escapes from the stifling intellectual world represented by his father and his father's friends, to live among the bronzed young gods on a kibbutz. He will stay on that kibbutz for the next 31 years, but his story ends with his adolescent admiration of the goddess who will become his wife five or six years later. And that is where, chronologically, his story ends (though throughout the book there are brief references to events in his later life).

This is a totally inadequate account of the book, and does not even touch on the thread that runs throughout: his relationship with his parents and their relationship with each other. Despite the irritations I sometimes felt, I was never tempted to put the book aside: it is far too interesting and well-written well-written for that.

A brilliant work, of a great writer!, November 18, 2004
This is one of the best modern works, that I have picked up in a while. Well written (Oz writes with his soul), a true tale of love, growing up & developing. Oz is a real master. Do not hesitate, pick this one up and enjoy. This book flows like water, it is a great story told by a great man!

Beautiful words from a unique writer, February 11, 2005
Oz calls himself a 'word child' from the earliest of times. His love of language and his ability to use it in such lyrical and striking terms, is what sets Oz apart from many good writers today. A Tale of Love and Darkness is a magical book, one which recount's Oz's story from the eyes of a child growing up in Palestine, when was a young child of 8 or 9 years old. Oz moves backwards and forwards telling his story, which appears to be non-fiction, (about his own life and that of Israel,)but could very well have elements of a beautiful fairy tale and fiction as he discusses what life was like growing up in Palestine and then Israel of from the late 1940s. In his early life, he dealt with the suicide of his mother, and its impact on his relationship with his father, himself and his country.

My only regret is that I could not read this amazing book in its original language of Hebrew. Being a lover of words myself, there are probably even deeper and more mystical layers of meaning in the original language of this great writer.

An outstanding memoir that blends the personal and the political, July 29, 2005
This memoir is a triumph on multiple levels. First, it is the story of a young man's growing up in a period of history fraught with tragedy and hope -- the time just after the Holocaust and before the State of Israel was founded and took root. Oz blends the personal and the political in a seamless manner. His account of his adolescent sexual fumblings and his eventual initiation into sexual activity by an older woman is both psychologically convincing and utterly hilarious. Second, this is the account of a new nation, Israel, struggling to be born and to forge its identity. Oz grew up as an acolyte of the political Zionist Right; it is remarkable that he moved decisively to the Left and remained there. He is a Zionist who feels deep and genuine empathy with the Arab populace. Third, many reviewers have not pointed out that this is a literary memoir. From almost the day that he learned to read, Oz devoured the classic and not-so-classic works of world literature -- whatever had been translated into Hebrew. In some ways, this book is Oz's effort to acknowledge his literary ancestors and repay his literary debts. The language is lyrical and the sense of history is pervasive. Altogether an outstanding book.

honest, intriguing and revealing memoir, November 22, 2005
Generally, in interviews, etc., Oz is a bit cryptic about his own life, but in this memoir, a coming-of-age story of both a writer and a nation, his honesty and vulnerability are truly remarkable. A brief aside on translation--de Lange, as he's done with Oz's novels, does a marvelous job here. I usually read first in Hebrew, then in English, but this version is so seamless that the English reader will not suffer or miss out. I found the story of his relationship with his beautiful, despairing mother fascinating, and very revealing regarding the writer's attitude towards women in his novels. When I finished, I was so moved that I sat down and wrote the author a letter (albeit unsent), which I haven't done since childhood in Israel. There's an honesty in this book, an awareness of the fragility of memory, of love, of the tremendous need we all have for forgiveness, for connection over time and to each other. If you haven't read Oz's work, you can still learn from this memoir, though knowledge of his fiction will deepen your appreciation. A beautifully written, soul-searching book, highly recommended.

European Jews painfully turning into Israelis, May 5, 2006
I decided to read this novel-like memoir after watching a program about it on Greek TV, and also after an American anti-Israel friend told me that he found a radio interview with the author "very moving". As other reviewers have pointed out, it's not easy reading, and the degree of detail can be tiring at times. But I am glad I read it, and I would heartily recommend it to others as a good introduction to Israel.

Why so many details? One answer is "because the author, being such a famous writer, could". Another answer is that this was the only way to portray and compare Jewish life before and after Israel. For example, the excruciating emphasis on his grandmother's obsession with 'Levantine germs and viruses' is suddenly followed by a telling episode that marked her arrival to Haifa: as a British doctor attempted to spray his grandfather with disinfectant, the author's father grabbed the spray and doused the doctor instead -- for Jewish honor "should no longer be trampled underfoot or disinfected"!

Another great 'surprise' is the way the author's tragic mother really 'enters' the memoir: right after his father is meticulously shown to receive the first copy of his book with unimaginable affection and liken it to a newborn baby, his mother dryly retorts "when it's time to change its nappy, I expect you'll call me".

Is the author's mother's suicide presented as a metaphor for the pains of Israel's birth? I would say yes, even if indirectly and unintentionally: her suicide took place in the same room that noted Israeli general and archeologist Yigael Yadin was renting during the War of Independence; less poetically, her death compelled the author to leave Jerusalem for a kibbutz, moving from the abstract Zionist ideals and debates to the reality of toiling on the Land of Israel.

Will this book be remembered as the saga of modern Israel? Perhaps, although the absence of Sephardic Jews and -- despite the author's 'accidental' visit to a wealthy Arab home -- Palestinian Arabs reduce its chances substantially. Still, if you read it Jerusalem will never be the same!

One last note: I read the excellent Greek translation of Yaakov Schiby and, comparing it to Nicholas de Lange's English translation, I am stunned to see that the latter has omitted one of the 63 sections (where the author writes about novels and writing) and generally altered the text here and there; as a glaring example, only 2 of 10 lines from Zelda Schneurson-Mishkovsky's -- author's second grade teacher in pre-Israel Jerusalem -- magnificent poem "In an Old School for the Blind" cited by the author (and the Greek translator) appear in the English translation:
"For the first time I am thinking
about a night when the constellations are only a rumour"...

[*12/20/07 EDIT*: I have good reasons by now to believe that the poem's author is not the teacher but the student (i.e., Amos Oz himself); in any case, here is how the Greek translation rescues that shadowy poem:

"Why has the mountains' contempt scared me so much
My soul landed here like a bird flying
from the land of a fruit that never tasted...
That the night's garden violated its vow to the tender darkness
For the first time ever I ponder
a night in which the constelations and the degrees
are but a rumor

......................................................

But when am I going to feel that its darkness
is full of signs,
that I know nothing about its soul's journeys
into the magic, the profound, the luminous,
the impossible"

This incident shows how fiction and fact may be weaved into each other in Oz's 'Tale': whether this was done randomly or with a pro-Israel agenda in mind I am leaving to others to investigate; what I would like to do here instead is to cite, straight from the English translation, the one marvelous paragraph where the author casts a bit of affectionate doubt on Israel (through an aunt's narration of her 1938 journey, along with a Greek and her baby, from Trieste to Tel Aviv):

"I even remember that at one moment I had a fleeting thought, why did I
have to go to the Land of Israel at all? Just to be among Jews? Yet this
Greek girl, who probably didn't even know what a Jew was, was closer to me
than the entire Jewish people. The entire Jewish people seemed to me at
that moment like a great sweaty mass whose belly I was being tempted to
enter, so it could consume me entirely with its digestive juices, and I
said to myself, Sonia, is that what you really want? It's curious that in
Rovno I'd never experienced this fear, that I was going to be consumed by
the digestive juices of the Jewish people. It never came back once I was
here, either. It was just then, for a moment, on that boat, on the way,
when the Greek baby fell asleep in my lap and I could feel it through my
dress as though at that moment she really was flesh of my flesh, even
though she wasn't Jewish, and despite the wicked Jew-hating Antiochus
Epiphanes."]

... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Incredible, January 28, 2010
I was shocked how a sick, twisted man (if you can call him that-he's more like animal!)could treat an innocent child! I almost cried many times thinking about how hard it must have been to endure such torture and the mom is just as gulity for not believeing her and not protecting her and also abusing her by beating her too. I work with kids and am going to be even more diligent about spotting warning signs of kids being abused so more kids don't have to go through the unthinkable things these poor kids had to go through. Wonderfully written book about an amazing person who miraculously survived all of this and now is helping others not have to go through the same thing, talk about turning around bad for good, amazing!

Sad Story...., April 26, 2008
This is such a sad, sad story. How can any logical person think that a little 4 year old girl could want to have sex all the time? Her stepfather raped her and her younger sister every day, but when she tried to tell her mother or social worker, the stepfather said that she tries to pull his pants down and forces herself on him all the time. This is disgraceful.

This book is a very personal memoir of Shy Keenan. It is well worth reading if you can overcome the graphic content.

Heartbreaking!, April 10, 2009
This book is absolutely heartbreaking. I've read a lot of books about abuse and this one, is to say the least, startling. How the author survived, I have no idea but it makes you respect her.

True but very heart breaking book....., June 23, 2009
This is a book you cant put down, sometimes you may need to take a break because itis such a heart breaking story. It is hard to imagen a child going thru what Shy went through. This book goes to show you, just because you have a horrible child hood it is really up to you how you live your life once out of the situation. If Shy can become a person of admeration and strength anyone can.

Read "Broken" by Shy Keenan, May 14, 2010
"Broken" by Karen "Shy" Keenan is an incredible read. What sets this memoir apart from others of this type of genre is the attention to the stages of recovery one goes through when recovering from abuse.

Anyone who has experienced incest/sexual abuse as a child can relate to Keenan's story of surviving long past the actual abuse. Hers is a story of courage and of perseverance; and Keenan handles the telling of her story with the same strength she used to survive her childhood. One cannot help but feel empowered after reading how Keenan pulled through the hell of her childhood.

Most memoirs are written to encourage, to teach and to inspire others who may be struggling with like situations, "Broken" does all of these. Keenan asks for no pity, sympathy or praise for overcoming her ordeal, but merely for readers, government agencies and all others to listen to and to protect children from predators of all kinds.

Powerful story, June 4, 2010
After everything that Karen (Shy) went through, it's utterly amazing that she survived! This book is a "hard-read" in that it is shocking to know what grown-ups can do to innocent children! I've read several books about abuse and neglect, but this one is heartbreaking! Although I finished the book in one day, I had to put it down at times...

Must Read, October 2, 2010
This book is very hard to get through. It is so horrific that many times I just wanted to put it down and walk away. Six months after I first read it I still find it hard to think about. However, I think this book should be read by as many people as possible. It is a story of survival like no other. Words cannot do it justice. READ IT!

Broken is heartbreaking, July 27, 2010
I knew when I ordered Broken that it was going to be intense and heartbreaking, but as I read it I couldn't believe that this girl was able to live through this. She endures one abuse after another and her only shining moment was a couple of weeks with a circus. The fact that she was able to survive her childhood and write about it is amazing. I definately would recommend this book for the feelings it stirs inside. Not only should it show people how they can survive the worst of their lives and come through it but also that children that are being abused need our help.

Broken - And Reassembled, November 12, 2010
This book is a devastating first-person account of child abuse. No, not just abuse but almost the obliteration of a child by the people who should be protecting her the most - her parents - a mother and stepfather. And the system that should have helped protect her - from teachers to neighbors to relatives to police to Child Services - all helped the parents by turning a blind eye and sometimes worse.

This woman - and her sister - went through some of the most horrific physical, emotional and sexual abuse I have ever heard or read about and survived. Shy Keenan, the author, went on to help expose and convict her abusers and is now a Chief Advocate, fighting for other children.

This book is brutally graphic, gutwrenching. I cried, I cursed, I applauded. I thanked God that there were two couples that gave Keenan enough hope in her bleak world to persevere.

NO child should EVER have to endure what Keenan did. I know.

I BELIEVE YOU, SHY, August 17, 2008
HOW COULD ANYONE DO THIS TO A 4 YEAR OLD CHILD? THE POLICE AND SOCIAL SERVICES MUST HAVE BEEN BLIND!!! I THINK ALL PERSONS THAT ABUSED SHY SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN LIFE, AFTER ALL, THEY STOLE HER LIFE, SO.... ... Read more

Editorial Review

Empirically proving that -- no matter where you are -- kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilrious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home M�tley Cr�e's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock -- his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet -- but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize. ... Read more

Reviews

A Metal Manifesto (or No Apologies), April 24, 2001
This funny and enjoyable book is an answer to the pop culture elitists (such as myself!) who dismiss heavy metal as ridiculous junk. By relating the social and personal impact of metal on himself and his friends growing up in rural North Dakota, Klosterman makes a compelling case that this music has an importance and meaning far beyond how it compares musically and lyrically to Dylan, The Beatles, Springsteen, and other ordained members of the Rock Canon. The sprawling text is part memoir, part free-thinking criticism, part record guide, and always hilarious.

I guess that FARGO ROCK CITY falls somewhere between Dave Eggers and Chuck Eddy, but it's really too sui generis to be so glibly catagorized. This book is for the "Rocker within us all"! Check it out....

Chuck is a Rock God -- Honestly, June 17, 2003
At first, I was a bit disappointed by the book and then I read the epilogue. Why wasn't it more of a memoir? Why was it filled with so much analysis? Then, I realized that isn't really the point of this wonderful book. Klosterman has made me a fan for life. What wins me over his unbashed honesty. I've long held that the lowest critic life form is that of rock critic. Klosterman calls them on their pretension. He hammers away at what I have always believed is that music is important if it touches you. My MP3 collection has Sinatra and Warrant. Who cares who is better, both form the soundtrack to important parts of my life. Klosterman tells some hilarious stories and his takes on music and life is so refereshingly honest that I can't stop smiling. He isn't mean or nasty--just tells it as he sees it. DOn't agree? That's ok. I learned more than I ever imagined about '80s heavy metal (some which I finally realized I liked about 10 years too late) and I suspect I would have gotten more out of the book if I had understood all the references, but I loved what I read anyway. Except for the passage where he compares the Gospels to GNR Lies, this book really does rock. Isn't that the most important thing?

A Great Read, June 29, 2005
I'm the same age as Chuck Klosterman, grew up in the same period. All that time, I HATED heavy metal. I knew all the bands he writes about, remember seeing kids wearing the T-shirts and having the names written on jean jackets, but I HATED the music.

All that aside:

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

The book is a series of essays about Chuck growing up and being a fan of different heavy metal groups. Going through artists careers, talking about the best CDs of the era, why the groups were popular, and how grunge killed them off.

You don't have to be an ex-metalhead to love this book. His writing is infectious.

I'll be honest, I only picked this up after reading his other two books (FARGO ROCK CITY is his first), and it is just as much fun as those others.

Will it make you rethink heavy metal? Maybe not. In recent years, I've begun to rethink it a bit, if only because I realize the current music scene makes heavy metal seem not so bad anymore. Plus, enough time has passed to make you seem nostalgic about some of these groups. But, this book probably won't make you run out and buy all the Poison or Motley Crue CDs.

It is just a whole lot of fun to read.

Best of Both worlds, November 2, 2001
This book is the best a music fan can ask for.
It is filled with facts and moments in music and pop culture that most of us that grew up with MTV remember. It however DOES NOT make you feel like you are reading a serious essay about why one band or genre is historically significant (like: Why Kurt Cobain was a genius). Chuck writes talks to his readers as if he;s saying "Here's what I think, and here's some facts, and if you don't agree, that's fine"
It's the perfect blend of Heavy Metal's reality, truth and legends mixed with his own personal experiences along the way.
I would reccomend this book to anyone that feels a connection with eighties Heavy Metal. You'll walk away feeling like you visited a good friend you haven't seen in along time.
If you can still sing the chorus to Ratt's "Round and Round" and if you remember Tawny Kitane of the hood of a car, you HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!

Seriously, go read this book. You'll laugh about things you forgot about. But most importantlu, you'll remember how great heavy Metal was/is and how at times it was laughable.

Everywhere was a 'Rock City" in those days, September 7, 2001
Man you know you are getting old when the local bookstore starts carrying books that are retrospectives of your youth. I have read Deena Weinstein's "Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology" and enjoyed it, despite the fact that I think Ms. Weinstein gets a little too analytical about metal culture and turns a simple form of music into some sort of nuclear science. We listened to heavy metal in the 1980's because there was little else to do, it was the perfect vehicle for teenage frustrations and it really did disgust normal thinking people. That is excactly the point of Chuck Klosterman's book.
Being a child of heavy metal in the '80's meant that you had to defend yourself against those Geraldo Rivera specials about satanism, contend with those 20/20 shows about dysfunctional kids who happen to like Iron Maiden and explain to teachers and parents that because you liked Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest you weren't about to shoot yourself in the head or be found sucking on an exhaust pipe in the garage. We also had to deal with the blatant sexism of some of the genre's biggest commercial forces like Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Poison, etc. Klosterman deals with this topic quite frequently in his book. Rightfully so, because it is the sexual imagery that sold "hair metal" to legions of teenage boys and girls alike. Metal offered pure fantasy, girls wished guys like Vince Neil and Sebastian Bach existed in their hometowns and guys dreamed that scantily clad video vixens strolled Main St. like they did the Sunset Strip.
"Fargo Rock City" is an entertaining read mainly because Klosterman is very witty and a very amusing social commentator. The one thing I believe he tried to do in this book is offer up some sort of relative importance of the big hair metal explosion of the Reagan era. He does not succeed in doing this blatantly. If you were not affected by Guns N' Roses and Motley Crue in any way, you will never find any importance in that music. For those of us who lived it, we understand and already know how important it was. You see our generation didn't have the war and social issues of the sixties, nor did we have the freewheeling attitudes of the seventies. Casual sex and recreational drug use turned into AIDS and the crack epidemic and the whole world was "Reaganomics". So of course all we wanted from our music was cartoon satanism and "Nothin' But A Good Time".
One thing I wish the author had discussed more was the fact that metal was probably more visible in the heartland than it was in trendy big cities. Metal bands touring arenas in those days spent more time playing the local civic centers of Fargo, North Dakota and Cedar Rapids, Iowa than they did playing the L.A. Forum and Madison Square Garden. In the small cities, metal concerts became huge events and spawned heated fundamental debates between church leaders and local government whereas the big cities just looked at them as a way to keep the local sports arena busy between home games.
This book will guarantee a few laughs and maybe make you a little nostalgic. Highly recommended for anyone who spent a few Saturday nights watching "Headbanger's Ball" and wasted entire math classes drawing pentagrams on their school books.

Read this book, May 31, 2001
A great look at 80s heavy metal. It combines a lot of facts about the genre ( plus quick, smart comments on other types of music) with good humor and personal recollections on growing up.... Just relax and enjoy a light, fun read.

I'd recommend this highly.

Lived It and Loved It, May 17, 2001
Klosterman is ON TARGET. If I was writing the story of glam metal in the 80s---it would look a lot like this. It is ironic that I was visiting store after store to find the new Faster Pussycat and LA Guns releases, so I could "rock"---when I stumbled on this book (the store didn't have the albums by the way). The essence of what it was to be a hard-drinking, midwestern,suburban white teenage male in the 80s is captured in such vivid detail that I almost wonder if I've fallen into a time warp. "So, come now Children of the Beast....Be strong..and SHOUT AT THE DEVIL!!!" - Motley Crue

Today, I have a "normal" job as a Financial Professional for a midwestern insurance company. And in my office, I have the following CDs that I play constantly: Motley Crue-Shout at the Devil, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns-Cocked & Loaded, Pretty Boy Floyd, Ratt-Out of the Cellar, etc. When I was listening to these as a teenager, I just "knew" I'd one day be a rock star, ya know?

Rattleheads, be warned., April 21, 2008
I bought this on the recommendation of Martin Popoff, and was terribly disappointed. If you want to read an insightful, entertaining, and fair review of heavy metal, this is most definitely NOT your book. Klosterman's "appreciation" of the form starts and ends with "glam" (basically L.A. club metal and derived forms of party-hairspray rock). He spends most of the book in postmodern smirky hipster mode, which means he continually trashes the music from a musical point of view, and chooses to battle for its "validity" in the more easily defended realm of "what it meant to me as a kid." As cultural studies, this is crap, and as a book about heavy metal it is an utter waste of time. He elevates glam (Poison, GNR, Cinderella, etc) and simultaneously slags Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and the host of other metal bands which were the meat and potatoes of any real metalhead of the time. He has no appreciation for what most metal fans would actually grace with the term "heavy metal". As you will quickly be able to tell, this is masterfully well done, in that he affirms what most of the snobs have been saying all along about metal--all the 5 star reviews are from people who are...gasp...not metal fans--whilst and at the same time pretending to be a true fan. Hipster dreck at its worst. You are better off reading Ian Christe's "Sound of the Beast", or even Walser or Weinstein's books. Better yet, check out Sam Dunn's documentary "Metal-A Headbanger's Journey." Dunn and Christe are real fans of the music, and they don't spend all their time perpetuating all the stereotypes of the form.

Good, but ultimately disappointing., May 20, 2001
First, a little background. I graduated from high school in 1986, which was prime-time as far as the music in this book is concerned. I used to spend my weekends with my friends drinking beer, playing videogames and listening to Motley Crue, KISS, Raven, Metallica, and a ton of other bands mentioned in this book. There wasn't a square inch of my bedroom walls that wasn't covered with posters of Dokken, the Scorpions or Def Leppard. When I thumbed through this book at the store, I thought, "Holy cow, someone with taste wrote a book about 80s metal!"

After reading the book, however, my opinion is a little different. Chuck Klosterman and I may have listened to a lot of the same music. We may have spent a lot of time drinking. (Chuck, apparently, still does. I quit.) We both think that "Frehley's Comet" by Ace Frehley is a great album. However, his book was, I think, supposed to say that the hair metal and glam rock of the 80s means something more than those "in the know" would have you believe. What his book ends up saying, basically, is you had to grow up with this music to understand its relevance. That's a real eye-opener, no? I could have told you that.

Still, if you liked (or still like) 80s metal, then the book is worth a read. It was interesting reading about things I haven't thought about since the late 80s. (What's the difference between "heavy metal" and "hard rock?" Klosterman goes into extreme detail about this topic and, if you weren't around in the 80s, it may seem like overkill, but it was an incredibly important determination when describing a band. Are they "hard rock" or "heavy metal"? It was vital to know and understand that stuff.) I don't know how interesting the book would be to someone who wasn't born between 1965 and 1973 though.

Someone gave a dork a book deal, July 8, 2001
Klosterman knows a lot about '80s hair bands and metal, but who cares? He fails to connect this vapid musical movement to anything relevant. He's more interested in showing just how much he knows about Warrant, Poison, KISS, Guns n' Roses--he's set on showing off his metal trivia: what band members wore in each video, who replaced whom on guitar before the big record deal, cover art.

Too bad. I wanted to like this book, and I read it cover-to-cover, but there's something about a dork who feels the need to spout metal trivia interjected with disingenuous self-effacement that reminds why I always changed the station when Ratt came on. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Good Job Mike, I wish you well., October 31, 1999
I grew up in Dorchester which was on the other side of the tracks. Therefore, I already had something wrong with me should I venture to Southie. I was labeled an outsider and wouldn't dare go there alone even though I was white, Irish and Catholic. They were dangerous kids and if one of them accused you of looking at any of them the wrong way, that was enough for a gang beating. They were so full of anger and rage, and they could not ever form a sentence without using a slur of obsenities. I often wondered as a kid how these so called Irish Catholics could be so consumed with hate and venom not only against the rest of society, but towards each other as well. It never made sense to me. I am also Mike's cousin and even though we haven't seen each other since he was a kid, I always felt there was something different about Mike as compared to the rest of the pack. I did go to the apartment a couple of times and the atmosphere was exactly as he described it. Helen getting ready to go out with her accordian, the other tenant's yelling echoing in the halls, Mike at the window or watching TV and the endless metal door slamming from the coming and going activity. I was there for the Frank's funeral, he was a good guy who made a fatal error in judgement just looking for a way out. I also spent a little time with Kathy after her accident. A beautiful girl who loved to dance, now another statistic to the horrors of drugs. What might have been if she had grown up somewhere else is now just speculation. The family's pain was unbearable as one by one they were slipping away. They were caught up in a world of out of control madness with devastating consequences. Mike did an excellent job telling the truth for the most part. I recently drove through Patterson Way on a trip back home, and the sheer gloominess of the street is like a cemetary. It is so sad. For those of you who have read the book and might have wondered what happened to Nellie and her brood of fatherless children as Michael so eloquently pointed out, they all went on to further their educations and are responsible productive citizens. Morals and values begin at home, and what is most crucial to raising children is a loving and stable home that in some cases only the mother can provide. Helen just wouldn't leave, "The Best Place On Earth," under any circumstances. You be the judge of what can and cannot be accomplished raising children alone when you have your priorities in order.

Terrific book..I hope everyone reads it!, July 7, 2000
This piece of literature has it all: it's moving, riveting, gripping, and revealing; and it's very well written. The author's clearly a talented story teller, and he's very courageous to put this revealing story of his family's tragic experiences in the public domain. Michael MacDonald(and Ma) should be commended just for that courage, not even considering his literary talents. I can't imagine the level of pain he endured writing it because of the pain I felt just reading it. The book's emotional spectrum runs the whole gamut from sadness, grief, and despair to sheer hilartity...there's that Irish wit and humor throughout.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone and everyone in our American society. The story had to be told: it's poverty and class, folks, not race! Whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc., whatever ethnic or racial group there is, those at the poor end of the specrum will suffer until society changes."All Souls" teaches us that. Hopefully we'll learn from this marvelous work, and things will improve.

Like Michael, I'm someone born and brought up in a Southie housing project(The Old Harbor Village), albeit some 25 years earlier. I was luckier than Michael and his siblings because I had two parents, and drugs and guns were virtually nonexistent in Southie's projects in the 40's, 50's, and early 60's when I was there. However, I can identify with and testify to the existence of "Southie Pride", and the insular nature of "The Town", that "us versus the rest of the world" mentality. Combine that with the forced busing saga produced by a self-serving state legislature which passed laws to insure their lily-white towns wouldn't be affected by busing, and a judge from Wellesley who didn't have a clue, along with extreme poverty, organized crime controlling Southie ,an incompetent and/or corrupt police force, a similarly corrupt local FBI contingent, guns, drugs, and booze pouring in uninhibited by law enforcement, and lo and behold, you have the perfect formula for the disaster that ensued, the anger, hate, despair, misery, grief, the premature deaths, suicides, murders, ODs' etc, the exacerbation of Southie's natural introversion! Thanks to this wonderful book, the story is out there,and the healing process has begun.

I really hope all of America reads the book, especially those non-Southies who live in Boston and its environs. I guarantee you will all change your perspective of Southie afterwards. I would also recommend that "All Souls" be mandatory in the high school English courses of the Boston Public School system, as well as those across the country. There'a a major lesson to be learned here.

Michael MacDonald..Thank you for your story, and I'll be waiting for to write more!

hitting home, June 29, 2000
Wow! I just finished reading the book...it brought a tear to my eye. As an African-American woman four years older tham Michael, born in the same housing project as he...the story hit home. I commend Mr. MacDonald for his poignant memoir. I grew up in Roslindale, at the time a predominately Irish-Catholic neighborhood, where I lived in fear of the "Southie" types. My family even experienced first-hand being chased out of Southie when I was a teen. My leaving Boston after high school was pretty much a reaction to the racism that permeated the city at that time. It was refreshing to get insight to the "other side" through Mr. MacDonald's brutal honesty. My heart does not bleed for his family or the people in the "best place in the world", but it does help me to understand the pathology that divide and conquer creates. And how when all is said and done and people have died...be all have much more in common than we'd like to think. It also has inspired me to tell my own story and look forward to more tales from Southie from this sensitive, daring writer. Thanks for the insight and memories!

Angela's Ashes Stateside, November 9, 2000
For a young man in his thirties, Michael Patrick MacDonaldexhibits a rare strong, intelligent, probing voice in thisautobiography of his childhood in the forced-busing 1970's SouthBoston.

Readers learn that poverty and tragedy, caused by or atleast exacerbated by Southie's own destructive code of silence and theFBI's refusal to prosecute the 'hood's mafia chief/purveyor ofdrugs/booze/weapons, end up devastating Southie and the author'sfamily. He loses 4 siblings to crime or discrimination.

This is NOTa depressing book. It is uplifting in the sense that Angela's Asheswas: the author writes most of the time from his childhood perspective-- one that doesn't know any other world but the one in which he isliving.

The family went out of their way to NOT look poor, to thepoint where they would buy shop-lifted designer clothes from a Southie"fence" so that they could look as fashionable as everyoneelse, despite the fact that their mother was a "career"welfare mom. MacDonald has said in interviews that in large part hisbook is about the denial of their poverty and immersion in thedrug/weapon culture he wants readers to understand. There's much, muchmore.

I am a Masters student in American & New England Studiesand had to read this book for a class called Ethnicity in America. Ifyou have one book to choose to give you a perspective on how the Irish"assimilated" to the Boston scene, choose this one. Youwon't be able to put it down.

Only Pawns In Their Game, February 29, 2000
Claude Brown told it from an African American perspective thirty years ago. Now we have it from an Irish American perspective. Poor people, regardless of race, are used, manipulated and pitted against each other to the advantage of those in power. Still, in communities crushed down by poverty, crime, corruption, alcohol and drug abuse, some people will not let humanity be crushed out of them. As Viktor Frankel observed in the concentration camps some people will survive no matter how oppressive the conditions. I am glad Michael MacDonald survived to remind us of that fact again. This is a painful book to read. I found it compelling in a way I don't with Angela's Ashes (which I have my education students read). This is an important book and should not be considered as an Irish genre work any more than Brown's is Black genre. They both speak to the human condition in a way we need to hear more frequently, for our own humanity's sake.

Having grown up in "Eastie"..., October 23, 2000
just a few miles from South Boston, I found this book to be disturbingly authentic. Although I am a few years older than the author, I, too remember all too clearly forced bussing, only in my neighborhood bomb threats were made on the tunnels and bridges needed to get to any other part of Boston. I, too, marched and boycotted-not really understanding the issues. I "got out" as MacDonald did and also have been left with an unexplainable and illogical longing and nostalgic feel for the 'hood. His images of his childhood, with the kids belonging to all the mothers sitting on stoopes, in turn made me ache for the old days, when my friends and I were virtually carefree and then want to scream for how we were fooled into believing that there was nothing more important or interesting or certainly worth knowing outside of the few streets you knew by heart.

This was a depressing read, one I can't seem to shake after nearly finishing it in one sitting. Like "Angela's Ashes", this family's destitution is almost to much to bear. MacDonald's reminiscenes brought me back to a place I don't neccessarily like to visit. However, all in all, I think this is an important book for anyone who grew up in Southie, Eastie, Dorchester etc (you know who you are), if for no other reason than to validate the insanity we lived with on a daily basis.

The most important book I've read in years, April 7, 2000
Comparing All Souls to Frank McCourt, is like reviewing a film by an African American director and having to mention Spike Lee. All Souls stands on its own. It uses a brilliantly unique voice, with its own intention for the world. MacDonald and McCourt are both Irish and grew up poor, but MacDonald's book, rather than being another beautiful romanticised memoir about a safely distant Irish poverty of the past, is distinctly about American poverty and life in a contemporary urban ghetto. Unlike Angela's Ashes, poor kids in the South Bronx who are Black and Latino can read MacDonald's account of growing up in an Irish housing project, and know exactly what he is talking about. Because this book, more than being about anything Irish, is about class in contemporary America. All Souls' straight-forward use of irony and humor makes for a beautiful read that can teach us all how to live, and encourage us all to work for change in our racist AND classist American society.

All Souls, January 6, 2000
I purchased this book after seeing an interview of Michael MacDonald on C-SPAN. The book was gripping...a very quick read...I wanted it to go on..at the same time I was happy when it ended...ending the crescendo of tragedy and misfortune this family, and many others in "Southie" experienced. I would strongly recommend this book and would like to thank MacDonald for his open and heartfelt account of his family's story...gripping indeed.

Thanks for writing this book Michael., January 26, 2007
My name is James Mallan im 26 years old and grew up in Old Colony (East 8th). I moved out of Southie in 1996 when the epidemic of suicides hit my neighborhood. After losing countless friends to death and drugs I went to live with my godfather in Maine. It was tuff leaving Old Colony but I now know it saved my life. I now live in Chicago. I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by. I was in college at Umass when a friend was assigned ALL SOULS. Even though it wasn't my class I read the book in 2 days. It was the only book I read in college. Growning up with an addicted mother in Old Colony I felt as if you dipped your pen into my soul and wrote down my life story. I had an older brother that I never met who was violently taken. The way that you described your relationships with Kevin and Frank allowed me to process my own pain about my brother. After reading your book I was able to confront some of the issues of my childhood and bring to light some family secrets that needed to be adressed. I feel that I am a more complete person after reading your book and applying it to my own life and for that I can not express the graditude.
Also I really conected with Frank, in your family. I was the oldest living member of my household and had to take on responsibility that I didn't understand at the time. In some similar ways that Frank was expressed. I found an outlet for the unresolved pain and anger of those situations. In 2001 I started boxing as an amature. The chapters about Frank's boxing career spoke to me, I dedicated myself in his honor and . I always say a prayer to Frank before getting into the ring that Im able to fight with his heart and strength. If this is at all disrespectfull to your brothers memory I do appoligize, I fell that my heart is in the right place honoring your brother. In 6 years of fighting amatures I have a record of 27-6 and look towards making boxing my career. I really don't think that I would be boxing at all if I didn't read your book. And Im sure my life wouldn't be were it is today without All Souls. Thank you for the courage.
JAMES MALLAN

For the worlds more full of weeping....., April 4, 2000
What Mr. MacDonald lacks in terms of compelling and literateirony, evoked by the inevitable comparisons to Frank McCourt, he makesup for in deadpan accuracy, accessibility and earthy humanity. Macdonald's stark account of growing up in the insular urban neighborhood of "Southie" is a fascinating glimpse into a corner of American society that has hitherto been largely maligned, exploited and served up to feed an insatiable middle class appetite for illustrations of moral authority.

Having myself grown up in a housing project (not far from Mr. MacDonald's) I can appreciate and immediately understand the images he evokes and the lines he draws in his story. And, by virtue of my experience, I have a deeper sense of the shadows that he has left out that give his story its fascinating and tragic power.

Housing projects are pretty much the bottom rung of the ladder of America's so called classless social order. They are the places where people of little or no means scramble for limited resources. Elderly people with little or no family gather to live out the remainder of their days under siege by the local youth that seem to thrive on terrorizing the helpless. Young unwed mothers (many children themselves) gather to eke a life in the face of overwhelming deprivation. The density and preponderance of people afflicted with alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness add to an already palpable sense of entropy. The culture of violence, the disdain of the working class, the manipulations of politicians and gangsters, the inaccessible excess of a bustling and encroaching Downtown Boston all contribute to a volatile melting pot that marks its denizens in unpredictable ways.

I do not know Mr. MacDonald personally, but after having read this book I can safely say that I know an essential part of him. I can almost envision his memories of family life in Old Colony. Of his siblings bustling in and out of the old heavy metal apartment door with its tiny peephole and massive brass lock, of its musical clanging of steam pipes and unregulated radiators oppressive heat. Of open windows letting in a comforting breeze and the accompanying sounds of barking dogs, breaking glass, screaming mothers and aggressive kids. I can see Michael sitting in his living room in the middle of this cacophony drinking it in to mask his feelings of affection, of love and terror of his helplessness as he watches his brothers being pulled by deeper currents than they know.

In the end, All Souls is Michael's paean to his family. It is a singular act of love written with tender care with an effort to eschew the numbing sense of emotional distance (toughness) that we develop as a response to such an environment. It is a story about life and hope and meaning and the irrepressible urge of all of us to overcome the forces of destruction and chaos. Thanks for sharing, Michael. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Saigon fell to the Viet Cong on April 30, 1975. Kien Nguyen watched the last U.S. Army helicopter leave without him, without his brother, without his mother, without his grandparents.Left to a nightmarish existence in a violated & decimated country, Kien was more at risk than most because of his odd blond hair & his light eyes - because he was Amerasian. He was the most unwanted. Told with stark & poetic brilliance, this is a story of survival & hope, a moving & personal record of a tumultuous & important piece of history. ... Read more

Reviews

Honest, Moving and Memorable, March 30, 2005
I wanted to read this book because the author was born in the same city I was born in, Nha Trang. I was curious to find out what happened after the Vietnam War ended, especially since my family never talks about their own experiences there. After reading this memoir, I was deeply moved by its honest portrayal of the day-to-day life for the people who lived under the Communists. At first, I myself did not believe that these events actually happened. Only when I asked my own family, did it occur to me that the events in this memoir are a vivid painting of how it really was living in Vietnam in the years that followed the war. Because of this novel and my curiosity, my family has been pouring me with endless amounts of stories about their experiences, most of which are exactly what the author of The Unwanted talks about. Therefore, I highly recommend this book, particulary to those, like myself, who might be curious to know what happened in Vietnam after the war ended.

Brilliant in its simplicity, only overly priviledged would question its authenticity, October 12, 2005
I just finished Kien Nguyen's The Unwanted and have a hard time remembering when a book affected me so much. The story is told straight, with little reflective pondering or self-reflection, which I found unusual and even more distressing because of it. Most memoirs I have read are heavily doused in rationalizations about the author's life, indulgent in their explanations or at least lengthy in their self-interpretation. Nguyen's voice is much clearer, almost factual. In the recall of his childhood as an Amerasian child in the newly Communist Viet Nam of the 1970's, he spares details neither on the pettiness of bureaucracy, on brutal family betrayal, nor on his own actions. If anything, he glosses over his own psychological torment and emphasizes the physical and social torments he and his family endured, leaving the reader to judge for himself how these events should be interpreted.

I am lucky to have visited Vietnam in the late 90's and stayed in households there while researching for a documentary being made about an extended family. There are hundreds of thousands of stories like Nguyen's, varying in degrees of severity. I have heard some of these myself and seen the evidence of ruined lives and a ruined country. Those who tried to escape, Amerasian and just plain tormented Vietnamese alike, endured tales of suffering that once heard, you hope with all your heart you will never have to hear again in this world. Human cruelty exists. In extremes. Courageous writers like Kien Nguyen play an enormously valuable role in reminding those with privilege especially that we all choose to make of that fact what we will.

A remarable and must-read book, May 18, 2001
A friend of mine recommended this book to me. Once I started reading it, it's hard to put it down. The author (Kien Nguyen) wrote this with all of his heart. I am a Vietnamese-American currently live in Texas, I know how it was in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975, even though admittedly I had a more pleasant childhood than Kien.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone. To Kien, if you happen to read this review, I know I could speak for many other Vietnameses currently live in the states: thank you for writing this remarkable story of your life in VN!

Spare and honest; poignant story of Vietnam, post war, May 2, 2003
Written in a spare and straightforward style that suits the horrific and lush backdrop of post-fall-of-Saigon war years, The Unwanted is Nguyen's story of his childhood as a hated Amerasian, the illegitimabe child of an American GI and a wealthy Vietnamese woman. Focusing on the decade after Saigon fell and ending with his emigration to the United States when he was 18, the author documents the crazy shifts in his life from one of privilege before the age of 8, to one of pathos and fear under the Communists, when the whole social order was reversed and his family was at risk of losing everything, including their lives. Now a dentist in the US, Nguyen initially penned his memoir as a self-healing attempt to overcome the many scars of his difficult childhood. It is fortunate for his readers that he decided to seek publication.

A Moving, Haunting, Disturbing, but Worthy Read, July 21, 2002
Once in awhile, a really good book that comes along to haunt me for days. This is the case with Kien Nguyen's memoir "The Unwanted." The book is very sad, dark, and disturbing from beginning to end. The only thing that prevents me from falling into an abyss of despair is a glimmer of hope in the final chapter of the book when his family was boarding an airplane to leave Vietnam. It is not an easy read. But it is a worthy read; it is one of the best books I have read about Vietnam. His book reminds me of Jung Chang's monumental work "The Wild Swans" and Nien Cheng's haunting memoir "Life and Death in Shanghai." It reminds me of an extraordinarily well-written and moving article on the Wall Street Journal published in 1999 to mark the 20 years anniversary of the fall of Pol Pot in Cambodia... The book also reminds me of my own experience last year walking through the prison cells and death chambers at the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp which was left intact as it was at the end of WWII... As I was standing there, I had flashbacks of my own experience in a Communist prison. All of these experiences force me think about the meanings of Fascism, Communism, human mistreatment, and human dignity. Kien Nguyen's memoir also reminds me of my own best friends in first grade - Amerasian twin brothers... Kien Nguyen's book has provided me an answer. Having been jailed at a prison in Kien Nguyen's hometown and having left Vietnam through the ODP program, I was particularly impressed with his accurate descriptions of the prison, the building, the people, and the troubles one had to go through in order to leave Vietnam. I have a great admiration for Kien who has the courage to write this book that really captures the essence of life in Vietnam during those years. His book is an excellent that will keep you awake at night turning the pages. I like it so much that I order one copy for my home library so in case later my children ask me about Vietnam... "The Unwanted" gets five stars and "Two Thumbs Up" recommendation from me!!!

The best book I've read all year -- a must read for all!, July 19, 2001
It's very hard to believe that this incredibly riveting book was written by a dentist in New York, as therapy for his bad dreams about his childhood as an Amerasian growing up during the Vietnam War . . . What can I say about this true story? From page 1, it's mesmerizing. His writing is spare, yet beautifully descriptive. He walks us through incredible scenes of his childhood in a way that makes us believe that we are really there, seeing the war through his child's eyes. I'm buying copies of this book to give to my friends, relatives, and colleagues. I stayed up all night to read this book, and I cried.

a remarkable, heartbreaking story, April 22, 2001
Most Americans have little idea of what happened in Vietnam after the last helicopter left the U.S. Embassy roof. This memoir--which is brutally painful to read at times--is by far the most detailed account of the chaos that tormented Vietnam in the first ten years of Communist rule that you'll find. Something tells me that a sequel chronicling how Nguyen evolved from 18-year-old immigrant to 33-year-old New York dentist would be just as fascinating. I hope he's writing it.

Compelling, wholly absorbing story., March 21, 2001
Unreservedly recommended. This is one of the few books in recent memory I was completely unable to put down until finished. The author tells the horrifying and fascinating story of his childhood in post-war Vietnam without sensationalism, and without flinching. Occasionally the language is a little awkward - I imagined the author remembering his childhood in the language he used then, and not finding exactly how to put it in English - but there is still something poetic in its simplicity. Thanks to Kien Nguyen for sharing his remarkable story of courage and resilience.

Same past, April 3, 2002
I am also an Ameriasian, born in 1966. I cried while reading this book. I cried for Kien, for myself, and for other Ameriasians from VietNam. I understand exactly what he had gone through. Thanks to Kien for this incredible book. He wrote just what I've always wanted to write. I wonder if Kien ever find his dad. I have not. I wonder if his dad and my dad ever have a chance to read "The Unwanted". I wonder what they think of us. I wonder if they ever wanted to find their son and daughter.

A great story!, June 21, 2001
Like many others who have left comments about this book, I too finished it in less than 24 hours. I found it difficult to put down.

I am finally thrilled to read a story such as this one. The struggle and journey to freedom for many Vietnamese refugees has not been documented enough. My family and I were fortunate to flee from Vietnam in 1975 during the fall of Saigon. My journey to freedom was less harrowing and uneventful than the author's. However, my other friends who fled the country during the second wave of the Vietnamese influx to the US in 1979 told me of bone-chilling tales of their trek to a far better life in the States.

The tragedies and misfortunes of some refugees who flee Vietnam in boats include harsh weather, a lack of food and water which ultimately leads to starvation, boat engine failures that cripples some boats to drift aimlessly in the Pacific and finally sea pirates and bandits who board these vessels to steal peoples' only possessions while raping some of the women and children. Indeed, these stories are true and more or less remain undocumented to the general public.

I am thrilled to know that stories like this one are now being told. ... Read more

Editorial Review

One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung's family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed.

Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.

Reviews

An Incredible Narrative of Tragedy, Courage, and Survival., January 27, 2000
Having traveled extensively in Asia and keenly recalling the tragedy of Cambodia from media accounts and as depicted in the movie "The Killing Fields," I was attracted immediately to this subject matter. However, even then I was unprepared for the enormous impact this book would have on me.

Anyone with respect for human dignity will surely be affected by this insider chonicle of the unspeakable atrocities committed against average, ordinary, and innocent Cambodian families and individuals. And yet, despite the enormity of the physical and psychological terrors, in the end, the triumph of a child and her siblings bravery, perseverance, and spirit leads to a story of ultimate survival and confirmation of light over darkness.

This is an important book, not only in detailing the author's incredible individual ordeal, but also reminding us of the terrible consequences of a fanatical totalitarian fringe gaining power in any society.

And finally this is a tough story, but also one to celebrate and learn from. It should be recommended reading in Universities around the world in the hope that the architects of tomorrow's societies be well aware of the dangers of fanatical extremism.

The Human Dimension of the Khmer Rouge Genocide, April 25, 2000
Loung Ung's book FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER is an intimate, personal account of life under Cambodia's genocidal Khmer Rouge. Its emotion and urgency give the reader a sense of what it was like to be there -- to suffer as Ung and her family suffered and to see the horrors that they saw. The book thus provides a crucial supplement to drier, more academic accounts of the Khmer Rouge regime, which typically are written at a distance in order to preserve an aura of objectivity. Ung is not in the business of providing a dry, historical account of what happened to her country; rather, her purpose is to share the raw, often brutal, story of what happened to her.

Ung's book provides a human framework for coming to terms with the madness of the Khmer Rouge. Instead of remaining decontextualized victims -- remarkable only for their suffering and identical to the victims of countless other tragedies -- Ung's family and the people she meets gain the dignity of personal qualities and individuality. Through the eyes of the child that she was at the time, Ung forces us to see her family and acquaintances not just as statistics or haunted faces glimpsed on television, but as people with lives that began before the tragic period of the book and that, at least in a few cases, continued after the events described in the book were over.

FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER is part confession, part therapy and part urgent mission to share a story with the world. It is often painful to read but it is profoundly rewarding. Ung's story is heartbreaking but her own persistence, fortitude, and ultimate triumph inspire. Furthermore, in an age where tragedy and genocide have seemingly become commonplace, Ung's ability to heal after such a harrowing childhood is encouraging evidence that others, recovering from tragedies elsewhere, can do the same.

An incredible story written incredibly well, April 19, 2000
I've had a low-level interest in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge since I saw "The Killing Fields" a few years ago. I've read a few things and was basically familiar with the history. However, I had no real appreciation for the brutality the Cambodian people endured for those 4 years until I read this book.

As somebody stated in an earlier review, I wondered (at first) how a 5 year old child could remember all of this. As I got further into the story, it occurred to me that no one could ever forget this sort of thing. In addition, Ung gives one of her older brothers credit for filling in some gaps. This book is VERY believable.

Ung writes about horrific events in a matter-of-fact style. She occaisionaly changes the point of view of the narration, which can be a bit confusing. But, overall, it's easy to follow the story. It's even easier to become drawn in to the story.

I put another book aside to read this. I'm glad I did.

First They Killed My Father, February 19, 2000
Luong Ung's story held my attention completely. I have many friends who survived the killing fields of Pol Pot and their stories match hers in many ways. Seeing the author interviewed on television recently caused me to seek out this book.

I was particularly focused on certain points of her story: how wedges of class envy and racial differences were driven between people to help fuel the killing, how the children endured forced political indoctrination, the detailed, vivid description of starvation from a child's point of view, and the spirit to survive often being fueled by hate. Loung used her hate for Pol Pot and what had been done to her family as a source of strength to survive, but the hate she developed never extinguished her love for her family.

As Americans, do we really think we are immune from having a killing field happen here in America? We need to read this story and learn from it. Human history is filled with holocausts and will continue to be filled with holocausts because that is as much part of human nature as it is human nature to forget the lessons offered to us by these survivors. Loung Ung presented the crucible of human frailties for us to examine and for her to find a way to heal herself of some of the pain of her losses. I am indebted to her for her courage and care to share this with me.

A gripping account of hell on earth, February 5, 2000
This is a book that should awaken Americans to the hell that Cambodians endured between 1975 and 1979. The author tells her tale of misery caused by the murderous and inhuman Khmer Rouge and their bizarre leader Saloth Sar (Pol Pot). The author remembers the ordeal of her family and citizens of Phnom Penh being forcibly evicted into the hinterlands of Cambodia where many died of starvation, exhaustion and execution while working in labor camps to create the "agrarian utopia" devoid of technology, money and educated people. The author tells of the tragedy of being separated from her family at such a young age and later learning that her mother and father as well as two sisters died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. The book is powerful by reminding the world that genocide on a mass scale is not an isolated European phenomenon. It happened in Cambodia, yet the world and the media seem to forget this sordid episode in the history of the world. This is a story of survival against long odds. How anyone could survive an ordeal that the author describes in this book is beyond me. When I think I might be having a bad day, I need to simply remember that many people in the world have it a lot tougher than many of us do. Indeed, the fall of South Vietnam and Cambodia in April 1975 is not exactly a shining moment in U.S. history. Our cowardice in leaving the Cambodians and South Vietnamese to their own fates after propping them up and encouraging active resistance against the oommunist forces has to rank as one of the sadder days in our history. Having recently visited Cambodia, I have seen some of the killing fields and talked to many who have had their families destroyed during the period of 1975-1979. Almost every Cambodian family has been affected by that period. The author is to be lauded for writing a great book. It is an angaging read and can be read in one or two days. The book is riveting and makes one sad to think that this sort of thing happens in our world. The tragedy of the killing fields must be made known to the world and this book achieves that task. There are lessons to be learned so that this human tragedy can't happen again

What if?, March 10, 2000
I often imagine what would happen if society suffered a meltdown around me. Could I survive? What would happened to my loved ones? Could I protect them? Would I fight back?

Loung endured and survived such a meltdown. She walks the reader through her voyage into and out of the abyss. I had no choice but to read the entire book in one night - it's that powerful.

Both a human tragedy and a truimph of the spirit. I am grateful that Loung was strong enough to survive and tell her tale. I am better for it.

A book everyone should read, February 14, 2000
From 1988 to 1990 I was living and working in Cambodia with OXFAM UK. It was almost daily that I was told, by my Cambodian collegues/friends, accounts of the killings and suffering that took place during the Khmer Rouge time. When I read Loung Ung's book, I felt as though I was back in Cambodia, being told another experience that emotionally tears one's heart apart. I can not comprehend how a child at that age would be able to deal with such brutalities and loss of parents and siblings.

Loung Ung's book describes, through a personal account, an historical period in Cambodia that needs to be remembered and told. I would hope that, through reading of this book, our society would become more aware and compassionate towards others. Loung Ung's book is a must to be read by all.

The story of an exceptional young woman, January 31, 2000
I could not put it down. Loung's story is unbelievable. While I was reading her story I grew with her. In the beginning, you feel the sadness and pain she is going through. Towards the end the little girl grows out of this sadness and becomes incredibly strong and you as the reader experience this development with her and you stop crying when she does. Loung Ung is an exceptional young woman. I admire her work, accomplishments and her strength.

An eye opener real life account, March 7, 2000
Loung has done an awesome job in writing her real life account of the Angkat atrocities in Cambodia.

I was unable to let go of the book once I started reading and lost sleep over a few days just thinking about and imagining what I had read. It brought back images to mind from the movie "The Killing Fields".

I can understand the immense effort and courage it must have taken to recollect incidents from a time that probably still brings shivers to the author's mind.

Survival in Campuchia, March 4, 2000
This is an elegant work of prose that traces the harrowing exodus of a young child from her idyllic home in Phnom Penh to the remote villages in the Cambodian country-side to the Angkar death camps.

As Loung Ung is exiled from her idyllic home, the reader is led down a terrifying path filled with betrayal, jealousy, and murder but also courage, heroism, and survival. Ung writes in a poignant yet succint style that shows how friends turned against one another in order to curry favor with the ruling regime. Families once on the margins of Cambodian society, both physically and economically, turned on their countrymen with a savage vengeance that defies a logical response. This led to unspeakable acts of violence by the ruling regime, either through starvation or slaughter, against countless people.

Yet, amid this awful backdrop, Ung also introduces to the reader people who reclaim their humanity under oppression and, in this sense, redeems this sad story. Of the most memorable is the author's brother, who underwent severe beatings from the children of the camp leader in order to provide his family a handful of food to stave off hunger. Ultimately, this is a story of survival and how the personal saga of one person reveals the depths of the human psyche under such desparate conditions. It reminds this writer of Primo Levi's book, "Survival in Aschuwitz" and how one person's experience can represent the journey of 10,000 more.

If there is one question that does arise from this book that was unanswered, it is this: given all that has happened to Cambodians in their civil war, how does the cycle of hatred and violence end and who is willing to make that change? ... Read more