Books News

With his fifth memoir critics are tiring of Augusten Burroughs

By M&C News May 2, 2008, 12:29 GMT

Augusten Burroughs’ new memoir, his fifth actually, is called A Wolf at the Table and deals with more pain and suffering and dysfunction yet no critics are finding it all that funny. Go figure.

“Determinedly unfunny, awkwardly histrionic and sometimes anything but credible, it repudiates everything that put Mr. Burroughs on the map,” Janet Maslin of the NYT noted. She then went on to state, “It’s a bad sign when a book’s cover graphic packs more of a wallop than the text does.”As if Running With Scissors and Dry weren’t enough, Burroughs felt the need to uncover even more dirty laundry via his poor, lazy prose style once again the critics keep mentioning. Many have noted that this is just another example of a writer using every ounce of hyperbole in his suburban childhood for attention. Yet one critic actually bought into the book being overwhelmingly “sad”, using the example of the young child having to eat food straight from a can. Yes, right up there with starving children in Africa. So critics aren't buying it. Hopefully readers won't as well. Click here to read the review.

View blog reactions

Latest Headlines in Books

Talkback

There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)

Latest from M&C Blogs

Al Gore sets cat amongst the pigeons - Global Eye on July 18, 2008 2:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Did the New Yorker cartoon miss its mark? - Global Eye on July 16, 2008 2:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBacks (0)

A look behind the Jesse Jackson rant - Global Eye on July 10, 2008 4:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

Giant Orange - The World in Pictures on July 15, 2008 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

- The World in Pictures on July 15, 2008 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Plasma Production - The World in Pictures on July 15, 2008 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Books

Books News

With his fifth memoir critics are tiring of Augusten Burroughs

Latest Headlines in Books

Talkback

Latest from M&C Blogs

A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print