Augusten Burroughs Week: Day Three - Possible Side Effects Book Review
About the Book: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Running with Scissors comes Augusten Burroughs's most provocative collection of true stories yet. From nicotine gum addiction to lesbian personal ads to incontinent dogs, Possible Side Effects mines Burroughs's life in a series of uproariously funny essays. These are stories that are uniquely Augusten, with all the over-the-top hilarity of Running with Scissors, the erudition of Dry, and the breadth of Magical Thinking. A collection that is universal in its appeal and unabashedly intimate, Possible Side Effects continues to explore that which is most personal, mirthful, disturbing, and cherished, with unmatched audacity. A cautionary tale in essay form. Be forewarned--hilarious, troubling, and shocking results might occur.
Our Take: Augusten has been spewing out his memoirs for many years now in a few books, so its only natural that he's staring to sputter out a bit. Even Burroughs only has so much to say about his childhood and life. Possible Side Effects is a collection of essays that are admittedly false in many ways. We felt that it was important to take the time to honor Augusten with an entire week here at Book Legion, so we're posting one of his titles each day this week!
There is a saying in life...there are three parts to a story yours, theirs and the truth. Burroughts admits readily in this book that many parts are expanded or revised due to his extraordinary imagination. This is the least developed of Augusten's books, its very clear that he hit a crossroads at this point and his method of writing was starting to become a bit forced. Its still very entertaining, but its certainly not up to the caliber of Running with Scissors or Dry. After this he took a break to write straight fiction with Sellevision. I think that was a good idea, because when he came back with a Wolf at the Table (which we'll review on Friday) and You'd Better Not Cry (which we reviewed in January), the magic was back!
Tomorrow we're going to examine 'Sellevision', a novel by Burroughs!
There is a saying in life...there are three parts to a story yours, theirs and the truth. Burroughts admits readily in this book that many parts are expanded or revised due to his extraordinary imagination. This is the least developed of Augusten's books, its very clear that he hit a crossroads at this point and his method of writing was starting to become a bit forced. Its still very entertaining, but its certainly not up to the caliber of Running with Scissors or Dry. After this he took a break to write straight fiction with Sellevision. I think that was a good idea, because when he came back with a Wolf at the Table (which we'll review on Friday) and You'd Better Not Cry (which we reviewed in January), the magic was back!
Tomorrow we're going to examine 'Sellevision', a novel by Burroughs!
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