Dry: A Memoir
by Augusten Burroughs
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Book Reviews of Dry: A Memoir
Book Review: A different perspective
Summary: 4 Stars
You would think that a memoir about a recovering alcoholic would somehow be filled with standard cliches of recovery meetings, stock characters, and long winded passages of the main character clamouring for a drink. Nevertheless, Augusten Borroughs manages to steer away from most of that in providing an angle of a dysfunctional adult gay male who enters rehab, only to return to sobriety falling for a patient in the clinic who is still battling a crack addiction.
Augusten manages to keep the viewer entertained by giving his sarcastic gay perspective an open voice. He paints a picture that most of us will never see or understand but gladly want to hear about it. To boot, Augusten even manages to throw in a couple zingers at times claiming at one point, "gay alcoholic men don't just go to the meetings to get better, it's because they are addicted to the drama".
I am paraphrasing there, the quote isn't exact but you get the idea of where Augusten's warped sense of drama and writing comes from. It provides for some great writing and an enjoyable harmless read.
Zippy, entertaining, and fun! Enjoy!
Book Review: humor sometimes a bit forced, but a fascinating read
Summary: 4 Stars
This review is for folks that haven't already read other "drunkenlogues."
It's a good read, but the humor feels forced in a few spots (especially when he starts rehab), and occasionally the writing doesn't quite flow. Burroughs is good at conveying the depth of denial and the necessary determination and tediousness needed to hold on to sobriety. Never having read a drunkenlogue before, I found his account fascinating. The book is also interesting for its tidbits on the world of advertising.
The effect of this book on the reader is not at all comparable to that of Running with Scissors. Running with Scissors included a bigger, wackier cast of characters, and charming descriptions of his personal idiosyncrasies stemming from his dreams and ambitions. The absurdity serves as a distraction from the darkness, and also there is an underlining of hope. Dry in the end is resigned instead of hopeful. It doesn't have the absurdity of Running with Scissors, and since he is alone, physically or emotionally, for large chunks of the book, wacky characters provide a lesser distraction.
Book Review: Even better than "Running with Scissors"
Summary: 5 Stars
I read "Dry" very soon after finishing "Running with Scissors" and think I enjoyed this second Burroughs memoir even more than the first. (And I LOVED the first!) Reading Burroughs is like having a long conversation with a fascinating, candid friend. Blessedly, this book lacks some of the stomach turning qualities, and gross out humor, of the first.
After his madcap and unstable childhood in "Scissors," who would have guessed that Burroughs would wind up as a six-figure ad exec? That is one of the many surprises of this page turner. Burroughs chronicles his alcohol addiction, a stint in rehab, and two notable love affairs in a breezy style that contrasts with the serious events. And, in spite of the melodramatic twists, never once do you feel like you're witnessing a tawdry, Jerry Springer type display. There is a humanity behind all this, thankfully. In the end, Burroughs life is strangely uplifting because it is a story of survival. It is a reminder that, prior to the popularity of child-centered, family values political rhetoric, kids got through a lot and lived to tell.
Book Review: A huge improvement on "Running with Scissors"
Summary: 5 Stars
Mr. Burroughs is in top form in this high point of his memoir trilogy. Where "Running with Scissors" recalls instances from a dysfunctional childhood, here the author tells a series of consecutive tales; all are closely related.
Mr. Burroughs holds nothing back as he tells the tale of his sobering-up and plumbs the depths of his soul at the same time. This is a revealing book and an emotional rollercoaster. The author's true gift is being able to determine where to put the humor. He is able to see the humorous touches during his time in rehabilitation while holding back when recounting the decline and death of his best friend and first lover. In fact, he expounds in an almost reverent tone despite the fact the he was emotionally numb at the time.
While reading this, I had a tough time putting the book down. It is amazingly well written, painfully honest, and tells us not only the events, but the thoughts and feelings behind those events. This is a harrowing tale of the dangers of addiction made all the more frightening because it is true.
Book Review: brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
i loved burrough's first book and i love this one even more. i really respect him as an author. i think he is a brilliant writer.
i found myself laughing and then almost crying as i read this book.
having just read million little peices which is also about a recovery of an addict, and then finding out that the author embellished much of it, i lost some of sympathy towards james frey. i liked the book alot when i read it but now i feel like it was trying to hard to make me feel for him. it was trying to hard to make him into a tough guy. alot of this does have to do with the fact that he lied. but augusten burroughs doesnt try to make the reader feel sympathy towards him. he is just who he is, sometimes really shallow, but that is just who he is. he doesnt try to be dramatic. i feel like he is just writing exactly what he feels and it comes out to be an amazing, hilarious, heartfelt story. i think this shows how talented he is as a writer. i definitly reccommend this and wish there were more writers out there like him. i cant wait to read more of his writings.