Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
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Book Reviews of Possible Side Effects
Book Review: Humorous and More Mature
Summary: 3 Stars
This is one of a series of memoirs that Mr. Burroughs has written, chronicling his life growing up with a mentally ill mother and extremely dysfunctional family, his homosexuality, and his substance abuse and addiction.
In this book he's an adult and has a relatively stable life now, and the stories are decidedly more mature (and pleasantly funnier) than the earlier work of his that I have read. I do sometimes think that I'm reading essays by a little boy that wants a lot of attention, he has that type of style that tries to shock you a little bit, but this book was okay.
Book Review: Cute yes....hysterical, no
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm sorry, but I didn't bust a gut laughing while reading Possible Side Effects. I'll grant that it is cute, but for me self-absorption and self-deprecation do not equate to humor. Burroughs' stories do make some good points, and these are worth pondering. But if this is the state of humor today, then I guess I could be accused of having no sense of humor. For some truly witty writing, try Dave Barry.
Overall, this is light airplane reading. It has its place, but not alongside great literature.
Book Review: Decent but not great
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the first Augusten Burroughs book I read, and I can't say I'm terribly smitten by his writing. While there are some hysterically funny stories here, few seem particularly insightful or memorable. More curious to me is that he doesn't seem a particularly skilled wordsmith. He kind of just strings sentences together without any unusual panache or natural flow. It's enjoyable and lightweight reading that will work well on a plane, but I doubt I'll be reading anything else by him.Book Review: not his best, but still good.
Summary: 3 Stars
i really enjoyed Running With Scissors and i absolutely loved Dry. this book was kind of like a flight of ideas, no real surprises, no cohesive story but still amusing. i'll read anything by Augusten Burroughs because i'm hooked on his life. he's an amazing human being and a true survivor.Book Review: Been there...
Summary: 2 Stars
Augusten Burroughs is David Sedaris, only without the wry humor, the keen observations, and the wicked turns of phrase. PSE attests, moreover, how few compelling life experiences AB has left to put to memoir. The fact that, as the disclaimer at the beginning of the book says, the stories that follow are, in part (which part?), a mix of conflation and confabulation, makes this tepid volume the more annoying to read. (Memoir as confessed fiction. What's the point?) A word of warning: PSE is even more annoying to listen to. Burroughs made the disastrous decision (or perhaps he was cajoled into doing so?) to narrate his own book. Not every writer is his own best reader -- a truth that is boldly underscored by the audio version of PSE. AB has one of the most grating audio-book voices (positively excruciating in certain of its nuances) I've ever encountered. AB would be wise to hand future books over to professional readers. As for future books: I think AB should consider turning from the fictionalized pseudo-memoiristic story form (profitable as it has been, the well is clearly dry) to some other form -- perhaps pure fiction. The second star in my review is for AB's talents as a writer. A great writer he is not, but a good (and engaging one) he is, and he has a lifetime ahead of him to hone his craft. For my part, I've had it with Running With Scissors II, III, IV, V, VI, ... If AB continues down this path, then I take my leave of him. Should he ever decide to turn his talents elsewhere, I'll be happy to give him another read.