A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by Augusten Burroughs (2008, Hardcover)

Augusten Burroughs' long-awaited tale of childhood angst reads more like a diatribe to the morose excuses he might have come up with for why he originally began drinking, drugging, and swearing off all responsibility throughout much of his life. Ironically, that's just what this book is: an utterly morbid sobriquet of how much the author's cloying adolescence sucked before he created his "Thoroughly Modern Millie" persona. Its sinfully indulgent morbidity rarely, if ever, reveals much that we didn't already know or suspect about the his gluttonously maudlin background.

Above all else, this overtly melancholy overture is best kept far away from the prying hands of those clinically depressed who think of suicide as a sumptuous repast each afternoon. I have to admit, I even considered popping a bottle of Prozac just to make it through the first few chapters. However, if there is anything I know about Burroughs' writing, it is quite possibly that this was his intended effect: to jolt awake those peering eyes that want to know more about the writer who penned such uproarious classics as "Running With Scissors" and "Magical Thinking." Boy, are those anxiously happy readers in for a shock when they pick up this funereal coming-of-age epitaph.

Perhaps it is a shame that, with Burroughs' multifarious repertoire of talents, he chose this venue to navigate his readers through. I suspect most of the author's core disciples will be turned off by this selection. Personally, I felt as though I was being carefully guided through the inferno by an author who clearly is as imaginative as Dante but as skilled as telling a story as, say, a mime. However, one thing that should come as absolutely no surprise, based on the author's ceaseless mugging and self-promoting, is that this memoir sets a veritable stage for a follow-up book: an ode to his mother.

What a shock, right? A memoir about how a gay man's father was horridly cruel and unpredictably absent followed by a revelation of stories about how his mother was emotionally unavailable and psychologically vapid. Who could fathom such a unique line of ideas? How novel! But who am I kidding? I'm sure I'll be the first in line to get whatever Augusten Burroughs cranks out. And the truth is, you should be too.

With his non-fiction book, "A Wolf at the Table," Augusten Burroughs proves that his memory well hasn't quite run dry. He's still dipping the memoir bucket deep into the past and pulling up fresh material. In this installment, Burroughs describes his early childhood, the years when his father and mother were still married and living together. Unlike most of his other work, this memoir is not at all funny. It's a moving depiction of fear and powerlessness from a child's point of view.

Burroughs' father, John Robison (Burroughs changes his name from Christopher Robison), was a philosophy professor at the University of Massachusetts. As a boy, Burroughs craved his father's love and attention. At dusk, he would run to hug his dad, but he received only rejection. zhisd father never allowed Augusten to sit on his lap or snuggle in bed. Instead, his silent father would walk in the door and head straight to the booze.

Burroughs paints a portrait of his father as a rage-filled alcoholic with a personality disorder. His health was poor. His marriage to Augusten's mother was a nightmare of screaming and physical violence. Once, after his wife fled with Augusten and moved into a motel, the father killed his son's guinea pig. As Burroughs grew up, fear and hate replaced love. There was no tender reconciliation before his father's death in 2005.

Because of the James Frey/Margaret B. Jones scandals, all memoirs are now examined under a microscope. Any writing based on childhood memories is going to be subjective, but this story feels true. The most compelling aspect of "A Wolf at the Table" is the way that Burroughs has left the campy humor of his other books...well, at the table. Readers will immediately recognize that this is a serious book by a grown-up writer, trying to come to terms with his past.

Wow..what a read! I was SHOCKED when I first started this book, as I was expecting another lighthearted look into Augusten's upbringing. I had NOT seen any reviews or read any snippets of the book.
Wow ... is all I can say. The fact that Augusten has grown into an honorable man and Best Selling author is a miracle after his torturous childhood/adolecence.
My heart goes out to this man; he is a SURVIVOR of the FITTEST kind!
He is my most favorite author of all times, and I mean that.
God Bless him.
READ this book! It's an eye opener..and since I already support Domestic Violence issues...it could bring a few more supporters to our side.
Domestic Violence needs to END.
I LOVE Augusten..and ALL of his books.

Being a great fan of Augusten Burroughs, I naturally wait in anticipation for his next work, and I was left utterly satisfied by his handling of the subject matter in this book. The book is a tougher read than his others because his emotions are much more raw in this book than his others. He handles what was undoubtedly one of the most painful, darkest parts of his life with honesty, sensitivity and grace. Burroughs' work is immensely empowering: to readers with a similar background or related struggles, it gives hope and courage, and I'm sure, in many cases, the strength to continue when the reader realizes that s/he is not alone in his/her situation. The entire book, despite its difficult subject, still glimmers with the sheen of the author's indomitable soul and offers optimism in the face of such insurmountable struggle. For the reader who has had a less-flawed, yet dysfunctional life, it offers reassurance that "maybe MY life wasn't so bad, after all." In any direction, for any reader, the book is a work of art -- of hope in times of great sadness, of strength in times of great adversity, and of fortitude at times when it would seem impossible to go on. Burroughs is one of the great memoir writers of our time, and the world is a better place for his insights and his maturity -- and most of all, his humor and good nature in the face of it all. Thank you, Augusten, for sharing yourself with us.

I have read 2 other books by this author, Running with sissars. I enjoy both those books. This one was the same. A bit more dark and sinistar than the other two. This book was about growing up with a father that really was never there mentally and emotionally. It is absolutly a page turner.