About this title: The author describes his bizarre coming-of-age years after his adoption by his mother's psychiatrist, during which he witnessed such misadventures as a fake suicide attempt and front-lawn family/patient sleepovers.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
"To be totally honest, I actually watched the movie, “Running With Scissors” before I read the book. However, the movie is what interested me in the stories of Augusten Burroughs. In my opinion, “Running with Scissors” took some major bullocks to write. The story is so intriguing that you just cannot put down the book. I found myself completely drawn into the world of a boy, Augusten Burroughs, attempting to become an independent entity while struggling with obstacles beyond the boundaries of even the most active imagination. The story of his life is sad, yes. However, he seems to find the humor in his turmoil flawlessly.
Dealing with a psychotic mother, Deirdre, and the “adopted” Finch family that is perhaps even worse off, Augusten somehow stays true to himself. I admit, this book is not for those of a high moral standard with preconceived notions of “normal”. This book is also not for close-minded, judgmental people either. No, this book is for those of us that know life is truly flawed and that very bad things can happen and almost always will. It is also a testament that good people who get put in drastically horrible situations will either flounder or prevail. Well, Augusten definitely prevails.
The characters are engaging and somewhat mysterious at times. For me, it was slightly difficult to put my finger on what motivated Agnes (the wife of Finch) and Hope (daughter of Finch). However, they both play intricate roles in his story.
The other characters, however, all had extremely potent personalities. Finch (the Psychiatrist of Deirdre), is an unusual patriarch in many, many ways. I mean, at one point, he actually believes that his excrement will dictate the family’s financial situation. Odd, hmmm? Natalie (youngest daughter of Finch) is a force of nature. I believe that she helps Augusten realize that it is ok to be himself. She supports him and him and is the closest thing he has to a friend. At the other end of the spectrum is Bookman, (lover of Augusten, adopted by Finch as well), an extremely complex, psychotic character. The way he approaches the world and the people in it is an enigma, to say the least.
I can’t say much more without completely giving away the entire plot to the book, so I will end with this. I highly suggest ALL of Augusten Burroughs books. Trust me, I have read every one and they are all more than fantastic.
I hope this review was helpful to you and that you might have even enjoyed it.
"It has been said that Truman Capote's last book, "Answered Prayers," cost him the friendship of almost everyone he knew at that time in his life, and it has even been speculated that this contributed to his demise. He had mined the personal secrets and character flaws of those around him for literary gold, and most probably embellished as brilliant authors often do. The characters were apparently easily correlated to their real-life counterparts.
And so, things haven't changed all that much. Augusten Burroughs has recently settled a lawsuit with the Turcotte family, referred to as "the Finches," in "Running with Scissors," for defamation, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. This is due to events in the book claiming that the Turcottes advocated sex between children and adults, Turcotte's wife eating dog food, and the family using an electroshock machine that it stored under the stairs for recreation.
I can honestly say that, If I were a member of the Turcotte household and knew that the events depicted in the book were undeniably false, I would most likely be outraged and choose the same course of action.
That being said.
This is simply one of the most engaging, darkly humorous, and skillfully written books I have read in years. The delusional mother, the unorthodox psychiatrist; every single character jumps off of the page in bizarre, warped technicolor. Hilarious. Horrifying. Difficult to describe.
Skip the movie adaptation, which seems to lack the sense of absurdity in many key places.
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