“DRY” is anything but…
Friday, November 16th, 2007- (by gbauler)
- 2 responses
- Category: Reviews
“Dry”
Written by Augusten Burroughs
Reviewed by Ginger B.
You don’t have to be an addict to relish the journey of Augusten Burroughs in his book “Dry.” With the wit of an extra-dry martini (excuse the reference) Burroughs chronicles his life after he leaves his dysfunctional (an understatement) family described in “Running With Scissors” through the next ten years of his life.
At the age of 19, Burroughs becomes an ad copywriter in New York City, earning an ungodly amount of money, and pouring most of it down his throat. Augusten’s skills as an advertising writer are manifested in this slick, yet unfeigned account of his continuing malfunctional journey from his adolescence through his third decade of life. Burroughs is a hard core, drink till you drop kind of guy and makes no bones about it. He doesn’t play martyr, nor does he underplay the life threatening pattern of his addiction. He does, however, write candidly yet comically about his alcoholism, his rehab adventures, the death of a former lover and a relationship with another addict whose repeated attempts at recovery are less than successful.
Burroughs’ life is fraught with every kind of mental, emotional and environmental malady one can (or cannot) imagine, from living under the tutelage of a whacko psychiatrist and his equally whacky family, to coming home from rehab and finding 1,452 empty beer bottles and hundreds of empty scotch bottles in his apartment (He swears he has no idea how they got there!). I could not believe that I was reading such horrific scenarios and laughing hysterically at the same time, but that’s how Burroughs performs his magic. I found myself “craving” the author’s next, sick, sordid adventure, while at the same time wanting to hug him, bring him home for dinner, and do his laundry.
Read the book and let me know your thoughts – I’d love to hear from you.
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[...] stars as Natalie Finch in Running With Scissors, the daughter in the Finch family who takes author Augusten Burroughs under her wing and into her home when his mentally challenged mother played by Annette Bening can [...]
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