Running with Scissors

I bought it when it came out, and as the first few pages didn't do it for me, it sat on the shelf until a couple of years ago when I picked it up again. The second time I got into it, and ended up laughing through all of his books. Burroughs is like Sedaris, except he doesn't bowdlerize the sex.

TsukiRyoko said:

I've just begun this book, and so far it's not too bad. Has anyone else read it? If so, what do you think?

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Tsuki I read this when it first came out. I found it slow starting but it picks up. It is hard to believe at times that it is non fiction.

I liked it enough to buy another of his books, "Possible Side Effects" which I have not read yet.

suki, I've heard good reviews on this book and have put it on my wish list.... kimmi

I haven't *read* Running with Scissors, or the sequel Dry, or his collection of essays, Magical Thinking, but I did buy them at audible.com. Burroughs reads the books himself, and I think it's one of the few times when listening is actually better than reading. I did buy and read his other book of collections, Possible Side Effects, and while it was an engaging as the rest, it just lacked something the audio books had. I think Burroughs really brings his cast of characters to life with his impressions and the inflections of his voice. Even if you don't like audio books, those are definitely worth picking up. (I don't like audio books 99.9% of the time myself).

I finished reading this last night. I had heard about the book for a long time and thought it would be better than it is, that said it is shocking at times and a unique insight into a unique way of living.

In the middle of the book it felt more like a collection of short stories based on the same characters than a story with any real purpose, direction or goal.

There is no clear objective in the story, so it reads as a: this happened and this happened, and then I realised I was gay, and then this really funny thing happened and then I had gay sex for the first time and it was not great, and then another thing happened and then I had some more gay sex which was ok, and then, like... the Christmas tree was still up in May... yeah May and then the cat died and then my mum when into a mental institute so I tried to get a job at McDonalds but I couldn't so I decided to move to NY and try to become a writer and so that is what I did.

I don't think I'll read his other books, well not until I have read a lot of other books first and it's a choice between Dry or the back of the CocoPops box.

Maryn said:

So many critics likened this novel to Sedaris that I bought it without so much as a skim. I can't explain adequately in what way it failed for me. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Perhaps I expected the humor to be similar to Sedaris', rather than the coming-of-age-gay theme being what they have in common.

I didn't find it engaging. I didn't like the narrator, or anybody else really, and would not have minded if they'd all failed to survive. Worst of all, I didn't find it even slightly funny. Only a few weeks after reading it, I barely remember the story beyond the basic set-up. My copy went to Goodwill.

One man's meat, yada-yada.

Maryn, picky about humor especially

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My experience was similar to Maryn's. I LOVE Sedaris, and my mom and sisters all raved about Burrough's book and compared it to Sedaris' work. I still remember the story, and did find it mildly amusing, but he didn't make me laugh the way Sedaris consistently does.

I might have liked it more had my expectations not been so high.

I had no expectations from the book, except that it's a memoir. It didn't make me laugh out loud, but there were parts that had me staring in disbelief.

It's definitely one for the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction category, and I enjoyed it very much.

Both this book and Sedaris' were given to me by friends who raved about the book in question - I would laugh out loud, so hilarious, etc. I found neither of them the least bit funny. I agree with expatbrat especially.

BTW. Burrough's brother posts here on AW.