A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father Paperback – March 31, 2009

This was the 6th book I've read by Augusten. One right after the other. His life has been like no other. I first read "Running with Scissors" then I wanted to know more about him, so I kept reading. I was almost scared to read "A Wolf at the Table." But, I handled it just fine. I hope he reads these reviews because I wanted to contact him and tell him that after I read the last page, this song popped in my head and I hope he will listen to it, "Consider the Lilies" on You Tube. We have a Heavenly Father Who loves us. Not to minimize the need for an earthly father, as it was super sad to feel Augusten's pain at being rejected so often. And yet, he spoke nightly to his son, saying "Very much I love you." Actually, I felt sorry for the Dad at first with all his psoriasis pain. Pain can warp a person's mind, in my opinion. Before I ever read Augusten's books, I had read his brother's "Look Me in the Eye" and "Switched On." Then I ordered the mother's book, "The Long Journey Home." Found it was hard to get into, but will try again. Found Augusten's "Running with Scissors" at an estate sale and bought it, then was hooked. He is a gifted writer and I am so happy that he was able to become sober and become a successful writer. I wish him the best, especially wish him the love of our Heavenly Father.

First of all, let me say this: I adore Augusten Burroughs. I've read everything by him more than once. I knew going into this book that it was going to be different from his other books b/c I'd read some of the reviews. I'm not someone who is put off by darkness, in the least, so didn't think it would be a problem for me not having the humor of most of his books to counteract the sorrow. And it wasn't, I loved that he was trying something different and thought his style of writing was poetic and beautiful. In a way though I am not really qualified to give this book a review and I apologize that I am but I felt I needed too. The reason I say I might not be qualified is because I was unable to finish this book. That has NEVER happened to me before. I don't know if it was b/c I already "know" and love him so much that I was so affected & clearly it brought up things for me(I've had my own horrendous childhood which is why I repsond so much to his work)...but there was literally one scene in the middle of the book that was so horrific and heartbreaking that I couldn't stop crying and had to put the book down. (I won't say the scene b/c I don't want to spoil anything for anyone but since one reviewer already mentioned it, it involves one of the pets dying). That was mths ago & I haven't been able to bring myself to pick the book up again. Really it's a testament to his writing that I was so affected I'm sure. And I was tempted to just give the book 4 or 5 stars but since I didn't finish it, didn't feel right doing that either. So the purpose of my review is simply this...I assume many others who are drawn to his work also can relate in some way & have some version of their own difficult childhood. SO I just wanted to say, if you are REALLY sensitive(esp. to things involving animals which I am), just please be prepared before you read this to go to an extrmely dark place w/ him. & just to be clear, because it's dark doesn't make it any less beautiful. Maybe I will come back and write another review when I can actually make it through the rest of the book. :)

I was rather afraid of reading this book because I flinched at the physical abuse it might contain. There isn't much of this, but cruelty towards both animals and humans and a fundamental lack of humanity in the father is horrible to witness. And I say witness because Burroughs is an incredible writer and I could almost smell the evil coming from his poor excuse for a father. Yes, he was alcoholic, arthritic, and covered with psoriasis, but his utter disregard for the small son who loved him and wanted to be loved by him will break the heart of the most Scrooge-like among us.You try to imagine how Augusten survives with a father like this, a mentally-ill mother, and an older brother, John Elder, who rarely appears but who tortured young Augusten when they lived together as brothers, a boy who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, giving him little empathy for his fellow humans.Well, he manages to come out scarred, but whole. He's an amazing survivor, and his writing records everything--every smell, every taste, every sound, every sight. He appears to have a photographic memory. His book will awaken your senses and keep you on edge all the way through. I read it in one sitting--like Running with Scissors, I couldn't put it down. Unlike Running with Scissors, there are no laughs in this book. But if you are strong enough emotionally to handle a heartbreaking story, masterfully written, go ahead and let yourself experience part of the life of a boy who grew up with utter insanity all around him and to his great relief, it didn't rub off--he's a decent, strong human being with an amazing ability to communicate and laugh.Here's a hug for you Augusten Burroughs. May you love and be loved.

I first found Burroughs through Running with Scissors, which is laugh out loud funny. His early life is dysfunctional, and the subject matter is dark, but the characters are described in a way that makes it easy to swallow. So I felt like I knew boy Augusten a little bit, a smart mouthed kid who somehow rode the crest of the crazy people he lived with. And then I read Dry and some of his essays, and then I found this. And it is unutterably, beautifully, dreadfully, horribly sad. Augusten is a little boy prey to the Big Bad Wolf, who he loves, and who constantly rejects him and who, as the book progresses, becomes more malevolent and scary (without actually doing anything obviously, legally vile).I have children, and I have to say I have been a little kinder since I read this book. It is told so well from the child's perspective, how being too tired, too old and too bored can seem to your kid. I wanted to fix it for Augusten in a way I didn't with the other books, and am only glad I read some of his essays to know that he seems to be OK now.So to summarise, not a laugh a minute, but gripping and worth reading.

[slight spoilers ahead] I wasn't expecting a comic read, having never come across the author before, but I didn't expect to relate to it quite as much. I started this book as part of a journey to understand sociopathic fathers, and this helped. It's not the author whining about a troubled childhood, everyone has their own stories, it's taking the reader on a journey into a dark and difficult time only a child of a sociopath can truly understand. Augusten does a good job of providing context, and showing how in later life it's not a long drawn out story of one thing leading to another. It's the little things happening over and over, that only those close can see, which has such a huge impact. It's also a bit of hope thrown in for good measure. All round a good read, for those that remember it's context.

So deeply saddening to read about the horror the author has endured, not unlike my own.Grief stuck in the chest, painful and pressing. This is the hardest of all his books to read; the ending feels almost unbearably painful, and very familiar.

I have been a big fan of Augusten Burroughs' previous books (except Sellevision) as he writes in such an amusing and self deprecating way and can put a whole lifetime of meaning and feeling behind a funny sentence. The humour in Dry in particular, because the topic was so sad, made the book very poignant and one of his best, so I was really looking forward to reading A Wolf at the Table. After only a few chapters I found myself sighing and getting irritated as to me it just came across as self indulgent, self pitying and whiney with the odd comic turn of phrase. Whilst some readers may say this is because the story is so personal and has more meaning to the author I found I had to stop reading it as to me it was not just a little boy's cry for attention from his father, it was a monologue of self absorption.

A great book