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106th out of 107 books
—
15 voters
The Duke of Deception
Duke Wolff was a flawless specimen of the American clubman -- a product of Yale and the OSS, a one-time fighter pilot turned aviation engineer. Duke Wolff was a failure who flunked out of a series of undistinguished schools, was passed up for military service, and supported himself with desperately improvised scams, exploiting employers, wives, and, finally, his own son.
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Paperback, 304 pages
Published
February 19th 1990
by Vintage
(first published 1979)
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The four best memoirs I have ever read, and I have read too many, are Frank McCort’s, Angela’s Ashes, “Tobias Wolff’s, “This Boy’s Life,” Geoffrey Wolff’s, “The Duke of Deception,” and Jeanette Walls, “The Glass Castle.”
These books are similar in describing horrendous childhood’s of upheaval and instability, complicated by mentally ill, vagabond, eccentric parents, and a sort of lower middle class poverty. (I know that’s an oxymoron, read the books and you’ll understand). But the similarities go...more
These books are similar in describing horrendous childhood’s of upheaval and instability, complicated by mentally ill, vagabond, eccentric parents, and a sort of lower middle class poverty. (I know that’s an oxymoron, read the books and you’ll understand). But the similarities go...more
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I had to read this for my advanced nonfiction writing class, and it was extremely difficult to read through and find something positive. So instead, I’ve resorted to the analytical in hopes that it can enlighten future readers of the content.
Geoffrey Wolff entangles the reader in a long, arduous explanation for why he is thankful his father died. As a reader, I felt the memoir was too long, too detailed with explanations, and I found myself focusing on mental and behavioral issues Duke and Geoff...more
Geoffrey Wolff entangles the reader in a long, arduous explanation for why he is thankful his father died. As a reader, I felt the memoir was too long, too detailed with explanations, and I found myself focusing on mental and behavioral issues Duke and Geoff...more
Meh.
It was all right, but another memoir I was obligated to read for class, another memoir that illustrates the problems of the genre.
He relied too much on research, particularly "proof" for his anecdotes, that took me out of the story.
Also, not exactly sure hos to articulate this problem, but by about halfway through the book it was clear it was one of those books where the narrator was going to go out of his way to include sex stories (how is you losing your virginity relevant to a memoir abo...more
It was all right, but another memoir I was obligated to read for class, another memoir that illustrates the problems of the genre.
He relied too much on research, particularly "proof" for his anecdotes, that took me out of the story.
Also, not exactly sure hos to articulate this problem, but by about halfway through the book it was clear it was one of those books where the narrator was going to go out of his way to include sex stories (how is you losing your virginity relevant to a memoir abo...more
While his brother Toby's memoir was emotional and moving, his older brother remains intellectually distant and mordantly ironic, even angier than Toby, yet it shed s an empathetic light on Toby's problems. What I like was that Goeffrey allows the reader to gradually realize that he was becoming the dopopleganger of his father but finally matures, admits this, and changes his life for the better. Although sometimes disconnectedly cerebral, Geoffrey does deliver the emotional climax at the tragic...more
When their parents divorced, brothers Geoffrey and Tobias Wolff each went with one parent -- Tobias with their mother (famously portrayed in the book and movie "This Boy's Life") and older brother Geoffrey with their father. More people know Tobias' story; lesser known is the odyssey Geoffrey describes in living with their father. Turns out the college degrees and family pedigree of which Dad was so proud were all lies. In fact, as the title indicates, just about everything in his life is a lie....more
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Duke Wolff is a character who improvises his background and his life to meet his ends. He leaves in his background a trail of unpaid debts, angry landlords, relatives and friends.
The story is told from the point of view of his older son, Geoffrey. After Duke and his wife separate, Geoffrey lives with Duke and is estranged from his mother and his younger brother, Toby. Toby interestingly has also written a book about his life.
The story is told from the point of view of his older son, Geoffrey. After Duke and his wife separate, Geoffrey lives with Duke and is estranged from his mother and his younger brother, Toby. Toby interestingly has also written a book about his life.
This book is written by Tobias Wolff's brother, Geoffrey. Tobias wrote This Boy's Life, which I read two books ago. This was a little harder for me to get into than This Boy's Life was, but after I got past their dad's family history, it started getting better. I loved the parts that overlapped with Tobias' story. And I have to say, I am shocked by Geoffrey's loyalty to his father, saying, he was a bad man, but a good father.
In this memoir, Geoffrey Wolff, former Washington Post editor and brother of Tobias Wolff, describes growing up with his father. Named Duke by his college friends because of his fascination with old money, social status, and finer things, the senior Wolff managed to con and cheat his way through multiple jobs and credit hassles and kept his family on the move to escape detection. Two things stand out about this story: first, although Wolff Sr. was a dishonest character, he managed to convey, mos...more
After reading "Toby's" story, wanted to read Jeff's. One went with Mother to have a brutal stepfather, the other stays with dad who is a con man. Both parents dearly love the child??
I was astounded when Dad started charging every thing to his son after son worked so hard to repay the debt he had accumulated when dad led him to think things would be paid for. Good for Geoff that he was able to resist the lure of dad to go back into the life after Geoff found another way to live (honestly?)
I was astounded when Dad started charging every thing to his son after son worked so hard to repay the debt he had accumulated when dad led him to think things would be paid for. Good for Geoff that he was able to resist the lure of dad to go back into the life after Geoff found another way to live (honestly?)
He was my writing mentor in Goddard College's Master's of Poetry and Fiction. I sought him out after reading this
fascinating, funny, moving biolgraphy of his father, a con man he loved.
fascinating, funny, moving biolgraphy of his father, a con man he loved.
Oct 30, 2011
Mary
added it
Geoffrey is Tobias Wolfe's brother and this is a memoir about their father. He was a fascinating rascal, an elegant ne'er do well. Great companion to This Boy's life.
Boring and narcissistic memoir in stark contrast with his brother's work. I would have elected to stop reading this one after the first few chapters if it wasn't a requirement for my creative non-fiction class.
Stephen Dubner mentioned this book on the Freakonomics blog as one of his favorite father-son stories. He mentioned Geoffrey is the brother of Tobias, who sits on my favorite authors list (only 2 authors long). I had Books Inc specially order it for me, since it doesn’t seem to be for sale anywhere.
Fantastic! I read This Boys’ Life a number of years ago. For those that don’t know, Toby and Geoff are about 10 years apart and each was raised by one parent after the parents divorced. Each book is p...more
Fantastic! I read This Boys’ Life a number of years ago. For those that don’t know, Toby and Geoff are about 10 years apart and each was raised by one parent after the parents divorced. Each book is p...more
Aug 01, 2011
Thom Dunn
marked it as to-read
Blurb for Then We Came to the End
Ordered from Giggil Amazon Prime, 3.99, "good" No promise of dj, no notice of absence.
August 1, 2011
Ordered from Giggil Amazon Prime, 3.99, "good" No promise of dj, no notice of absence.
August 1, 2011
A scam artist's roller coaster ride from riches to poverty to riches to poverty and how his actions affects his family, told by his son. Two lines in the story sum up The Duke: "There was nothing to him but lies and love." "No one could set him free, of prison or himself."
Starts with a distant, removed feel as the son recounts his father's early years. Thus earning 4 stars and not 5. But the son's passion and pain and inner conflict rings loud later in story.
(Read after seeing the movie, This B...more
Starts with a distant, removed feel as the son recounts his father's early years. Thus earning 4 stars and not 5. But the son's passion and pain and inner conflict rings loud later in story.
(Read after seeing the movie, This B...more
Some truly beautiful sentences here. It's a long story, big, so the chronology at times feels tedious. This happened. Then this happened. Most everything that happened seems to be here.
I actually liked this book better (most of it anyway) better than This Boy's Life by the other Wolff son.
As I read this memoir, I couldn't help feeling like all its seems were showing; Wolff includes a lot of letters, snippets from interviews and conversations, even his father's resume, which I think would have been more effective had they been better incorporated into the narrative. I also felt that the story had no arc. There was no sense that any one event was more important than any other, and as a result the narrative felt rambling, and incredibly dull.
Many readers are aware of the brilliant writing of Tobias Wolff, and his harrowing memoir of life with his mother and step father. They may not be aware that when that family split, Tobias's brother Jeffrey lived with the boys natural father. His story is told in The Duke of Deception, which is also very interesting and well written. The father was a gambler and con man, and their life on the run was very colorful, if unstable.
As you start the book, be clear as to who "Kay" is, because it's kind of confusing, and the author will return to the opening scene toward the end.
Really really made me want to lie on my resume.
This book is a mesmerizing portrait of father and son - a son's attempt to finally understand his father who was essentially a con man. A delicious, tragic, touching and unique American story. I could hardly put it down. One of the best memoirs I've ever read. Reads like a novel... amazing to think that it's true.
This is a nice but sad memoir about a boy growing up with a father who was a "bad man, good dad". The Dad wasn't evil, just an irresponsible con man and he did love his son. Wolff did a good job describing what it was like to be in the middle of that environment.
This is the companion book to This Boys Life.I don't think the authors meant the books to be companion books but they are brothers and for me, each book informed my perception of the other. Geoffry Wolf is brutally honest.
78
When Geoffrey and Tobias Wolfe's parents divorced, Tobias went with his mother and Geoffrey with his father. Both wrote memoirs. If you like Tobias's "This Boy's Life," this is a must-read.
well written memoir & fond without being soppy portrait of father. Has quite a bit of life of crime, Getting Away With It detail. Read brother Tobias' Old School as well.
This is the flipside to the more well known This Boy's Life, but older brother Geoffrey shows how bad it was to remain with the father.
a good book to read before or after Tobias Wolff's "This Boys Life". They are brothers!
Read this book ten years ago and never forgot it.
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