A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir

by Augusten Burroughs

book data

3,084 ratings, 3.48 average rating, 789 reviews (more data...)

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4		33%
3		31%
2		12%
1		4%

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published

April 29th 2008 by St. Martin's Press

binding

Hardcover, 242 pages

isbn

0312342020 (isbn13: 9780312342029)

description

When Augusten Burroughs was small, his father was a shadowy presence in his life: a form on the stairs, a cough from the basement, a silent figure smo...more

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04/23/08

Chai rated it:

bookshelves: i-own

Read in June, 2008

Burroughs is dramatic. He's a ranting, raving, immensely creative, drama queen. I spent most of the book thinking thoughts like this whilst rolling my eyes. There was a lot of could have, maybe, 'I think he might have', in this book. He writes well, but without fail, he makes me cringe every several pages. The bright! he stared at the bright! when he was a year and a half old.

I think abuse of children in any form, is horrid. That includes anything Burroughs' father may have done, wh...more Burroughs is dramatic. He's a ranting, raving, immensely creative, drama queen. I spent most of the book thinking thoughts like this whilst rolling my eyes. There was a lot of could have, maybe, 'I think he might have', in this book. He writes well, but without fail, he makes me cringe every several pages. The bright! he stared at the bright! when he was a year and a half old.

I think abuse of children in any form, is horrid. That includes anything Burroughs' father may have done, whether it was making him feel unwanted, or scaring him. He sounded like a bitter, twisted, nasty old man - the way he supposedly treated animals shows that. And for a child, the daddy that doesn't pay you attention and simmers with rage in his rocking chair, can indeed be frightening, he is that wolf at the table. But when you're in your thirties, reaching your forties; I think it's about time to maybe outgrow it, be bigger and better, stop chasing daddy's impossible affection. I guess it's frustrating as a reader to see this guy putting himself back in the range of fire, over and over again. I wanted to slap him, really. Dude, you found an abandoned cabin in the fucking woods, why would you be so intent on wanting to curl up in daddy's lap; from your descriptions of dearest daddy, it probably smelt like cheese anyway. Actually, thinking like Burroughs, if you'd cuddled daddy his crotch would have snapped you up with it's burning teeth of hell, whilst wailing banshee screeches, lashing octopus limbs, fire, doom, death. You know, maybe, but daddy just sat in his chair and scribbled notes about the price of corn instead.

Part of me wanted to tell him to get over it. And himself. I expected this book to be darker, the book cover with the fork leads one to believe that they should proceed with caution, this kid's childhood is going to be full of violence and neglect and despair. Not that I wanted it to be the case, but it's what I had expected. Instead, it was a patchwork of rather isolated incidents, with a young Burrough's furtive imagination fueling the drama. He wasn't physically abused, thankfully, and I well understand that emotional abuse can be ten times worse, but it seemed that much of the abuse was implied. A look from daddy, could be three pages of what Burroughs thought the look meant. The dog that became daddy's dark sidekick after several days of young Burroughs' absence - had been magically turned by the dark overlord. Burroughs envisioned the dog having been tortured by electricty, poked with sharp implements ... and so on. The dog was a little nuts; it was likely it was hardly ever fed considering how neurotic and self-obsessed the entire family is. No wonder it was acting out.

The thing that I noticed, was that he nagged his dad a lot, and subsequently got ignored. Over and over. His bedroom door was no protection for his dad's fist; which was never used against anyone - but was implied (over and over). Every time he called his father 'dead' instead of 'dad', I felt like laughing raucously and/or punching the book. I felt like sticking two fingers down my throat and making gagging noises. You twit, Burroughs. You make me feel all dramatic up in here. I want to grab my throat, drop to the floor and act all Shakespearean and shit. He googled for missing students near where his father lived, I mean, come on, if that isn't a bloody overactive imagination; then what is?!

If this isn't a fine case for why divorce is a must for some people, then I don't know what is. Why would these two have even stuck together?! Daddy was a boring, old, bitter man and his hatred and dissatisfaction with his life, made him ill and sore and pained. When little kids come along and get in the way of one's misery, and self-reflection, they're going to be told to go away. Because who wants to bounce a curly-headed little angel up and down on one's arthritic, swollen knee, whilst petting their head with their flaking, stink-meated fists? Who'd want to subject such a bouncing, bubbly, charming little tyke, such as Burroughs, to a mouthful of blackening stumps. The odour of death. Dark wings of Satan flapping all around that gingervitis cavern of gloom. And death. Which kills.

I'm sorry Augusten, I don't know where my love affair with you took a nose dive. I'm pretty sure this book had something to do with it. I'm a little worried that if I re-read your other books, they'll only irritate the shit out of me. WAS I ON CRACK OR SOMETHING WHEN I THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE AWESOME?! Or is it more to do with the fact that you are nothing without that humour for which I so loved you in the beginning. I hope your next ~~ten, fifteen~~, fifty memoirs are at least hilarious.

(less)

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04/15/08

Melissa rated it:

Read in April, 2008

I had to stop reading this because I was so infuriated by the first chapter. I'm sorry, but there is NO WAY Augusten Burroughs remembers looking at the mobile above his bed when he was not even a year old (and in such detail!), or what the bottle tasted like at that age (or being sad when it was taken out of his mouth!), or that he was thinking the moment his friend got lost at the seaside ("I just assumed he'd never return"... what toddler thinks like that?). After "Running With ...more

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

4 comments

06/20/08

Jason Pettus rated it:

Read in August, 2008

(Today's review is much longer than Goodreads' word-count limitations. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

I've mentioned here regularly the entire idea of there being an "underground-arts canon;" that is, that just like the academic community, what we call the modern cutting-edge arts has now been around ...more

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07/23/08

Jan Kendrick rated it:

Read in July, 2008

Wow.

This is a tough one... A tough review to write, a tough book to read.

Normally I like Burroughs' books, but I am truly torn over this one.

Things I liked: The description, the imagery. I truly FELT (not just UNDERSTOOD) what he was writing. I also liked the way the book flowed. It was chronological for the most part, which made sense, but it wasn't rigid. It wasn't a day-by-day diary of his life. That would've been too much. Finally, I liked the threads he ...more

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05/02/08

Paul rated it:

I like Augusten. In this post-Frey Scandal world, it seems anyone who writes memoir has suddenly become suspect and frankly, I resent it. No one ever screamed FRAUD at Truman Capote for fictionalizing his past – well, at least not to his face, I’d imagine. Anyway, much has been made of the fact that the quirky humor that has kind of defined his style thus far is missing from this book (and make no mistake: it is) but then the subject at hand, viz., his alcoholic and possibly psychotic father...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

4 comments

04/17/08

Cat rated it:

god, it almost pains me to leave augusten burroughs a shoddy review but im sorry, this book bored me to death.

one of the things i most admire and apriceiate about A.B. is his outstanding humor and wit despite the traumatic events that have shaped his life. this book lacked the humor.

and when you take away the humor, you are left with a husk. a husk filled with crap.

another thing that really drove me mad, were all the seeming contradictions that i am left from...more

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

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04/11/08

Betsy rated it:

bookshelves: 2008--read-in, memoir

Read in July, 2008

CAVEAT: This book is potentially triggering for survivors of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse, as well as animal lovers.

I heard Augusten Burroughs said, and I paraphrase, that Running with Scissors was a joyous romp compared with this book. Now that I have read it, I understand why. Running with Scissors does not seem like a collection of insouciant anecdotes juxtaposed with the raw, unpolished emotionality that Burroughs unfurls in this narrative.

I've read dou...more

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06/12/08

William Lovecraft rated it:

Read in July, 2008

Augusten Burroughs is one of my favorite contemporary authors, and it has always puzzled me a bit regarding the debate as to whether or not the events in "Running With Scissors," and now "A Wolf at the Table," are ultimately word for word truth. Given the corroboration from his older brother who has written his own memoir, I would have to say that there is a good chance that much of what Burroughs writes is based on his actual experiences. I suppose if I were a charac...more

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04/23/08

malic rated it:

bookshelves: memoir, queer-stories

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in May, 2008

this book is terrifying. it's about a little boy who longs for love from his father, who in return psychologically terrorizes him.

This is Burroughs' third full-length memoir, and it takes place mostly before the time Running With Scissors was written about, with a couple of stories that take place in his adulthood. However, I think I would still recommend reading his books in order of when he wrote them.

A Wolf starts with a melodramatic tone, and then Burroughs j...more

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05/11/08

Mac rated it:

Read in April, 2008

I love everything else Augusten Burroughs has written, especially "Dry" and "Sellivision", but this one just didn't seem to be up to his usual standards. As I was reading it,I kept wondering if he got behind deadline for the next book he owed his publisher and came up with this at the last minute. There was also a certain "so what" factor that seemed to permeate the whole concept. His father was a particularly unpleasant person; so what? One of the things that make...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

11/23/08

Terry rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

I do like Burroughs; I like his essays rather than his sustained writing. I feel like I'm the only one in America who didn't like Running With Scissors. This book...hmm. It's very frightening, and Burroughs as ever is compulsively readable. Yet I was occasionally confused; the jacket copy refers ominously to "the games", but that reference only appears once near the very end of the book and it's never clear what it means, exactly. This, linked with a scene in which Burroughs wakes up i...more

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04/21/08

Sharon rated it:

Read in March, 2008

typical burroughs, except not funny. dude has had a rough life, that's for sure. if you're a fan, read it. If not, skip it, unless you want to feel better by comparison about your own pathological upbringing.

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12/25/08

Luke rated it:

Read in December, 2008

If you've read and enjoyed Burroughs' 'Running With Scissors' then there's really no excuse for not reading 'A Wolf at the Table' - purely because it provides the other half of the story.

Let me clarify. While Burroughs' earlier memoir revealed what a uniquely torturous childhood he'd had, it also presented it in a very John Irving kind of way - horrible, yet camp and darkly fabulous. There were, amongst the freaky parenting and bizarre psychotherapy (wankroom, anyone?) moments of hap...more

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08/04/08

Starlakitty rated it:

bookshelves: read-in-2008

Read in August, 2008

I read Running With Scissors and was alternately horrified and fascinated with the author's life. I read Scissors with a weird detachment, viewing it instead as a fictional memoir, because it was too difficult to read, imagining that what he described actually happened to him.

But, I did enjoy his writing style, the wit, and his sense of humor. I wouldn't describe his books as "funny" but there is a certain dark biting humor to them.

I started out reading this bo...more

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06/27/08

Sharon Putman rated it:

Read in July, 2008

“I knew I had an ugly life. I knew I was lonely and I was scared. I thought something might be wrong with my father, wrong in the worst possible way. I believed he might contain a pathology of the mind -- an emptiness -- a knocking hollow where his soul should have been. But I also knew that one day, I would grow up. One day, I would be twenty, or thirty, or forty, even fifty and sixty and seventy and eighty and maybe even one hundred years old. And all those years were mine, they belonged to ...more

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05/05/08

Gabriel rated it:

Read in July, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

In regards to the writing: There are some things that an author must do when writing books. These things can not be denied from memoirists either. The key to a good book, one that entertains from start to finish - especially in today's culture - is sympathy for all characters. This was lacking in A Wolf At The Table .

Throughout this, I went through many different possibilities for why this book exists. The first, that we were supposed to feel sorry for Augusten Burroughs. Th...more In regards to the writing: There are some things that an author must do when writing books. These things can not be denied from memoirists either. The key to a good book, one that entertains from start to finish - especially in today's culture - is sympathy for all characters. This was lacking in A Wolf At The Table .

Throughout this, I went through many different possibilities for why this book exists. The first, that we were supposed to feel sorry for Augusten Burroughs. The second, that we were supposed to hate/loathe (and eventually wish dead) his father. Finally, though, I came to what I have determined as the full reason why this book was written. Augusten Burroughs was looking to discharge memories from his mind. He was looking for a way of dealing with pain and turmoil that he had kept with him for his life.

This is a fine reason for writing ... secret diaries. This is not what you write books for publication. In a memoir, the memoirist is in a special position, one of looking back. They can tie together disparate events and find the explanations for all points of view in it. The best memoirs can take these events and - while there is a character that most people will identify and sympathize with - paint them in a picture that is less subjective than normal. ESPECIALLY when dealing with material like this. I needed something to make the father real.

Which is why, in the final chapter, when it is revealed that Augusten Burroughs had his father's diaries IN HIS POSSESSION while writing this, I was very, very let down. I thought that the research he would have needed to go through to get his father's point of view was too much, but no. Augusten Burroughs had it and refused to use it.

In regards to the material: I do not doubt that there are many people out there who have dealt with situations akin to those depicted in this book. I also do not doubt that some of those people find comfort in reading about one man's interpretation of those events; finding a bond, a bosom friend in the process. If you are one of those people, this book might work for you. If you are not, you will have a very hard time believing any of this is real (again, this is due to the lack of development on the father besides two chapters that are not referred to after mentioned).

In regards to the audiobook: The audiobook is an interesting development in terms of this novel. First off, most audiobooks don't have music, this one had both music and small sound effects. Most of the music was incidental music, meant to enhance certain parts of the book. At the end, though, are four original songs (all of them are repeated with the exception of Tegan Quinn's cute "His Love") that show how the book can really affect people. Think of them as the songs for the credits at the end of a movie. These particular songs make for a much better soundtrack than the movie/book ever was. So ... find someone with the audiobook (I am one) and get the songs from them.

Overall: Greatly disappointing, infuriating piece of crap with a great idea for the production of the audiobook. Be wary of this one unless you have personal experience with abuse (namely emotional/mental).(less)

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04/23/08

Lisa rated it:

(review of isbn 142720425X)

bookshelves: audiobooks

Read in August, 2008

07/08 Much darker, without the humorous asides. Listening to Augusten read is a little like watching a performance art piece. His speech is very deliberate and slow; at first annoying, I think I can settle into this well. Poignant childhood memories so far.

08/08 Stunning! I am so glad that I listened to this on audiobook rather than reading it. It is compelling, utterly moving, and miraculous. Only afterwards, in a short interview on the final CD did I learn that Augusten's vision f...more

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08/01/08

Christine rated it:

Read in July, 2008

Some of the "Average Joe" negative reviews of A Wolf at the Table that I've read online complain that author Augusten Burroughs' "didn't really know what it was like to be abused" or that Burroughs' mental anguish in the hands of his father's quasi-psychotic unpredictability "was boring, same day in day out" or that "it wasn't funny." Wow. What a bunch of self-centered, whiny turds.

A Wolf at The Table is what it is - a simple memoir of a son wh...more

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05/13/08

Cindy rated it:

bookshelves: memoir

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: prisoners on death row - should cheer them up!

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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02/07/08

Joe rated it:

bookshelves: 2008

Read in February, 2008

So I rated this one four stars. Not because I loved this book, but because I thought it was so well-written, it's stuck with me, haunted me, risen up and broken me down again. This is not an easy book to read. It is compelling. It is harrowing. It is brave. Did I mention harrowing? Augusten Burroughs delves into the relationship with his father, which he's mentioned briefly before in his other books. Upon reading this one, you know why he waited to write it, and why he devoted an entire book to ...more

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"God, I felt certain, did not mind that I didn’t press my hands together to pray. I was casual, but I was sincere. I knew that God existed as the Correct Answer inside my chest." More quotes...