Krass!

published	July 31st 2004 by Rowohlt Verlag GmbH
binding	Hardcover
isbn	3498006320 (isbn13: 9783498006327)
ebook
pages	365
description	Welchen Verlauf nimmt wohl eine Kindheit zwischen einer überkandidelten Mutter, die ihre haus-gestrickten Gedichte unbedingt im "New Yorker&quo...more [close] Welchen Verlauf nimmt wohl eine Kindheit zwischen einer überkandidelten Mutter, die ihre haus-gestrickten Gedichte unbedingt im "New Yorker" veröffentlicht sehen möchte, und einem alkoholkranken Matheprofessor mit Schuppenflechte, der als Vaterfigur einer emotionalen Tiefkühltruhe gleicht? Richtig. Einen mehr als krassen. Doch für Augusten Burroughs, der ein rabenschwarzes und gallig-komisches Bild seiner Jugend nachzeichnet, sollte alles noch viel krasser kommen. Der schwule Augusten, selbst Opfer dieses Neurosenhaushalts, lebt abgeschottet in Film- und Fernsehbildern, sammelt Glitzerkram und legt einen für einen 12-Jährigen verstörenden Wert auf Akkuratesse in Kleidung und Haartracht. Als der Kampf der Eltern mehr und mehr eskaliert, schiebt Augustens Mutter ihren spröden Spross kurzerhand ab in die "Obhut" ihres Therapeuten Dr. Finch. Gerettet? Mitnichten! Im bizarren Reich des merkwürdigen Seelendoktors und seiner Chaotenfamilie pflegt man Begriffe wie Freiheit und Selbstverwirklichung. Vornehmlich praktiziert wird dies von Poo, dem Küken der Familie, der vor aller Augen seelenruhig auf dem Teppich sein Geschäft verrichtet, oder den halbwüchsigen Töchtern, die Papas Elektroschockgerät gerne sachfremd handhaben. Der penible Augusten erspäht in seinem neuen Heim neben galoppierendem Wahnsinn und Anarchie auch noch galoppie-rende Heerscharen von Kakerlaken, die eigentlichen Herren des Hauses. Doch - o Wunder! Inmitten dieser verstörenden Mixtur aus Addams Family, Psycho (tatsächlich haust in einem Dachzimmer eine Patientin des Doc), antiautoritärem Blabla plus Hippiekult, beginnt Augusten sich vom verklemmten Nasskämmer zu einem fühlenden und selbstbewussten Wesen zu entwickeln. Auch in sexueller Hinsicht tritt er, um mit Dr. Finch zu sprechen, in die "phallische Phase" ein. Neil, der 33-jährige schwule Adoptivsohn der Familie kehrt heim - und ihm gefällt, was er sieht. (Die explizit geschilderten homosexuellen Praktiken, wie auch der Verdacht der Pädophilie, irritierten zahlreiche amerikanische Leser, denen die skurrilen Jugenderinnerungen hier entschieden zu weit gingen). In schnoddrig leichtem Ton produziert Burroughs Freizügiges, Ekelerregendes, Kontroverses, Beklemmendes und Bekanntes. "Wenn du glaubst, deine eigene Familie sei kaputt", schrieb ein amerikanischer Leser, "lies einfach Burroughs Erinnerungen". Genau, denn hier werden neue, ungeahnte Rekordhöhen erklommen. -Ravi Unger [close]
date added	05-09-07 edit book

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Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

08/12/08

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 long eno...more

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6 comments

Timothy rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

08/29/07

Family settles with "Running with Scissors" author, publisher
By Rodrique Ngowi, Associated Press Writer | August 29, 2007

BOSTON --A family that claimed author Augusten Burroughs defamed them in his best-selling book "Running with Scissors" has settled a lawsuit against the author and his publisher, their attorney said Wednesday.

Burroughs and his publisher, St. Martin's Press, agree to call the work a "book" instead of "memoirs," in the author's...more

Like this review? yes (14 people liked it)

16 comments

Tanya rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

03/13/08

Read in March, 2008

This was interesting (although doesn't change the fact that I really enjoyed ready this book) -

Family settles with "Running with Scissors" author, publisher
By Rodrique Ngowi, Associated Press Writer | August 29, 2007

BOSTON --A family that claimed author Augusten Burroughs defamed them in his best-selling book "Running with Scissors" has settled a lawsuit against the author and his publisher, their attorney said Wednesday.

Burroughs and his publisher, St. Marti...more

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Erin rated it:

(review of isbn 0312425414)

08/21/07

Read in July, 2007

I didn't like it. I really don't enjoy these contemporary confessional "memoirs." Call me a prude, but what is the point of reading about these uncomfortable sexual experiences and sick childhood memories? Does it make us feel better about our own weird childhood memories or our own awkward encounters with sex? I, for one, don't think so. Reading Running with Scissors didn't make me feel better about ANYTHING!

My students often practice writing their responses to the following quote...more

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4 comments

Martin rated it:

(review of isbn 0312425414)

12/31/07

Read in June, 2006

recommends it for: Anyone mentally healthy enough not to be tortured by it

I found this book profoundly disturbing and torturous to read. I understand that it is cleansing and theraputic for those that have been traumitized to write/talk aobut their problems to help with the healing process. There are very few things that my ironclad stomach can't suffer and my brain is developed enough to handle even the most shocking of situations. This book tested my patience from begining to end and in the end I was very dissapointed.

First off, from reviews and the book cove...more

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3 comments

Angie rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

03/31/08

Read in March, 2008

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

I began this book Monday night, 3/24. I almost decided to put it down, thinking, "Oh, here we go. Another memoir with witty inclusions of past pop culture, preying on my nostalgia." But then, I couldn't get over Burroughs' memory of the details from the past, such as the ticking of a cooling hair dryer or how he felt when dressed just so. And then I thought, "This guy can't be for real. He's making up details to fill the space." But I decided to keep going after his descripti...more I began this book Monday night, 3/24. I almost decided to put it down, thinking, "Oh, here we go. Another memoir with witty inclusions of past pop culture, preying on my nostalgia." But then, I couldn't get over Burroughs' memory of the details from the past, such as the ticking of a cooling hair dryer or how he felt when dressed just so. And then I thought, "This guy can't be for real. He's making up details to fill the space." But I decided to keep going after his description of the dump run with his father. Burroughs' desire for the abandoned coffee table, his description of how he would make it look nice and shiny (Windex! magazines!), and his childish wish to be flung from the car just made me keep going.

So far, so good.

***UPDATE***
3/27/08
This book has gone from weird to disturbing. I don't know what is more disturbing: the stories or Burroughs' resiliency. The idea that his mother inadvertently protected Burroughs' older brother by NOT seeking medical advice certainly seems true to me. No telling what would have happened to the brother had he been evaluated by a doctor as . . . different as Dr. Finch.

I like that we are introduced to an adult flaw in the pre-teen Augusten: his treatment of Bookman. It's disturbing, and his failure to see the danger in his behavior is alarming. His exposure to his parents' fighting and Dr. F's encouragement of expressions of anger to the extreme, seem to have desensitized Augusten to the power of anger and the effect words can have on people.

I wonder where this Bookman thing is going. I'll be glad when he's out of the story.

***UPDATE***
3/31/2008
Burroughs' unapologetic, naked memoir confounds my own sense of privacy. I don't understand how someone can be so open about his history. He's writing from outside, as if he is his own character. He's become his own patient.

I do envy Burroughs' need to write. I think really great writers feel as if they cannot or are not living unless they are writing. I've never felt that way.

I like the book, overall. I can't read Dry right now, however. I need a break. Imagine how Burroughs feels....less

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oriana rated it:

(review of isbn 0312425414)

07/24/07

bookshelves: read-2007

I kind of think there are four types of people doing memoirs today.

1) People who have had seriously interesting / crazy lives, who also happen to be terrific writers, able to render their stories in a compelling, original way (like Nick Flynn in the incredible Another Bullshit Night in Suck City).

2) People whose lives are interesting / crazy enough that it re...more

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4 comments

Talia rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

10/03/07

bookshelves: memoir

Read in October, 2007

Running With Scissors by August Burroughs is one of the books that are so worthy of being made into a movie, not just because of its success as a book (New York Times Bestseller, Entertainment Weekly Top Ten Book of 2002), but because while reading it you can visualize the whole thing, because your laughing so hard you wake your husband up who is lying next to you at 1:00 in the morning because you can’t put it down, and he says “it can’t be that funny.” And it is! And so they’re m...more
Running With Scissors by August Burroughs is one of the books that are so worthy of being made into a movie, not just because of its success as a book (New York Times Bestseller, Entertainment Weekly Top Ten Book of 2002), but because while reading it you can visualize the whole thing, because your laughing so hard you wake your husband up who is lying next to you at 1:00 in the morning because you can’t put it down, and he says “it can’t be that funny.” And it is! And so they’re making a movie of it.
But unlike so many pointless comedies that Hollywood makes, this one isn't a comedy but a real story. Burroughs pours himself out. Makes himself totally and completely transparent, not letting up on any of the details.

Augusten is the child of a 1970’s-confessional-poet gone crazy.
"Not crazy in a let’s paint the kitchen bright red! sort of way. But crazy in a gas oven, toothpaste sandwich, I am God sort of way. Gone were the days when she would stand on the deck lighting the lemon-scented candles without then having to eat the wax."

His father had issues of his own.
"My father was otherwise occupied in his role of highly functional alcoholic professor of mathematics at the University of Massachusetts. He had psoriasis that covered his entire body and gave him the appearance of a dried mackerel that could stand upright and wear tweed. And he had the loving, affectionate, and outgoing personality of petrified wood."

Life keeps taking drastic dips when he ends up in the legal custody of his mother’s extremely odd shrink, who believes that God speaks to him directly through his bowel movements, and he finds himself continuously surrounded in a world of chaos with absolutely no boundaries.
"Freedom was what we had. Nobody told us when to go to bed. Nobody told us when to do our homework. Nobody told us we couldn’t drink two six-packs of Budweiser and then throw up in the Maytag. So why did I feel so trapped? Why did I feel like I had no options in my life when it seemed like options were the only thing I did have?"

But Burroughs’s story is not a whiny one. It is simply his story. His amazingly detailed coming-of-age, 100% full Technicolor story of a very strange childhood.
...less

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Friend the Girl rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

10/16/07

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: people who think David Sedaris is too deep

I'm really not a fan of this memoir craze, and Running With Scissors is no exception. It shows potential in some parts, where the author puts down the 2x4 he was using to beat you over the head with and just tells a story. Most of the time, though, he's not-so-subtly reminding you that he had a terrible childhood, his dad hated him, his mum was crazy, he didn't have anyone, etc. Yawn. In an age where 52% of marriages end in divorce, this is everyone's story. Now it's just a pissing...more

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Stephanie rated it:

(review of isbn 0312425414)

08/21/07

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: any old person

I have to warm you that I am going to give a spoiler here, the spoiler I happened upon as I had just begun reading this book and was just hooked enough by the descriptive style of writing and interesting content that I wanted to continue regardless. However, the spoiler ultimately affected my experience of the book and may affect yours as well. So don't read this, unless you've already read the book.
The family that "Augusten Burroughs" focuses most of his memoir around are suing him....more

Like this review? yes (8 people liked it)

5 comments

Kevin rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

05/25/08

Read in May, 2008

This will be by far the longest review I've done up to this point, because my take on this book is sort of complicated. Running With Scissors is extremely disturbing, and probably more so because it's all true. I found myself feeling really uncomfortable throughout much of it, but I absolutely cannot classify this book as a "dislike" because it really did manage to pull me in. Anyway, if I were reading a book on the Holocaust, would I deduct points for the disturbing subject matter? We...more This will be by far the longest review I've done up to this point, because my take on this book is sort of complicated. Running With Scissors is extremely disturbing, and probably more so because it's all true. I found myself feeling really uncomfortable throughout much of it, but I absolutely cannot classify this book as a "dislike" because it really did manage to pull me in. Anyway, if I were reading a book on the Holocaust, would I deduct points for the disturbing subject matter? Well, I guess that would depend on how it was presented. Same case here.

Though I tend to forget names of characters once many books are through, I'm very familiar with each one here because each was there for a reason and made an impression upon me. This was probably my favorite aspect of Burroughs' writing. Most of the things that turned me off about this book had to do with the painful details of the horrifying events in Burroughs' adolescence, and a few of the characters, of course, greatly got on my nerves. I guess that's sort of the point.

Essentially, some of the real life events left a very bad taste in my mouth. Put enough of them back to back in Burroughs' signature cynical tone and that tends to take a toll on you as a reader. Though there were some chapters which were hilarious or endearing, the constant flow of awful events kept me from enjoying RWS as much as I would've liked. Still, there's no denying the book held my interest and kept me turning the pages. I also think the last few chapters were some of the best in the book, because you really see how Augusten, Natalie, and Deidre have grown as human beings.

Admittedly, I did expect Running With Scissors to be a bit funnier, based on the reviews it got. But, still, it was an interesting and addictive book. I'd recommend it to eccentric readers with strong stomachs. The preview of Dry in the back of the book makes me think I'll like that one better than this, and Andy recommended it, so I think I might give that a try next....less

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Alex rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

01/13/08

Read in January, 2008

I was interested in reading this after getting hints of the story in Burroughs' brother's memoir "Look Me in the Eye". My honest reaction? This book made me deeply uncomfortable. Oh, I kept reading it, the same way I and everyone else would keep eyeballing a car accident, as the old cliché goes. But there was a part of me that honestly couldn't believe that all of this stuff was real. And if it was, how could Burroughs write about it almost as if it was a years-long romp? (I know I go...more

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Jaime rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

10/10/07

augusten lived quite a layered life leaving holes of mass confusion, but his retelling of his childhood is filled with a humor that can lead you straight into tears. i related to augusten in ways that could be scary (if you have read the book; then you'll understand) and decided to send him a letter sharing my reaction to his pages.
i had finished this book on a plane making my way to visit my best friend sally, and on the return flight i needed him in my lap again... found the airport book s...more

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Lunar rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

07/06/08

Read in January, 2004

recommends it for: People with absurd, dark sensibilities.

It has been said that Truman Capote's last book, "Answered Prayers," cost him the friendship of almost everyone he knew at that time in his life, and it has even been speculated that this contributed to his demise. He had mined the personal secrets and character flaws of those around him for literary gold, and most probably embellished as brilliant authors often do. The characters were apparently easily correlated to their real-life counterparts.

And so, things haven't changed a...more

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Chrissy rated it:

(review of isbn 0312425414)

03/22/08

bookshelves: non-fiction

recommends it for: survivors who laugh at the past

this book is horrifyingly hilarious! the movie came out a few years ago (2006), and i have yet to see it (movies never live up to the books), but i intend to... the book had me laughing and crying at the same time. my personal memoir doesn't hold a candle to augusten's, but i found odd comfort in the fact we share the ability to laugh at life's dark humor. it brought me back to my sophomore year in high school when my parents were transitioning though finding a new place to live, and the only pl...more

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Deana rated it:

(review of isbn 031242227X)

07/27/08

bookshelves: to-read

Read in May, 2008

Wow, and I thought I had a messed up childhood! But this guy had a crazy life!

I am not sure whether or not I liked the author's writing style - I'm FAIRLY certain that I didn't, but that the material kept me reading instead. It kept me reading because I wanted to know what completely unbelievable thing would happen next. But there were some things in the writing that annoyed me. I think the most annoying part was that it was very obvious that the book was written in sections, out of order, a...more

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Nathan rated it: