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Unboxing Raymond
The discovery of his father Raymond's mysterious "treasure box" forces an award-winning writer to reexamine their contentious relationship. As he opens the box and begins taking items out one by one—taking you on a treasure hunt—he is overwhelmed by memories, many funny, some poignant or sad, and a few that may send shivers up your spine. It is in those curiosities that Raymond will be revealed, piece by piece, memory by memory. Hopes, dreams, warts and all. In the end, a different unexpected father emerges.
By the time the treasures are all laid out, Raymond will have earned some measure of redemption, and you will have experienced not just the life of a self-employed upholsterer, pigeon fancier, and believer in ghosts and angels, but a glimpse of times long gone, when horses and streetcars ruled Washington, D.C., and Raymond ran barefoot through its streets.
You will also discover, as the author did, that when you put people in boxes, there's always room for two. So unboxing one, unboxes the other—with surprising results.
By the time the treasures are all laid out, Raymond will have earned some measure of redemption, and you will have experienced not just the life of a self-employed upholsterer, pigeon fancier, and believer in ghosts and angels, but a glimpse of times long gone, when horses and streetcars ruled Washington, D.C., and Raymond ran barefoot through its streets.
You will also discover, as the author did, that when you put people in boxes, there's always room for two. So unboxing one, unboxes the other—with surprising results.
141 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 2, 2022
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14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 15, 2022
Unboxing Raymond by Len Boswell is a memoir of the author as much as it is a biography of his father, and it works very well.
Using the box of treasures as the central device we learn about Raymond in much the same way we remember our own deceased friends and family: through memories. Even when an item in the box was unknown to Boswell it still triggered a memory. In fact, just like one might do when talking to someone about your father, a memory also brings back what were technically Raymond's memories as passed down to Boswell (or in one case to his mother then to him). By not being a linear account of Raymond's (or Boswell's) life we are given the opportunity to engage with each memory episodically.
The episodic nature probably helps us to also give room for us not to judge his negative qualities too harshly before we learn how Boswell himself has learned, largely through this process, to better understand his father and himself.
In addition to being a moving account of their lives, it also is organized such that the reader can easily reflect on their own memories of their loved ones. Since I spent many of my school years living in the DC area (Laurel and Greenbelt, mid 60s to early 70s) I found myself going back to memories of my father. Not exactly parallel events to what is in the book but sparked by some of the feelings they conveyed.
While we may not all have actual physical treasure boxes from our parents, we probably have many items from them. Yet even if we don't, we do still have a mental treasure box. I remembered things my father had, things he did. While unboxing Raymond I also spent some time unboxing my own father, and it was a wonderful experience.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Using the box of treasures as the central device we learn about Raymond in much the same way we remember our own deceased friends and family: through memories. Even when an item in the box was unknown to Boswell it still triggered a memory. In fact, just like one might do when talking to someone about your father, a memory also brings back what were technically Raymond's memories as passed down to Boswell (or in one case to his mother then to him). By not being a linear account of Raymond's (or Boswell's) life we are given the opportunity to engage with each memory episodically.
The episodic nature probably helps us to also give room for us not to judge his negative qualities too harshly before we learn how Boswell himself has learned, largely through this process, to better understand his father and himself.
In addition to being a moving account of their lives, it also is organized such that the reader can easily reflect on their own memories of their loved ones. Since I spent many of my school years living in the DC area (Laurel and Greenbelt, mid 60s to early 70s) I found myself going back to memories of my father. Not exactly parallel events to what is in the book but sparked by some of the feelings they conveyed.
While we may not all have actual physical treasure boxes from our parents, we probably have many items from them. Yet even if we don't, we do still have a mental treasure box. I remembered things my father had, things he did. While unboxing Raymond I also spent some time unboxing my own father, and it was a wonderful experience.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
July 12, 2024
Len Boswell’s archeological hunt through a box filled with his late father’s quirky treasures is a heartfelt reminiscence that’s as much about about self-discovery as it is about the nostalgic mementos of a complex childhood.
It’s also winsome and sarcastic, bittersweet and outright funny, as in this description of the author’s well-worn family sofa: “It was shaped like a boomerang and was the color of chartreuse gone rancid.”
This book’s tender moments are often juxtaposed with harsh truth, as when we learn of Cousin Buddy, the rough relative who knifed a fellow inmate while he was serving prison time for murder.
Boswell’s mysterious foil-lined box and the story it reveals about his eccentric and often emotionally distant furniture-repairman father is a deeply authentic statement about love and the wildly contrasting realities of family life that we all share.
While Boswell’s entertaining novels mostly make me laugh, this book made me think.
It’s a beautiful book and I give it five well-deserved upholstery tacks.
It’s also winsome and sarcastic, bittersweet and outright funny, as in this description of the author’s well-worn family sofa: “It was shaped like a boomerang and was the color of chartreuse gone rancid.”
This book’s tender moments are often juxtaposed with harsh truth, as when we learn of Cousin Buddy, the rough relative who knifed a fellow inmate while he was serving prison time for murder.
Boswell’s mysterious foil-lined box and the story it reveals about his eccentric and often emotionally distant furniture-repairman father is a deeply authentic statement about love and the wildly contrasting realities of family life that we all share.
While Boswell’s entertaining novels mostly make me laugh, this book made me think.
It’s a beautiful book and I give it five well-deserved upholstery tacks.
June 17, 2022
sooo good
Funny and entertaining. But also a real and good story about dysfunction, as told by a survivor. Worth reading it.
Funny and entertaining. But also a real and good story about dysfunction, as told by a survivor. Worth reading it.
August 26, 2022
It was a very unexpected book but was interesting. I recommend everyone to read it.
The author gave a stirring redition of his father and the author's life.
The author gave a stirring redition of his father and the author's life.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews