Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir [Hardcover]

Edwin John Wintle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2005

Ed Wintle was a successful, urbane professional whose life, at forty, was very comfortable. He had reached the point when he looked around at his well-ordered, unfettered single existence and wonderedG€š 'Is this all there is?' After a desperate call from his sister at her wit's end, his street-wise thirteen-year-old niece Tiffany-a writhing ball of adolescent anger-comes to live with him. If he felt he needed a shot in the arm, what he got proved more like electroshock therapy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wintle, a 40-year-old, gay, obsessive-compulsive New Yorker, rescues his 13-year-old niece, Tiffany, from her Connecticut home, where she fought with her recovering alcoholic mother, associated with delinquents and feared her mother's violent boyfriend. He has lived to tell the tale and does an exceptional job portraying Tiffany as a complex teenager, capable of eliciting sympathy one moment and animosity the next. She drinks, smokes and dabbles in drugs yet sings beautifully, writes poetry and excels in school when she tries; meanwhile, he struggles with his responsibilities as a guardian while trying to maintain his own life and career (he negotiates book-to-film deals). At times, Wintle comes off as a martyr: "I'd turned into a nasty, abusive parent," he writes after a fight with Tiffany. Yet her behavior is sometimes so atrocious, one can't help wondering why he doesn't yell at her more. Wintle is balanced in his portrayal, and glimpses of Tiffany's softer side explain why he has taken her in. The lighthearted tone makes a serious subject amusing, and Wintle is charmingly self-deprecating. Although the ending doesn't tie up all the loose ends, the journey is eye-opening, and anyone who's wondered about the mysterious lives of teenagers will enjoy Wintle's tale. Agent, Mitchell Waters. (June 15)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Failed-actor-turned-New-York-literary-agent Wintle undertakes the biggest challenge of his life when he agrees to serve as a surrogate single parent to his 13-year-old niece, Tiffany. Since the author of this combination memoir and de facto guide to nontraditional parenting is a self-described gay, obsessive-compulsive "drama Queen (yes, with a capital Q)," the book at first promises to be a madcap romp in an Uncle Mame sort of way but soon becomes something more serious (and interesting) as the author begins revealing heretofore hidden aspects of himself. As for Tiffany, what you see is what you get: she is 13-going-on-30, and her reaction to the word no is to fly into a scenery-chewing, expletive-spewing, door-slamming rage. No wonder one of Wintle's friends coolly observes, "Teenagers are evil, vile creatures." Of course, Wintle would have us believe they're not (well, most aren't), but with Tiffany as Exhibit A, he'll have a hard time convincing most readers of that. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Miramax (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401352243
• ISBN-13: 978-1401352240
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,671,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such an endearing and clever read!, June 28, 2005

By 

Heather J. Chute (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir (Hardcover)

This is something I've never done before. I actually don't read all that much, and most of what I've read has been in the "classic novel" category. However, I read the article in People Magazine about this book, and went and got it that very evening, (Tuesday, to be exact.) I'm a teacher and so I don't get much down time during the year, but in the summers, I love to stay up late, reading in bed. I can't believe how incapable I was of putting this book down. This is the third night in a row I've been up past 2am reading, and I just finished. I'm no literary critic, or anyone important in that world, but I loved this book! It's so witty and I thought it so fitting that just at the end; in the last 4 lines, I was tearing up because I knew it was ending and I was half-expecting some heart-wrenching last line from Uncle Eddie or "Tiffany" and there was that charming wit again, with a line just as hysterical as the one that begins the book. Perfect! One of the reviews on your back cover says that teenagers will want their own "Uncle Eddy" after reading this book, but I'm 7 years removed from my teens, and I want one! I teach a freshman mentoring class to my high school kids, and now I'm hoping I can somehow fit reading this book into the curriculum. God bless Edwin Wintle for writing this!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great new memoirist, June 21, 2005

By 

Eric (NY, NY, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir (Hardcover)

This book has it all--a true story that grabs you by the gut, plenty of comic moments, and emotional high points that give you a lump in your throat. Wintle tells this compelling tale with wit, insight and a great sense of pacing. I'm recommending this book to everyone, because everyone who's ever been part of a family (I guess that includes all of us) will be able to relate to it. Forget the force-fed Augusten Burroughs/David Sedaris comparisons on the jacket--Wintle's talent need not be clumsily compared to either; it stands on its own.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At the absolute top of my long list of favorites! I love this book!, July 2, 2005

By 

Pamela Smith "lover of literature" (Port Charlotte, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir (Hardcover)

It has been a long time since I have felt so passionate about a book. I could not put it down, every time I tried, I kept thinking about Uncle Eddy and Tiffany; I wanted to know what was happening. The anecdotes Wintle shares during his first year living with his 13 year old niece is written with brave, yet painful honesty, as they forge new territory as "parent and child". Wintle brings to light the immense love and frustration one endures when dealing with struggling teenagers. Sadly, the difficulties and life circumstances experienced by Tiffany are very realistic, and yet the sincerity with which they are shared will provide a cathartic connection for others coming of age today.
I highly recommended this Breakfast With Tiffany to parents, teenagers teachers, and anyone else who appreciates a good read. I will be using this book in my high school reading class this fall. I wish I had, had an Uncle Eddy in my life, willing to embrace me during my not so finest hours.
This is the kind of book that turns reluctant readers into lovers of reading.