Customer Reviews

Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir

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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!

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.

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.

Flying in the face of a gay culture in which issues such as child-rearing and putting a child through high school or college often take a backseat to focusing on your pet, your work, and the luxury of child-free vacations, Ed Wintle's BREAKFAST WITH TIFFANY offers a refreshingly unselfish portrait of a gay man no longer young but not quite middle aged, willing to set aside the rituals typical of so many of his gay contemporaries--dinners with friends, occasional visits to the local bar, and career--and instead offer to care for his troubled 13-year-old niece Tiffany when her mother can no longer take care of the girl herself. When the relationship between uncle and niece gestates into that of "father and daughter," tensions, frustrations, and problems of communication inevitably flare up, the details of which are recounted honestly and charmingly by the author, who is forced not only to confront the vicissitudes of his niece's life, but those of his own, permanently altering his point of view. The result is an entertaining and highly readable memoir that is recommended for anyone interested not only in a second-generation AIDS culture in a time of flux, but for anyone thinking about or actually raising a child in a stressful and difficult time in our country's history.

Every troubled teen should have an uncle like Uncle Eddy, who cares enough to change his life in extreme ways to take in his 13 year old troubled niece. I hope others reading this book will consider doing something similar to what he did, as oftentimes the only way to really change the course of a life is to remove the teen from the environment that is causing the problems.

I kept reading and reading, although there was something about the writing that was not quite my favorite style. I hate to even say that, as I so admired the author and his honestly and extreme hard work for his niece. The chapters seemed to follow a formula---set up an emotional scene, flash back to what caused it, then flash back further to an event in Eddy's life. Not a bad formula, and skilled writing, but I think the next work by this author will be even better, as he gets more confidence in his writing skills and loosens up a little. Perhaps his OCD shows through a little in his writing---and I can relate!

I am very hopefully for Tiffany, and I bet we will be hearing more from her. I love the fact this isn't presented as a miracle, and right down to the last sentence we see the challenges ahead.

Another element I really liked was the view of a strong extended family, even with their troubles. At times it gets so wearing to hear about awful parents. Eddy's parents sound like loving, caring people (although not perfect, of course!) and the scene where Eddy's father comforts him in crisis really made me cry.

Thanks for the book!

I had the great pleasure of reading this book after it was recommended by a friend, and now I wish to return the favor and recommend it myself. Wintle writes with an easy grace, and fills the story with rich moments of life with a teenage girl -- chapters turn on a dime from comic to poignant to tragic and back again -- just as a teenage girl's emotions can turn.

Tiffany is one of the most compelling and engaging charcters I've ever read -- read it for the true insight you will gain into the mind of a young woman full of talent and promise and, yes, a few problems -- she is as lovely and complex as only the best young women are.

Best book I have read in a very long time. I was a single mom and raised a daughter so, boy, do I know what Mr. Wintle is talking about!!! Hopefully, this story had a happy ending! That is the part left out - he and Tiffany survived the first year together, what about the other three years of high school? Is there a sequel coming? Hope so!

Long car rides seem to consume any free time my husband & I have these days, but we've been passing the time by reading Wintle's most awesome memoir-- both my husband & I (avid readers) are loving it. Though we're only halfway through, my husband has banned me from reading ahead. He wants me to continue reading aloud during our next car ride this Friday. I cannot believe 1) I was able to read aloud for three hours straight & 2) I didn't want to sleep as I usually do on long car rides! What a great book-- I know this will help my teaching & how I deal with teenagers this year.

No question about it, gay parenting is a hot button topic. When you mix in the current trend of publishing humorous memoirs by gay authors you'll understand why "Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir," by Edwin John Wintle, is getting such a big publicity push from publisher Miramax (who has optioned the book for a film).

The author/protagonist is a single successful gay man living in NYC who takes on the guardianship of his precocious thirteen year-old niece. Personally, this scenario is one of my recurring nightmares. Be that as it may, this is an engaging, heartfelt memoir, and though not exactly "Auntie Mame," the author effectively utilizes broad "gay" humor and outrageous anecdotes to communicate his story. Though the writing lacks the sardonic brilliance of Dan Savage's adoption epic "The Kid," or the life and death emotionalism of B. D. Wong's "Following Foo," all three tell stories of gay parenting that adroitly illustrate a deep seated need of many in our community to establish "traditional" families of their own.

Now I've always been of the opinion that children smell bad, and are often loud, cruel and obnoxious. Thus, I thought I'd find it hard to relate to this story. However, the need to love and be loved in return is universal, and our hero's desire to nurture and mentor his troubled, often self-absorbed ward, does play out as admirable and provides ample rewards for the reader. In the end this is a courageous and inspiring "Uncle Knows Best" story of unconditional love and self-sacrifice. Well done.

This book is a hilarious, touching and inspirational bit of contemporary Americana. Uncle Eddy reveals the terrors and joys of sudden parenthood with the fearlessness of someone who has walked through fire. And on some level he already has, having survived the epidemic of our generation: AIDS in America. I hope that this book reminds readers that parenting can be a madcap adventure, but the goal should always remain to do the best job we can of raising kids that aren't jerks. Eddy does his very best, while scribbling notes in every available margin. Tiffany is a handful but also a delight and we can't help but come away feeling that she will ultimately be a remarkable woman.