Customer Reviews

The Complete Book of Aunts

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I heard an interview with the author on NPR and thought this would make a good Christmas gift for my aunt - who's been like a 2nd mom to me.

Looking through it before wrapping it, I found a chapter on Aunts who seduce their nephews - which I thought might be kind of embarrassing for my dear aunt to read. I ended up giving it to her anyway - and just making it clear that there were aunts in the book that didn't remind me of her at all. :-)

I also found this book a bit eccentric, but occasionally charming. The section on John Lennon's aunt was particularly moving. I bought this for a woman who was my mother's best friend (my mother was an only child) -- and was like a sister to her, even through her long illness. When Mom died, my "aunt" became like a second mother to me, and loved attending me when I brought babies home from the hospital, etc. Many of the descriptions of the special role of "aunt" sounded very much like her. Like another reader who commented, I also found the chapter on sexual-predator aunts completely unnecessary and almost didn't give the book to my aunt because she has tender sensibilities. But I told her it was worth reading "around" that chapter.

While I have to agree with the reviewer above, the rest of the book is absolutely charming in its fond celebration of aunties, both factual and fictitious. For everyone who has an aunt straight out of a storybook, buy two copies. One for yourself and one for her. This is a rare compendium, as there's not too many books on the subject!