Customer Reviews

Junior

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This so-called "novel" is probably the most normal thing ever produced by Macaulay Culkin.

Somewhat of a mosaic of disfunctionality. It reads like a journal with checklists and doodles, one thought failing to lead into the next, but as a whole relatively insightful. Don't expect a plot or a purpose, but tons of personality. It's terribly amusing and heartbreakingly human for a person we ogle like the Elephant Man.

I consider myself pretty well-read, but on the other hand I am a fan of Culkin's (do with this knowledge what you will), and I sat down and read the book in one sitting. I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

Will you like this one? Depends on if you can relate to the very original and often odd style in which Culkin explores his truly bizarre life. He is, after all, a youmg man who was once a major child star, survived the destruction of his family, went on to get married early in life, had issues with drinking and drugs and so forth.

Now he's gone and written a book. In the process, some major things are left out (his relationship/friendship with Michael Jackson) and others are explored in detail. But then, this isn't strictly what I'd consider nonfiction. It is a novel, however based on reality. To call it anything else would be inaccurate. Yes, McCaulkin winks a bit at what to call the book by writing (A Novel) and then crossing out the words and writing "NOT" in big letters above it. But in interviews, he has called it a novel, so I'm going with that and calling it one myself. Besides, how can it be fact when major episodes in his life are left out?

It contains drawings, rants, diaries and statements of belief. It might even be closer to a piece of modern art than a traditional book. There are several endings.

And yet...I found it oddly compelling, even though I didn't think I'd like it. After all, not just ANYBODY can sit down and write a book that is interesting (at least, I think some will find it interesting, if only as an oddity), no matter how badly they want to. This could have been a lot worse. Culkin does have an original voice. Question is: will you find it compelling?

Those who already know of Culkin's difficult relationship with his father will have a field day with this book. He definitey touches on that subject, as well as how to NOT be his father, to be a differnt person.

So have a look at this one, see what you think. It certainly isn't for every reader. But if you're fascinated by Culkin or curious about what he has done with his life lately, this is it. Read between the lines and you'll catch glimpses of the person he s now. Who knows where he'll end up down the road?

Apart from two passages where he seems to seriously write about his family/father situation, this book was a ridiculous mess. It would have served Mr. Culkin better had he taken himself seriously and wrote a memoir, because it does seem he can write well, from the couple of "real" parts of the book that remember moments from his life and address his father. Additionally, the references to being "Monkey Monkey Boy" were quite depressing, and conveyed well. I'll keep an eye out for his next effort, but if it looks anything like this, I'll give it a pass.

I am not a writer. I am a fraud, and you can quote me on that. - Macauley Culkin, Junior, p. 8

At least he's honest.

I'm not sure what to do with this book. It's not really a book. It's certainly not a novel. It's more a collection of all the things Culkin wrote during the last five years that someone convinced him to package and sell in the form of a novel, or anti-novel, whatever you want to call it. And I'm a bit angry that I was duped into thinking this might be something real. This book is Macauley Culkin's excuse to say everything he ever wanted, give shout outs to his friends and girlfriend, and tell off all the people who ever made him mad. Case in point: a list of people he likes the least (including his father, Bill Maher, and unfunny people), a line that comes out of nowhere that simply reads, "Brett is an (insert expletive here)," and an open letter to Britney Spears.

My problem with this book wasn't its lack of purpose (though I'm sure it was cathartic--and cheaper than therapy--for Culkin to get this stuff of his chest). It wasn't the fact that he jumps around aimlessly with no cohesive thought patterns, in what I'm assuming is supposed to be a stream of consciousness writing style. My problem is that I think this book is Macauley Culkin's way of laughing at those who thought to purchase this drivel in the belief that it might actually have something useful to say. And I'm not okay with it.

In order to really enjoy this book you must be a big fan of Macaulay Culkins or enjoy really random thought writing. I purchased after much obsession over "Party Monster" (movie) and if you read it with that mindset (yes, I know he wasn't playing himself) you'll enjoy the book. Otherwise you might just read it and cry "nonsense".

To start with, I'm not faulting Culkin for getting his feelings out or expressing himself creatively. Nor am I minimizing the emotional turmoil of his childhood and its resultant scars on his psyche.

What I AM faulting, however, is his (and the publisher's) decision to publish this. Everbody has the equivalent in an old spiral notebook from 7th grade stashed in a closet. If Culkin wasn't Culkin it never would have escaped. Its not enlightening, its not compelling, there's nothing here that's fresh or inspiring. Its just a guy working out his emotional "issues" (like most have) with clumsy bad awkward pretentious writing (again, like most have).

Imagine that as a child you got a toy box of memories on your 25th Birthday, memories you can play with, be gentle, have dreams, never mind the sorrow.
A dark photography room with a flashlight projector as if you never stepped out of that movie theatre and witness what the backstage or what happens in your life and something you don't unleash to your friends or/and a psychotherapist, an innocent wish for privacy everyone yearns sometimes, on a highway, town, or a desert. An ocean wave of a feeling, joy, combined with a brilliant sense of humor, "junior" represents a "sketch of hidden human emotions". Macaulay Culkin has a skill of writing what he wants to show the reader in 3 sentences. The easy-going style of writing with new energy and a shinning light of care between paragraphs "Junior" is a light journey on footsteps of love and understanding of what it's like growing up, and facing what one needs to face with to grow higher and at the present live road of high energy life with courage.

(P.S. Good luck with a new book in a year or two... lol :)

Sincerely,

- Svetlana Sheilandi

OK, this is not literature, but I didn't expect it to be. This is like a performance piece, only you're reading it and not sitting in an art gallery or alternative theater.
Its stream-of-consciousness style may not be for everyone, and you could easily diss it by saying it's sophomoric, but it's still affecting and worthwhile.
I cared about him and his obvious struggles. There was a sweetness that pervaded the whole book.
It's a glimpse into Culkin's heart, mind, and soul: his true self. To me, that's appealing.

I've never exactly been a Macaulay Culkin fan. Of course, I knew who he was from his "Home Alone" days and asides from that I had absolutely no interest in him. After Party Monster, I started noticing that he did a lot of things with Seth Green (Robot Chicken) and some of the 'That 70's Show' kids who covertly seem like they might be interesting characters behind the scenes so when I heard he had a book, I contemplated being interested in it although I must admit, I didn't have much faith in it.

Anyway, my friend picked it up for me a couple of days ago and I read the entire thing in one day. It's a pretty easy read but it's completely random, which is something I'm into (the random, not the easy) and not at all what I expected. I related to it quite a bit and am pretty impressed. He didn't go the route I expected him to go, at all. I loved it but I'll say that it isn't for everyone. You have to be able to appreciate stream-of-consciousness style writing and perhaps be a little bit insane to truly get it.

Kudos to Macaulay for writing something completely unexpected and refreshing. It could have been stronger from a literary point of view but the way he went about it makes it a little more consumable, I suppose.

Worth reading if you appreciate self-exploration and randomness. Don't pick it up if youre just looking for some kind of celebrity gossip, tell all autobiography type of thing.

..as much as someone who's never met him can. I think he is intriquing in his choices, and I patiently awaited this book since I heard about it quite a while ago.

It's not so much a book, as stated already, but more of an insider's look into his brain. For anyone that has ever wanted to get to know a so called "untouchable" without actually knowing them, this is a pleasant fix, but not too deeply intimate.

I very much enjoyed it, and hope more people will read it aswell.