Customer Reviews

Possible Side Effects

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I'm a huge fan of Burroughs. Like most, I first discovered him through his mega-selling "Running with Scissors." I quickly devoured his hysterical novel "Sellevision." I was less impressed with his memoir "Dry," but fell in love all over again when I read his true story collection "Magical Thinking." "Possible Side Effects" is more dry than magical, and shows the author at a crossroads. Though consistently amusing, many pieces in this new collection seem forced and find the author overreaching for a laugh, while still others feel deriviative of those previously published, or rather they seem as though they may have been leftovers - stories that didn't quite make the "Magical" cut.

Still there are many rewards in "Possible Side Effects." My two favorites in this collection were: "The Georgia Thumper," which focuses on the troubled relationship between the young Burroughs and his paternal grandmother; and "The Forecast for Sommer," which is some of the strongest prose writing yet from this author. Deeply felt, though unsentimental, "The Forecast for Sommer" betrays the author's talent for dramatic, melancholy writing and provides a promising glimpse into his future and better things to come.

more weirdness from my favorite writer. vignettes ranging from being terrorized by the tooth fairy to a dog named cow. delighted to see an appearance from his bizarre family again. maybe because his family's neurosis resembled mine. slightly twisted, slightly campy, always funny. some might find his humor a little too dark, not me. he's also discovered he's no longer unrecognizable to the public. my favorite chapter is the one on his brother who for years went undiagnosed with asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. their interaction with each other is often hilarious, and I loved his brother's nickname's for his family, augusten was "varmint", mom was "slave" and dad "stupid". the back flap has augusten's website address. where he previews his next three books. many giggles throughout, and every bit as funny as anything david sedaris has written. seemingly effortless writing, and razor sharp wit. some may say that it's not up to his usual high standards, but I disagree.

I was a little worried when I started reading "Possible Side Effects," because the first couple of chapters are kind of slow going. However, I am a big fan of everything Augusten Burroughs has ever written, and this book is no exception. It didn't take long for the pace to pick up and for me to start laughing my ass off. This book isn't a full-length memoir like "Running with Scissors" or "Dry." It's a collection of humorous stories, very similar to "Magical Thinking." Burroughs shares stories from his disturbing childhood all the way through to his present-day, slightly more normal (but still incredibly quirky) life. The stories aren't arranged in any particular order, and there are some really, really good ones in here. My hands-down favorite chapter is "Moving Violations," which describes the author's experiences driving around with his friend Druggy Debby during his teenage years, startling bad drivers by flashing them with enlarged photos of hard-core porn. (I laughed so hard reading that part, my husband actually stepped away from his computer game to see what the hell what was so funny. That is HUGE.)

If you want to read a book written by America's funniest and cleverest writer, "Possible Side Effects" is for you.

"Possible Side Effects" is a side-splittingly funny, brilliantly self-aware autobiography that reads like a novel. Burroughs' book puts you squarely into his head. And if you're the type of person destined to be a Burroughs' fan, you'll probably be relieved to get out of your own head for a while.

Does David Sedaris make you laugh so hard you cry? Then you'll also love Burroughs -- a wonderful and insightful writer who does all of the heavy lifting for us lucky stiffs in his adoring audience.

Buy this book. Read it. Wait a while. Read the best parts again. Then give it to someone who's been good lately. Better yet, give it to someone who's been bad.

I'm a big fan of this guy, bought this as soon as I could get my hands on it, and cruised right though it. I loved it, and if you like Burroughs' frantic, neurotic writing, like I do, you will not be disappointed. Just like I did while reading his other books, I found myself vascilating between squrming and laughing. And for me, this is the true indicator of good writing -- it grabs me emotionally and makes me feel something.

In this latest collection you'll find essays about Burrough's days spent in the world of advertising, and of course trips back to his (almost unbelievably) tragic childhood. He's stopped drinking and doping by now, but seems to have replaced these vices with other addictions -- nicotine gum, junk food, and, as always, wild, out-of-control introspection.

You'll also find more stories about his brother with Asperger's Syndrom and his depressed mother, all written with a level of sincerity and wry wit that should make David Sedaris jealous.

Is it all true? I've never thought all of his stories were true, and I haven't really cared, but this is the first of his books to actually come out and admit it, in an introductory note. The writing is so good it doesn't really matter. As one other famous memoirist said: Pretend it's fiction.

It takes a lot for a book to make me laugh out loud -- not only did this one make me snort, it also squeezed my gut & made me want to cry.

I'm a big Burroughs fan; I enjoyed this more than Magical Thinking. Can't wait for another one.

I really enjoyed this latest memoir of Mr. Burroughs, almost as much as his first - RWS, Dry and MT. My favorites were his essays on Cow & Bentley, his French Bulldogs, Julia's Child, and the essay on his paternal grandmother. There were a few that seemed like he might be reaching for things to remember to fill out the book, but overall it was with much enjoyment that I read his latest.

I'm a huge fan of Augusten Burroughs, so perhaps it's unfair to compare Possible Side Effects to his other books. I suppose on it's own merits, Possible Side Effects is a good book... but since coming off of Dry and Magical Thinking, I had high expectations. Maybe they were too high, because once I started reading PSE, I simply could not muster the desire to finish the book. Some books I could say "I just couldn't put it down!" but with this book, I would day "I just couldn't pick it up!" There's nothing new here, no great insight, no really amusing stories, in fact they just tend to meander with no real conclusion. This shouldn't be a big surprise though, after all Mr. Burroughs has mined his life so much in his previous books, maybe there's not much left. It reads like he's scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, or that he's coasting. In fact, these stories could easily be rejects from Magical Thinking. Even the book cover, by the usually reliable Chip Kidd, is dull and uninteresting. I will always treasure Dry and Magical Thinking, but this book is nowhere near the quality of those books. It's only my love of those books and my appreciation of Augusten Burroughs that kept me from giving this book 1 star.

I just loved this book and finished it quickly. I went to the store to buy Clarence Thomas' new memoir and saw this had come out. If this was in hardcover, I missed it, but I grabbed it the second I saw it!

Augusten Burroughs is one of the funniest writers and most enjoyable to read. I've read all his books and would recommend them all thoroughly. There are many things to praise about Burroughs. Among them is his self-deprecating humor. He wants to be a good person (he is actually a good person) and fights the negative thoughts he has almost constantly. He's a bit insecure. I think he used to be a bit unlikeable, but he's grown up a lot in this book.

When I read Laurie Notaro's first book, I loved it. When she grew up, however, and wrote her second book, she just wasn't funny anymore. That's not the case here. Burroughs has actually gotten better with age. He faces his fears, he is more honest than he used to be, he struggles with issues like the rest of us, but does all he can to be the best person he can be. And, he writes about it with spot-on insight and humor.

All of the book is excellent, but the vignette called Moving Violations was completely hysterical and a definite must-read to anyone who appreciates Burroughs' writing and the weirdness of life.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS is Augusten Burroughs' fifth book of ramblings about the absurdities he encounters in his meandering through life. While his earlier books concentrated on the incredibly warped childhood he survived, this current diversion begins with a focus on a more adult state of his existence. Burroughs continues to mature as a writer and while his reminiscences of bizarre incidents are apparently endless (and definitely endlessly hilarious), his focus has changed in this collection of tales to a more philosophical approach to life as he is living it now.

Burroughs can find the humor in aberrant situations, incidents that may pass our paths unnoticed, but in his pausing to reflect become frozen moments of shock, humor, disgust, and enlightenment. His friends or acquaintances become comedic figures worthy of cinematic exploration. His hypochondriacal episodes remind us of our own medical delusions and frantic moments. Where Burroughs is best is in his explorations of his own behavior patterns, living methods, addictions and maladaptations.

The first half of this latest hilarious writing concerns Burroughs' relationship with his partner, with his friends, with care givers. But it seems in the second half he feels the need to return to the childhood experiences that have won him the wide audience of voyeurs and fans in his first books. The difference is the subtle change in his memories of his parents and grandparents whom he now depicts with equal amounts of tenderness and criticism.

For this reader POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS, while a pleasure to read for entertainment, is less pungent in shock value and more tempered with gentle reflection. That is evidence of maturing as a writer and broadening his scope of connecting us to a world made more realistically weird than before. Augusten Burroughs remains a master of describing the simple things in our lives as observed by a man with a very keen wit! Grady Harp, August 06