Dumbfounded: Big Money. Big Hair. Big Problems. Or Why Having It All Isn't for Sissies. (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rothschild, a writer and high school teacher living in Florida, was abandoned by his mother and raised by his grandparents, a retired Jewish couple living in the most exclusive building in the most exclusive neighborhood of New York City. The setting is sitcom-perfect, from the headstrong grandmother and exasperated grandfather to the wisecracking servants, and Rothschild's youthful acting out offers much opportunity for humor. At one point, his behavior was so out of hand that one of the few private schools he hadn't been asked to leave would accept him only if his grandparents donated one of their Van Goghs as well. But all is not happy: an early attempt by his mother to reunite the family ends in disaster, and her selfish behavior forces him to care for his Alzheimer's-stricken grandmother while still a teenager. Rothschild has been through a lot, and he's an able storyteller, easily drawing readers' sympathy by layering the emotional drama. If his story seems incomplete, that's probably because it is—the final break with his mother would, from an older author, be the midpoint at which Rothschild turns his life around, but this memoir ends with just the first glimmers of an optimistic future. (Aug.) ""
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From Booklist

A self-described chubby kid with a “Jewfro” hairdo, Rothschild was raised by his maternal grandparents after his mother decided she would rather live in Italy with her fourth husband than raise a son. Rothschild’s grandmother, Sophie, a sassy senior with a mouth like a sewer, ruled the manor at her family’s apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. (Even in the 1990s, the Rothschilds were the sole Jewish residents in the building.) Young Matt is a hopeless misfit—both inside his home and out. He forever aspires to win the praise of his grandfather, who wishes he’d try out for a sports team rather than sport his grandmother’s dresses. He attempts to earn the sympathy of his grade-school classmates by pretending his mother committed suicide. He’s eventually shipped off to a boarding school, his sexual confusion reaching its peak when he shares a room with the campus stud. Rothschild, who readily admits to changing names, places, and events, labors a bit too hard for laughs in this occasionally funny but ultimately contrived debut. --Allison Block

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1 edition (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307405427
• ISBN-13: 978-0307405425
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #770,767 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rothschild Hooks Us with Humor, August 18, 2008

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

On the back cover of DUMBFOUNDED, Matt Rothschild is said to be "the man David Sedaris could have been if he'd been part of an esteemed family on Manhattan's Upper East Side." Likening yourself to a famous writer is always a no-no for emerging authors, but Rothschild's memoir lives up to the comparison. While he doesn't yet have the near-flawless style of Sedaris, this first memoir is not something to be discounted or brushed off as amateur.

Rothschild was raised by his grandparents in New York, while his mother lived her own life in Italy. Throughout the years his family situation, weight, Jewish ethnicity and emerging sexual orientation separated him from his peers. While many children in a similar situation would fade into the background, Rothschild fights back with humor, sarcasm and by singing Judy Garland songs --- one of which he performs at a school talent show. Unfortunately, the humor and sarcasm aren't always appreciated, and he finds himself being shuffled from school to school --- albeit private school to school --- until he enters college.

While Rothschild's childhood is atypical, so is his level of responsibility. As he grows older and his grandparents' health declines, his mother and uncle are caught up in their own lives --- leaving him to provide care, make adult decisions, and juggle ensuring his grandmother isn't taking the car out on joyrides with trying to have his own social life back at college. It is this level of personal responsibility matched with independence and humility that cause Rothschild to make a decision that will radically change his future.

From the beginning, Rothschild hooks us with humor. The first 80 pages are dedicated to childhood antics and funny dialogue from his grandparents, and this is the part of the memoir that reads just like Sedaris. However, Rothschild breaks out of the Sedaris style when he talks about his mother. While every other scene in the book is light with occasional serious undertones, any mention of his mom is just plain heavy. It is in these situations that he switches from Sedaris's style to that of Jennifer Lauck --- an author whose memoirs make us cry for the little girl who loses her parents at an early age.

The problem is that, while Rothschild's strength is humorous narrative, he doesn't excel at the type of dramatic writing that made Lauck so effective. When I read Rothschild's humor, I am so mesmerized by the story that I forget I am reading words on a page. But with the introduction of any narrative about his mother, I have moved from mesmerization to being fully aware that I am reading about something that has touched the author deeply but does not flow as a narrative should. In these instances, instead of being captivated by the writing and thus transported into the world he is narrating, I am propelled back to the book itself and feel as though I am reading a draft for critique at a writing group.

This, however, is my only complaint, and I'm sure one that is not unusual for a review of someone's first work. The story behind the narration is intense, heart-wrenching and full of plot twists, and this makes up for any flaws in the actual writing. Rothschild presents a boy trying desperately to fit in and failing at almost every turn. His story reads so well that it easily could be fiction, and his characters are so rich with personality that they all could have been invented. But the fact that they are not makes it a precious and priceless tale, and one that anybody --- whether like Rothschild or completely different --- will find worth reading.

--- Reviewed by Shannon Luders-Manuel

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, September 5, 2008

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

So you think being raised by wealthy Jewish grandparents in a Fifth Avenue apartment, twelve years of prep and boarding schools, regular trips to FAO Schwartz, chauffeured limousines, or visiting Mom at her husband's Italian villa also means a life on easy street?

Then you haven't read Matt Rothschild's family memoir, DUMBFOUNDED.

In his memoir, Matt paints a lush and detailed portrait of life as a complex, awkward outsider in a world that demands conformity and simple definition. Despite growing up in a completely different environment, I felt a constant sense of familiarity and kinship with Matt, whether he was describing the painful silence that greeted his a capella rendition of "Get Happy" for the sixth-grade talent show, spinning tales of his midget butler, Little Saigon, in the hopes of pleasing his fickle grandmother, or confronting an ever-increasing awareness that his sexuality might not fit society's definition of "normal."

Matt's story runs the gamut of human emotion from laugh-out-loud hilarity to chest-aching heartbreak. DUMBFOUNDED is first and foremost a book about people, and it reminds us that once stripped of all our ideological constructs (wealth, race, faith, gender, orientation, nationality, etc.), at our core, we're all pretty much the same.

Reviewed by: Cat

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dumbfounded--rare Laugh Out Loud prose!, October 27, 2008

By	LaRita B. Jacobs "Writer, St. Petersburg Times" (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Matt Rothschild's prose created mental pictures that made me reluctant to put the book down--even for chocolate!

In describing his sixth grade attempt to get sympathy--rather than punishment-- from the teacher he writes:

"I bit my lip and and scrunched up my face in a look of pure constipation, the closest expression to agony I could muster." Pure giggles.

The stories of eccentric relatives, odd neighbors, and a kid trying to fit in all resonate with honesty and humor. Even the painful parts of growing up a Rothschild are described with a tongue in cheek humor that brings a grin.

My busy life forced me to read the book over a period of a couple of weeks, and I was pleased that I could dive right back into Matt's life each time. A perfect read for the nightstand!