The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "In the Dear John letter Daddy left for Mother and me, on a Saturday afternoon in early June 1996, on the inlaid Florentine table in..." (more)
Key Phrases: pig fuck, Tina Marie, New York, Sarah Lawrence (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Teacher, freelance writer and first-time author Leleux proves he's already a master of the snappy one-liner and the improbably hilarious in this rollicking, bitter-sweet (emphasis on the bitter) coming-of-age memoir. Featuring a larger-than life mother addicted to shopping and surgical makeovers, Leleux admits to having "tilted" the story so that it "reads better (as in funnier, or happier) than it was lived"; still, it's a rocky trip that obviously required a highly evolved sense of humor to get through (fortunately, Leleux makes himself as big a target as his extravagant mother). Beginning with his father's abandonment when Leleux was 17, the author traces the erratic aftermath in the home of his desperate mom, whose plan to remarry rich leads her to pursue a risky and exorbitant series of surgical enhancements, turning inside-out Leleux's hope that "the end of marriage would be only the beginning of plastic surgery and happy new lives." In the meantime, Robert meets and unexpectedly falls in love with Michael Leleux, learning for the first time that he's gay and, further, that his mom has already known. Not for the timid, this laugh-out-loud tale of dysfunction and discovery is a compulsively readable treat; any fan of Augusten Burroughs or David Sedaris owes it to themselves to pick it up.
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Review

Advance Praise for The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy:

"I never really thought much about having a gay son until I read The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy and laughed out loud so often I thought I'd better keep this book on hand in case I ever need to cure myself of a terminal disease. When I finished the book, I missed Robert Leleux's company so much, I wished he were my own son so I could call and hear his answer to, 'So, sweetie, how was your day?'"
--Beverly Donofrio, author of Riding in Cars with Boys

“What I’d like to be doing right this minute is sitting on a porch wing, with a big glass of iced tea, listening to Robert Leleux spinning stories of his Texas boyhood and laughing, laughing, laughing until we both were crying. Short of that, I’ll just reread The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, marching at how much humor he has wrung out of a painful adolescence growing up gay and with what skillfully broad strokes he has breathed life into an impossible mother whose unwavering love for her son is the one saving constant in her self-obsessed universe. When reading David Sedaris leaves you wanting more, remember the name Robert Leleux.”
--Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Woman of Independent Means

"Reader, stand back! Here's Robert Leleux, the funniest young writer to appear in who knows when, with a maelstrom of a mother straight out of hell and Neiman Marcus, talking his way into the affections of readers everywhere with a wicked tongue tempered -- barely -- by a big generous heart."
--Mark Doty, author of Dog Years, Firebird, and Heaven's Coast

"The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy lures--delights--and surprises."
--Liz Carpenter, author of Unplanned Parenthood, Getting Better All the Time, and Ruffles and Flourishes

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312361688
• ISBN-13: 978-0312361686
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #413,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Wit!, January 7, 2008

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Leleux, Robert. "The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy", St. Martin's, 2008.

What a Wit!

Amos Lassen

If you have never heard of Robert Leleux, you will. His "The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy" is an amazing book that will have you laughing and crying and he writes with wit and warmth that we do not often find, especially in a first book.
This is a memoir which has lines that you will never forget. Robert comes of age under the guidance of a mother somewhat reminiscent of Auntie Mame but so much more. She was eccentric and flamboyant and she seemed to know everything. Robert and his mother lived well even though they had no money. When they were extremely low on cash, they left the white pillared ranch house on in-laws land and moved into a place more within their means (whatever their means were). As a teenager, Robert watched his mother make herself over in order to land a wealthy husband. She had plastic surgeries, all sorts of makeovers which were all calculated to help her find a wealthy mate.
Mom succeeds but Robert's life is taking him in a different direction altogether. He ends up at a Houston theater company which is being run by a once Broadway actress who sees herself as doing something for the masses by providing live theater for them. During rehearsals for "West Side Story", Robert meets a choreographer named Michael, who became his life partner. Michael's family provided for Robert the only semblance of a normal home he ever had.
There are not a whole lot of new topics here; most of what is in the book we have heard or read before but never with the wit and humor that is in this book. When Robert looks at those years which followed the break-up of his parent's marriage he does so with sublime flair and great humor. When his dad left, his mother decided that a rich replacement was indeed necessary. Both mother and son were able to find mates who could provide them each with the happiness they needed.
Adolesence can be the most painful of times and when growing up gay is combined with that, it can make it that much more difficult. Leleux makes it a wonderful experience that will have you holding your sides. Leleux's flair for writing amazes and the way he paints his mother is something that will not be soon forgotten. This is a helluva book and Leleux has written not only a memoir but a hilarious look at a guy who survived a situation over which he had no control. He has found a place on my library shelf as well as one in my heart. He has taken a Texas childhood and written about it with heart as big, if not bigger, than the state he once called home.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Texas tiara, February 6, 2008

By	Jon Hunt "musician, teacher" (Old Greenwich, Ct. USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Reading Robert Leleux's first novel, "The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy" is such a joy that one almost wants to visit Texas....well, visit, but not live there, maybe. His breezy style and cast of offbeat characters is as warm as his home state, with enough aromas to want more. It is terrific.

Leleux, whose book centers around his mother and his partner, accomplishes what many writers, especially young ones, fail to do. He keeps the focus largely on his family and friends, while allowing himself to remain just close enough for inclusion. Leleux has a penchant for creating sentences that start with a fact, add a comment and take another turn for a reaction to the comment. What the reader has, in the final analysis, is a book that shines. His humor radiates throughout and reading this in one sitting is very much suggested.

Like some novels, there are a few too many characters to muddy the waters without adding much heft to the story and if I had one criticism of this book, it would be that. But that's small potatoes compared to an otherwise brilliant endeavor on the part of Robert Leleux. I highly recommend "The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy" and hope he has another book in the works.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wit and warmth!, January 18, 2008

By	Angela Lee ""Angela"" (Texas) - See all my reviews

For those who believe the days of style, class, and wit are gone--boy are you in for a shocker! Robert Leleux, with the publication of The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, brilliantly reminds us of Noel Coward, Cole Porter, Truman Capote, Jessica Mitford and, yes, believe it or not, even the recently deceased (and fabulous Molly Ivins). His acerbic wit and flair for gallows humor enliven a painful story of adolescent discovery and, ultimately, of young-adult forgiveness. It was this aspect of the story which I found most fascinating. At the start of the book, after discovering the dear John letter his father left for he and his glamour-queen-Mama-Rose of a mother, Leleux, in spite of the abandonment, appears a less than sympathetic figure. However, by the end of the book, both Leleux and his mother (Jessica Wilson) manage to endear themselves to us by being, quite unabashedly, themselves. The two embrace their larger than life personalities and discover happiness, security and even husbands! For fans of Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris, this over the top, Texas coming of age story is a must read! In fact, I highly recommend it to EVERYONE who likes to laugh. Bravo!