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Possible Side Effects
by Augusten Burroughs
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780312315962 |
Only 1 left in stock at $10.95!
Powells.com Staff Pick
As with other funny memoirists like Laurie Notaro or David Rakoff, Augusten Burroughs finds humor and absurdity in all sorts of mundane events. The twist is that Burroughs life — particularly his childhood — provides the surreal backdrop to a writer who could find comedy gold in a bank transaction. In this collection of essays everything is fodder for his sharp wit from the banal to the bittersweet to the just plain poignant.
Recommended by Georgie, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
This book is approved for consumption by those seeking pleasure, escape, amusement, enlightenment, or general distraction. This book is not approved to treat disorders such as eBay addiction or incessant blind dating. In studies, some people reported inappropriate, convulsive laughter, a tingling sensation in the limbs, and sudden gasping. Fewer than 1 percent reported narcolepsy.
Doll collectors may experience special sensitivity, as may discourteous drivers, candy-company brand managers, and nicotine-gum users. This book has been shown to be especially helpful to those with parents, grandparents, life partners, and incontinent dogs. People with dry, cracked skin have responded well to this book, as have people with certain heart conditions.
Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this book, until you know what effects it may have on you. This text is contraindicated in those suffering from certain psychiatric disorders, including — but not limited to — readers afflicted with anhedonia, which is the inability to experience pleasure.
Ask your doctor about Possible Side Effects.
Review:
"Oh, that boy is trouble. Augusten Burroughs offers more tales of his dysfunctional family and his ill-fated forays into polite society in his outrageously funny new collection of essays, Possible Side Effects... tart, smart, and wicked fun." O — The Oprah Magazine
Review:
"Delightful...This book is yet another testament to his wild imagination and could keep the readers up at night as well as help the author gain a whole new legion of fans....Sure to enthrall....A memorable book; highly recommended." Library Journal
Review:
"Autobiographical essays and sketches that consistently entertain....You can almost see the child from a disturbed home dancing frantically about in these pages, doing anything to ward off the darkness. It brings a grimace with the laughter....Meaningful and heartfelt." Kirkus Reviews
Review:
"(H)ilarious, wildly fanciful reminiscences...[H]e makes good, snarky company even with nothing serious in mind...Mr. Burroughs does get away with stunts that would sink more timid writers." The New York Times
Review:
"These essays aren't for the faint-hearted. You won't be hearing them on NPR alongside David Sedaris; Burroughs is rougher and raunchier." Oregonian
Review:
"[C]onsistently banal....This is a terrible book: shallow, poorly written and worst of all, boring..." Los Angeles Times
Review:
"[H]e somehow manages to lure you in time after time with his unique way of describing things that could have happened to anyone, but didn't — at least not quite this way." The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Review:
"Burroughs's breezy, clear-cut writing style is perfectly matched to his subject matter: prose-y when necessary but highly conversational, fluid and frank...something wonderful and new to savour." Toronto Star
Review:
"Endearingly neurotic...he hooks you into a story better than anybody." Entertainment Weekly"
Review:
"One of the most compelling and screamingly funny voices of the new century." USA Today
Review:
"Brave, dark, and screamingly funny, this book is so engaging it'll leave you craving more." Harper's Bazaar
About the Author
Augusten Burroughs is the author of Running with Scissors, Dry, and Magical Thinking, all of which have been New York Times bestsellers and are published around the world. A film version of Running with Scissors starring Annette Bening and Gwyneth Paltrow was adapted for the screen by Ryan Murphy. Augusten has been named one of the fifteen funniest people in America by Entertainment Weekly. He lives in New York City and western Massachusetts.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
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Shoshana, May 23, 2007 (view all comments by Shoshana)
An enjoyable enough collection of essays by the author of Running with Scissors and Dry. None of these pieces appears to have been published in a magazine before this anthology, and editing may have helped some of them. The quality varies, with many pieces relying on a sort of weak rim-shot punchline. Some pieces read like out-takes from Running with Scissors. As compared to both Dry and Magical Thinking, the "Augusten" narrator is not as snippy and cruel in this collection. His own vulnerability and anxiety are more on display, and though the constant reitterations of "I'm an alcoholic" are wearing, they are at least accurate and about Augusten's appraisal of himself, not about the failings of others.
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michellevt34, September 18, 2006 (view all comments by michellevt34)
I'm shocked that no one has posted a comment yet! Or maybe the greatness of all of Burroughs' titles is just taken for granted at this point. He has definitely proven himself to be one of the funniest observers of a vast spectrum of topics, ranging from childhood trauma to the most mundane errand. His huge talent lies in finding the humor in even the minutiae of daily life. I discovered Burroughs accidentally several years ago, unsuspectingly reading an advance copy of Magical Thinking. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt, and I was not offended when people moved away from me on the bus; and this latest title does not disappoint. One of the side effects is laughing aloud in public, but the stares to which you will be subjected are well worth it.
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Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780312315962
- Author:
- Publisher:
- St. Martin's Press
- Author:
- Subject:
- General
- Subject:
- 20th century
- Subject:
- Novelists, American
- Subject:
- Health/Exercise & Fitness
- Subject:
- General Biography
- Publication Date:
- May 2006
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 291
- Dimensions:
- 8.46x6.44x1.08 in. 1.00 lbs.
