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The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy

by Robert Leleux

The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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 the front entry of our house, which we found that night upon returning from a day spent in the crème-colored light of Neiman's, Daddy wrote that he was leaving us because Mother was crazy, and because she'd driven me crazy in a way that perfectly suited her own insanity.

In a memoir studded with delicious lines and unforgettable set pieces, Robert Leleux describes his East Texas boyhood and coming of age under the tutelage of his eccentric, bewigged, flamboyant, and knowing mother.

Left high and dry by Daddy and living on their in-laws' horse ranch in a white-pillared house they can't afford, Robert and Mother find themselves chronically low on cash. Soon they are forced into more modest quarters, and as a teenaged Robert watches with hilarity and horror, Mother begins a desperate regimen of makeovers, extreme plastic surgeries, and finally hairpiece epoxies — all calculated to secure a new, wealthy husband.

Mother's strategy takes her, with Robert in tow, from the glamorous environs of the Neiman Marcus beauty salon to questionable surgery offices and finally to a storefront clinic on the wrong side of Houston. Meanwhile, Robert begins his own journey away from Mother and through the local theater's world of miscast hopefuls and thwarted ambitions — and into a romance that surprises absolutely no one but himself.

Written with a warmth and a wicked sense of fun that lighten even the most awful circumstances, The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy is a sparkling debut.

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." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Like most young memoirists, Leleux finds himself and his family always more fascinating than the reader may, but he displays a nice self-effacing wit, a talent for constructing funny scenes, and a genuinely sweet spirit that engages the readers sympathy." Booklist

Review:

"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

Review:

"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

Synopsis:

In a memoir studded with delicious lines and unforgettable set pieces, Leleux describes his east Texas boyhood and coming of age, under the tutelage of his eccentric, bewigged, flamboyant, and knowing mother.

Video

About the Author

Robert Leleux has published numerous magazine pieces and teaches creative writing in New York City schools. This is his first book.

Please visit Roberts website at www.robertleleux.com

 

Product Details

ISBN:
9780312361686
Author:
Leleux, Robert
Publisher:
St. Martin's Griffin
Subject:
BIO026000
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
Mothers and sons
Subject:
Authors, American
Subject:
Childhood Memoir
Subject:
Bildungsromans
Subject:
Topic/Marriage
Subject:
Family
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Topic - Marriage & Family
Publication Date:
20090106
Binding:
Electronic book text in proprietary or open standard format
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
8.29 x 5.51 x 0.84 in

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The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy Used Mass Market
0 stars - 0 reviews
$5.95 In Stock
Product details 304 pages St. Martin's Press - English 9780312361686 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "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." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Review" by , "Like most young memoirists, Leleux finds himself and his family always more fascinating than the reader may, but he displays a nice self-effacing wit, a talent for constructing funny scenes, and a genuinely sweet spirit that engages the readers sympathy."
"Review" by , "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?'"
"Review" by , "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."
"Synopsis" by , In a memoir studded with delicious lines and unforgettable set pieces, Leleux describes his east Texas boyhood and coming of age, under the tutelage of his eccentric, bewigged, flamboyant, and knowing mother.
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