Writing with Flair

In all, Augusten Burroughs obstacles have come across his path, but luckily he made a career out of them. In my opinion, his most noteworthy novels are Running with Scissors and Magical Thinking. Running with Scissors was the first novel of Burroughs's that I read, and I was left speechless. Again I'll refer to the effortless satire that appears in the novel, while most would write a sympathy novel about childhood abuse and molestation, Burroughs creates a dark, twisted novel poking fun at his trials. I also favor Magical Thinking, because rather than focusing on his childhood like Running with Scissors, it primarily focuses on his adult life. Burroughs writes of his new love Dennis, in this novel, and their life together, creating somewhat of an end to the series. While I find Burroughs novels comical and an easy read, they also disturb me and I hope he doesn't have anymore horror stories to turn into stand up comedy. I cannot only describe Burroughs writing style as satirical or comical, but also sassy. An excellent example of Burroughs sassiness is when Dennis and Augusten were standing in line at a local fair and the reader gets to hear Augusten's thoughts about the couple in front of him: "His wife's hair had made unfortunate contact with a large amount of hydrogen peroxide, and the result was blinding in the noon sun" (Burroughs 164). The fact that Burroughs is gay only adds a little spice to his writing, giving Burroughs what I believe to be an edge over other autobiographers.

Works Cited:

Burroughs, Augusten. Magical Thinking: True Stories. New York: St. Martin's, 2004. Print.

 

Burroughs, Augusten. Running with Scissors: a Memoir. New York: St. Martin's, 2002. Print.

 

Picture Citation:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=magical+thinking&view=detail&id=CFDA5D824CCE1725B9B28F6ED8193A04C98D094D&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR&qpvt=

Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol

Most of Augusten Burroughs's works focus on the central theme of addiction. Alcohol, Sex, and Drugs are Augusten's fuel for his writing, which I also believe why exactly his writing style is so unique. Nicole McDaniel is on the same page as I am, believing that Nicotine and M&M's are also an addiction of Burroughs's, however minor ones as opposed to the major ones. McDaniel talks about how self empowerment is weak to the major addictions that Burroughs has.

Back again to Miriam Clark's article, "Reading Students Reading in the Postcanonical Age," she and her class were shocked to hear Augusten Burroughs speak so freely of his addictions. Most people try to hide their rocky pasts and struggles with addiction, but Burroughs presents them without a second thought. Burroughs talks of his need for sex on a regular basis in the novel Magical Thinking and can come across as mind blowing to someone of a more conservative background. Burroughs talks about his experience with a pastor in the bathroom stall of a Cathedral, and how that could have possibly started his strange habits at such a young age. Regardless, as an avid reader of Burroughs's, I find that Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol are central themes in each of his novels.


Works Cited:

Clark, Miriam Marty. "Reading Students Reading in the Postcanonical Age." Pedagogy 5.2 (2005): 297-303. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.

McDaniel, Nicole. "Inheritance and Compulsion in Augusten Burroughs Memoirs." Global Media Journal:Australian Edition 4.1 (2010): 1-16. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.

Pictures Cited:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=alcohol&view=detail&id=3D91A53F7378590D78BBDEC9F3CDEF386F072E26&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR&qpvt=alcohol

A New Kind of Brady Bunch

I have introduced Augusten Burroughs as being a new voice of current times and a strong voice in the world of literature. After reading his novel Running with Scissors, I was somewhat amused and partially disturbed. While the novel is somewhat of a satirical look into his twisted childhood, the statements made are true because it is after all, an autobiography. Miriam Marty Clark assigned Burrough's novel, Running with Scissors for outside of class reading after doing studies on the "new kind of family" thinking that Burroughs could relate to a modern day Brady Bunch. Clark initially thought the novel was "nothing if not a book about family" (Clark 4). That opinion changed when she read it herself, calling it a "memoir of a boy whose mother, a depressed and delusional poet" (Clark 4). Miriam recalled the portion of the novel where Burroughs describes his sexual relationship with pedophile, Neil Bookman, and takes note of the details Augusten included in the chapter. While some feel sympathy for Burroughs and his strange way of coping with his childhood pain by poking fun at it, others such as Hal Niedzviecki, feel differently. Niedzviecki claims that Burroughs "spends so much time wallowing in self righteous indignation..." which I feel is an interesting point of view because I would think many pity Burroughs (Niedzviecki 2). Yes, Burroughs does focus a lot on himself in his novels, but his novels are focused on him, they are autobiographies after all.

Works Cited:
Clark, Miriam Marty. "Reading Students Reading in the Postcanonical Age." Pedagogy 5.2 (2005): 297- 303. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.

Niedzviecki, Hal. "A Wolf at the Table." Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly 31.3 (2008): 505-506. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.

Picture Citation:

http://www.bing.com/images/searchq=augusten+burroughs&view=detail&id=0B40623F058E11A20C07A2

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A New Voice in the World of Literature

Augusten Burroughs is some what of a recent author, however, his entrance to the world of writing was nothing short of trivial and spectacular. Burroughs as a child was very...different. He often thought of himself as adopted; previously belonging to a wealthy family from anywhere except where he then resided. Burroughs has a sick, twisted sense of humor that leaves one with no other option but to laugh. Augusten was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 23, 1965 to Margaret Robinson and Christopher Robinson. While Burroughs is now an infamous author of our time, interestingly, he has no education beyond elementary school. Augusten often writes of his childhood, but he also writes about boyfriends he has had, carreers he has maintained, as well as his obsessive compulsive disorder. Augusten Burroughs creates a new language within his books, not writing with the typical formality of a biography, it's almost as if he pokes fun at himself throughout each of his novels. Burroughs is a new and rising star in the world of literature, even though his books should be rated R.

Citation:
"Augusten Burroughs (Author of Running with Scissors)." Share Book RecommendationsWith Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3058.Augusten_Burroughs.

Picture Citation:
"Augusten Burroughs (Author of Running with Scissors)." Share Book RecommendationsWith Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3058.Augusten_Burroughs.