Magical Thinking: True Stories - Hardcover

Burroughs, Augusten

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312315945 ISBN 13: 9780312315948

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2004

Synopsis

From the number-one bestselling author of Running with Scissors and Dry comes Augusten Burroughs's most eagerly anticipated collection yet: true stories that give voice to the thoughts that we all have but dare not mention.

It begins with a Tang Instant-Breakfast Drink television commercial:

"Yes, you, Augusten. You were great. We want you." I can now trace my manic adult tendencies to this moment. It was the first time I felt deeply thrilled about something just a fraction of an instant after being completely crushed. I believe those three words "We want you" were enough to cause my brain to rewire itself, and from then on, I would require more than other people....- from Magical Thinking's "Commercial Break"

A contest of wills with a deranged cleaning lady. The execution of a rodent carried out with military precision and utter horror. Telemarketing revenge. A different kind of "roof work." Dating an undertaker who shows up in a minivan. This is the fabric of Augusten Burroughs's life: a collection of true stories that are universal in their appeal yet unabashedly intimate, stories that shine a flashlight into both dark and hilarious places. With Magical Thinking, Augusten Burroughs goes where other memoirists fear to tread.

About this title

Review

It’s best to know this from the start: Augusten Burroughs is mean. Augusten Burroughs is also outrageously X-rated. If you can get past those two things, Burroughs might just be the most refreshing voice in American books today, and his collection of acerbic essays will have you laughing out loud even while cringing in your seat. Whether he is stepping on the fingers of little children or giving you the blow-by-blow on a very unholy act, Burroughs manages to do it in a way that fills conflicted fans with both horror and glee.

Spanning from the surprisingly Machiavellian portrayal of his role in a Tang commercial at age seven to his more recent foray into dog ownership, Burroughs has what seems to be an endless supply of offbeat life experiences. Much like earlier David Sedaris collections (Barrel Fever or Naked), there are occasional fits and starts in the flow of the writing, but ultimately, Magical Thinking is worth reading (and re-reading). If you’re familiar with Burroughs's memoirs, Running with Scissors, and Dry, you may find parts of Magical Thinking repetitive, since these essays bounce around in time between the other two. In fact, in an ideal world, this collection would have come first, as it offers an excellent introduction to Burroughs's fascinating life. --Vicky Griffith

From the Back Cover

Praise for Augusten Burroughs

"A wrenching, edifying journey...with the added benefit of being really entertaining."
- The New York Times Book Review on Dry

"Beneath the quick-flowing, funny-sad surface of Burroughs's prose lurks considerable complexity."
- Time on Dry

"A great read."
- Chicago Sun-Times on Dry

"Dry is more than a heartbreaking tale; it's a heroic one."
- People on Dry

"Laughter on the road to sobriety...for aficionados of outrageous black comedy."
- The New York Times on Dry

"Bawdy, outrageous...insanely funny (quite literally)...a William Burroughs situation comedy."
- The New York Times on Running with Scissors

"Running with Scissors, as a memoir in the current conventional sense, makes a good run at blowing every other contender out of the water."
- The Washington Post on Running with Scissors

"Outrageously amusing...wait until you get a load of this guy's material.... He can consider this a fan letter. Grade A."
- Entertainment Weekly on Running with Scissors

"As funny as it is twisted."
- GQ on Running with Scissors

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0312315945
• ISBN 13: 9780312315948
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 268