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A Wolf at the Table
- A Memoir of My Father
- Narrated by: Augusten Burroughs
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
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A Wolf at the Table
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Publisher's Summary
Nominated for the 2009 Audiobook of the Year
"As a little boy, I had a dream that my father had taken me to the woods where there was a dead body. He buried it and told me I must never tell. It was the only thing we'd ever done together as father and son, and I promised not to tell. But unlike most dreams, the memory of this one never left me. And sometimes…I wasn't altogether sure about one thing: was it just a dream?"
When Augusten Burroughs was small, his father was a shadowy presence in his life: a form on the stairs, a cough from the basement, a silent figure smoking a cigarette in the dark. As Augusten grew older, something sinister within his father began to unfurl. Something dark and secretive that could not be named.
Betrayal after shocking betrayal ensued, and Augusten's childhood was over. The kind of father he wanted didn't exist for him. This father was distant, aloof, uninterested…
And then the "games" began.
With A Wolf at the Table, Augusten Burroughs makes a quantum leap into untapped emotional terrain: the radical pendulum swing between love and hate, the unspeakably terrifying relationship between father and son. Told with scorching honesty and penetrating insight, it is a story for anyone who has ever longed for unconditional love from a parent. Though harrowing and brutal, A Wolf at the Table will ultimately leave you buoyed with the profound joy of simply being alive. It's a memoir of stunning psychological cruelty and the redemptive power of hope.
Critic Reviews
"Intense, sincere, and passionate, Burroughs offers a deeply felt, intimate portrait of the most disastrous period in his life. He holds nothing back, and in fully giving voice to his emotions, he makes each moment immediate for the listener." ( AudioFile)
What listeners say about A Wolf at the Table
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sergiu Pobereznic (author)
- 14-09-2015
Brilliant
It was an extremely powerful memoir told in a manner that was unlike anything I have read before. Admittedly it is dark, even sinister, but this is his story, his account, with his own unique perspective. He has a recognizable 'author voice' and I like that he does what he does.
I really enjoyed the work, in a weird way, (if you can say that reading about severe injustice against children is an enjoyable thing to do). It also remained very interesting throughout. There were no lulls in the narrative for me.
The events he speaks of have happened, do happen and will continue to happen. His father may not be there to argue his own case, but that is not to say it didn't happen. And anyway, he would never admit even if asked, upfront. They rarely ever do, if ever.
Some may find it hard to believe the truth behind his story, but what if he had never made a success of himself and he was telling his story to a psychologist while strung out on a concoction of drugs and suicidal? Would his story have any more gravitas, or veracity?
Let's not forget that sometimes truth is much weirder than fiction. MUCH WEIRDER. This may just be the case in question.
For me, the book was seemingly honest, sometimes absurd and, surprisingly, peppered with dry humour from time to time. A good device for giving the reader a rest, which is sometimes necessary. Mr. Burroughs knows how to pace his reader.
I hope you are reading this, because you deserve to know all this and feel good about putting your life out there for the world to experience.
Well done.
Sergiu Pobereznic (Amazon author)
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