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jenmooremo's review
2.0
Perhaps the people who wrote reviews for the back cover of this book read something completely different than what I checked out from the library, but who knows? The first third of the book was wonderful (perhaps this is all you have to read to write a back cover review) and Mr. Goolrick really set the backdrop for telling his life as he remembers growing up in Virginia in another era. I was actually estatic for thinking that perhaps I picked a "sleeper" of a book, but then all of a sudden things changed. There was no transition between chapters and then by the end of the book it was mostly his tortured rambling about how pathetic his life was, is and just might continue to be. Don't get me wrong, not every life has to be bunnies and roses, but something coherent here would be nice to end the story on. The further you get into his story the worse the presentation got.
He says he is telling his story so bad things don't happen to other kids like they happened to him, as well as to tell family and friends that he has been living a lie all these years. I suppose if there's something that private that I need to tell my family and close friends...I'd suggest calling a meeting, not writing a book. Great start, but really incoherent, rambling, disconnected ending.
He says he is telling his story so bad things don't happen to other kids like they happened to him, as well as to tell family and friends that he has been living a lie all these years. I suppose if there's something that private that I need to tell my family and close friends...I'd suggest calling a meeting, not writing a book. Great start, but really incoherent, rambling, disconnected ending.
peggy_racham's review against another edition
5.0
This starts as a family portrait but is actualy a rendering of a tragic, horrible moment and its echo through the authors life. Perhaps I would like it less if I didn't feel so strongly with the author. The author doesn't sugercoat his life so this book is graphic but its not less real or worth reading because it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Body horror, Cancer, Drug use, Infidelity, Incest, Rape, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Biphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, and Grief
ridgewaygirl's review
4.0
Robert Goolrick is best known for A Reliable Wife, which I thought was a fine, if not fantastic, book. Despite this, I picked up a copy of his memoir, The End of the World As We Know It, which he describes as "scenes from a life", because I read the first paragraph and was hooked. Goolrick sucked me into the story of his relationship with his parents and didn't let go until I closed the book. This book, which takes events from his life, or themes, and places them into non-chronological chapters that could be read in any order, although the way he has set things up is to show elements of his life, the alcoholism, say, or the stay in a mental hospital, and then to later put them into the context of his childhood, which was not a carefree one.
This is a horrifically difficult book to read, and a compulsively readable one. Goolrick's writing is simultaneously gorgeous and unflinching. I probably would not have picked up this book if I'd known the contents ahead of time, but I'm very glad to have read it. Don't read it if you would prefer not to look at the worst of humanity, but also avoid it if you're a fan of the "misery memoir". This book avoids sugarcoating anything, but there are also no vicarious thrills or moments where love conquers all. It's a very, shockingly, honest account from a damaged and difficult individual, who writes with immense skill.
This is a horrifically difficult book to read, and a compulsively readable one. Goolrick's writing is simultaneously gorgeous and unflinching. I probably would not have picked up this book if I'd known the contents ahead of time, but I'm very glad to have read it. Don't read it if you would prefer not to look at the worst of humanity, but also avoid it if you're a fan of the "misery memoir". This book avoids sugarcoating anything, but there are also no vicarious thrills or moments where love conquers all. It's a very, shockingly, honest account from a damaged and difficult individual, who writes with immense skill.
erinmp's review
2.0
Not good. I picked this up because he grew up in Virginia, as did I. Yes, his memories of childhood more or less matched mine even though 30 years apart. It's not hard to guess from the book jacket what happened to him--but he doesn't tell you until 50 pages before the end. And while his father raping him at four is horrific, my ability to feel sorry for him had almost diminished by that point. The whining and whining about how hard is life is just grated on my nerves after a while. Everyone has crappy things happen to them, and the point is to move on. He never did. Maybe it's not possible. But he doesn't seem to really want to try. He doesn't want to get close to anyone again, and so he doesn't. Don't waste your time with this one.
cynthiak's review against another edition
5.0
A harrowing account of the lifetime effects of abuse.
A retrospective account of middle-class suburbia in Virginia during the 1950s and 1960s before the Vietnam War. Alcohol abuse, constant partying, keeping up appearances and shattered dreams.
A retrospective account of middle-class suburbia in Virginia during the 1950s and 1960s before the Vietnam War. Alcohol abuse, constant partying, keeping up appearances and shattered dreams.
robynmiller's review
4.0
Incredibly sad... one of the saddest memoirs I've ever read. No hope for this man, but so beautifully written. I am glad I read this though
kkilburn's review
5.0
I love this memoir. It is both the story of one man's specific life and a portrait of Virginia culture in the 1950s and 1960s. Both stories are brilliantly told and both are compelling. And, although Goolrick suffered more than a child should, I didn't find the book too painful or depressing to enjoy. Yes, he tells his story honestly and without holding back the awful things that happened to him. But he is equally honest about the people and places he loves, and tells his story with a precisely calibrated degree of compassion and humor. His prose, of course, is amazing throughout.
This story touched me deeply and gave me new insights into my own parents and my relationship with them. It is not light beach reading, but it is a wonderful book that I recommend without reservation - especially to others whose parents were part of the middle-class "cocktail culture" of the 1950s and 1960s.
This story touched me deeply and gave me new insights into my own parents and my relationship with them. It is not light beach reading, but it is a wonderful book that I recommend without reservation - especially to others whose parents were part of the middle-class "cocktail culture" of the 1950s and 1960s.
dsmagacz's review against another edition
3.0
Disturbing story. It was so graphic that had to force myself to read it. I read it for back ground info for my book club when we read A Reliable Wife by the same author. I probably wouldn't have finished it otherwise.