Over the weekend while taking my bath I read and finished 'Running With Scissors'. This shows how I was taken in because I normally read 'The Weekend Australian' newspaper, but I did want to finish this book. Then last night I woke up at 3.00am thinking about it, and I was so glad there was almost three hours before I had to get out of bed. I guess everyone knows that feeling.
Halfway through, as I said, I was repulsed by the the goings on and decided it was not a book I'd recommend. As I continued the humour returned, largely in the form of the character Natalie and with more of the adventures of Diedre. So in the final washup I concluded that this book is a powerful social comment, in the main about the vulnerability of children and our self indulgent modern lifestyle. It looks at our fast food, pop music, substance abusing culture in a satirical way. Some characters are introduced in a certain way and then change giving the message that nothing is as it seems. No character more than Hope and her cat Freud and her bibledipping shows that the author's intent was more than a simple narrative. The more I think about it the more I find. I loved the symbolism of the turkey and the Christmas tree.
And I think the sordid rough parts are included to open the reader up and make him wonder what the heck is this about, which it did for me. And Augusten says himself that the present was so terrible that he only could think of a better future. I've passed it back to Lib to read, with a warning, and if she sees it through I look forward to talking to her about it. And others who have read it. (Maria?)
I would ask for comments on this blog site but I haven't worked out how to set that up yet.
