2. Overview. In this autobiography of young adult author Chris Crutcher, Crutcher takes us through many of his memories growing up as the middle of three children. Told in the same humorous style as his novels, this autobiography is engaging as he takes us through episodes involving his family, particularly his older brother John who convinced him to do "neat" things such as be the decoy for a life-size shooting gallery while the brother aims at him with a BB gun, or pee down the heat register grate that is in the middle of the living room floor one cold winter day when the furnace beneath it is hot. Chris recounts the story of the year John convinced him that "esus" was the older, secret brother of Jesus after the J fell off a plaque that read "Jesus Saves" along with many others that will have readers chuckling throughout the book.
3. Critical Analysis. Autobiographies are interesting - on one hand, we may have the idea that maybe we'll get the "real truth" for a change since the person who is telling the story is the person to whom the events actually happened. However, the person telling the story may want certain people or events to look "better" than they actually did, or they may leave some things they consider to be unflattering out altogether. But in the case of this particular autobiography, the author makes no claim to be telling "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." In fact, on the copyright page, Crutcher makes the following claim, "Memory is selective and by nature faulty. That statement is probably doubly true for my memory. Add to that my penchant for exaggeration and the fact that I have changed some of the names for obvious reasons, and you have a memoir that may not stand up to close historical scrutiny. So be it." And that disclaimer is the first clue that the text the reader is about to enter is one filled with absolutely wonderful storytelling, with the great part being that most of it is at least mostly true.
Crutcher tells his stories in great storytelling fashion. In fact, Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL published a review that stated, "Move over Garrison Keillor, David Sedaris ... An honest to goodness gut buster!!!" Humor, always one of Crutcher's strong suits, is plentiful in this collection of reminiscences. The people are portrayed as characters and the plot and setting are described in ways that draw the reader into the stories. I would guess there would be few people who are from multi-sibling families who would not read Crutchers descriptions of the events of his childhood and not think of similar stories regarding their own brothers and sisters, while laughing along with the Crutcher boys' antics. While some of his sentences are convoluted and difficult to follow (I stopped several times to reread sentences that didn't make sense on the first time through them), the writing overall is easy to follow.
So how much of the stories can be believe are true? Who knows. Perhaps we would need to talk to his older brother John to try to start figuring that out - and then it would be a task of guessing where in the middle the "truth" really lays, I'm sure! But as readers, we don't really have to care how true the stories really are. The beauty of this autobiography is in the knowledge that one of the best storytellers of Young Adult fiction is going to regale us with stories from his own past, and that we are going to gain some insight into where the ideas for several of his novels and short stories have come from.
Crutcher is my current favorite young adult author. I reviewed his novel Ironman in the October 22, 2011 blog, and I have also read Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and Athletic Shorts. Because his characters tend to show up in more than one story (they can be the main character in one novel or short story, and a supporting actor in another), it is great fun to find out where he got his ideas for some of them. What it doesn't answer very well - as he addresses in the Epilogue - is how he went from wimpy kid to athlete, and why he uses sports as the backdrop for the settings of all his stories (but not so much so that those who aren't big sports fans would be put off). Nevertheless, reading about his childhood is a perfect way to spend a dreary, wintry day while curled up under the comforter in a favorite chair.
On the inside flap of the front cover, the last line says, ". . .you will close this book, close your eyes and hold it to your chest, and say, 'I, too, can be an author.' Hell, anyone can." Which is not the feeling I was left with. As an English teacher and former student writer, I was left with the thought, "I have nothing to write about. Heck, nothing interesting like that ever happened to me!" And that is a testament to the storytelling expertise of one of YA's best authors. He can make even the events of a boy's every day life into interesting fodder for a book I didn't want to put down.
However, near the end, Crutcher shifts gears and provides insight as to how his work as a therapist with abused and neglected children as well as abusive parents has influenced his writing, including why he has been willing to write in a manner that has placed him in USA Today's top-ten banned authors (along with Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain). He also describes what a hero is based on that work. "I think heroes aren't defined so much by what they do 'right' as by how they respond to what they do 'wrong.'"
Crutcher finishes up on the last page: "In my youth I could never have imagined seeing my name on a book unless I had carved it there with a sharp instrument," but lucky for us, his name is now on many.
4. Review Excerpts.
Booklist Starred Review: "This honest, insightful, revealing autobiography is a joy to read. Crutcher's fans will relish this intimate glimpse of the author, and the book may win some new readers for his fiction."
Publishers Weekly Starred Review: "Readers will clasp this hard-to-put-down book to their hearts even as they laugh sympathetically."
School Library Journal: "Tough and tender reminiscences focus primarily on family, social, and school conflicts, but lessons derived from his career as a teacher, therapist, and writer are also described. Hyperbole lightens the mood as the author portrays himself as a young crybaby, academic misfit, and athletic klutz, utterly without self-aggrandizement. Abrupt transitions, some convoluted sentences, and nonlinear progression may challenge some readers, but the narrative holds undeniable appeal for the author's fans and demonstrates the power of writing to help both reader and writer heal emotional/psychic wounds."
No comments:
Post a Comment