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The Splendid Things We Planned: A Family Portrait (2014)

by Blake Bailey(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0393239578 (ISBN13: 9780393239577)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: Blake Bailey, acclaimed profiler of the most dysfunctional writers of the 20th century, here profiles his own brother Scott, who might be in the running for one of the most dysfunctional human beings ever. A fuck up's fuck-up, Scott is alternately despicable and charming, capable, yet by his own words not 'conventionally ambitious'. Blake and Scott's Oklahoma childhoods are privileged and ideal, but the suburban sheen hides a very unhappy home. In short, Scott makes his family miserable not only through his antics, but also in how he is able to hold a mirror to his family's own poor behavior, especially that of the author.
review 2: Excellent memoir of a dysfunctional family. The author writes of growing up with his deeply disturbed brother and how it effect... mores their already strained family. We never learn the exact diagnosis of his brother - part of his behavior is surely due to his penchant for drugs and alcohol - but this is probably best left unknown. I don't normally write reviews. I don't normally finish books. I finished this one today and wrote this. I started the book yesterday. Great read. less

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