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The Man In The Gray Flannel Skirt (2011)

by Jon-Jon Goulian(Favorite Author)

3.01 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1400068118 (ISBN13: 9781400068111)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Random House

review 1: Decent though ultimately sad. I could relate to Goulian's indecision, identity crisis, despair over a potentially wasted life, exhaustion at the world... The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit is apparently about taking responsibility for one's own life (according to Goodreads' summary)...something Goulian still struggles to do as he approaches his 40's. Also he wears skirts. So--good title. This guy has the background and the intelligence to really delve into gender theory and critique society from his particular point of view (privileged, white, educated and gender-bending) yet he chooses not to...maybe he'll gain confidence from the book and go for it? Goulian has so much potential--even he knows it, the guy got through law school and is clearly smart and articulate and man... moreages to make a memoir about his inner life (not much happens but he has interesting analysis) engaging. Sure, he's pathetic, but it's an interesting kind of patheticness...one to which I can relate and empathize, though I sometimes felt like his parents did and wanted to shake him and tell him to pull himself together.He and my favorite gender-bending model Andrej Pejic could be buddies...but Andrej at least has a career, an outgoing personality, and a plan. But if Jon-Jon is happy gardening in Vermont, that's ok, too. Americans have a tendency to want to punish, or at least dismiss, the unambitious, the confused, the unfocused... maybe that's not the right approach. Regardless the guy managed to write a book and have it published. Not too shabby.
review 2: This memoir was very frustrating. The purpose of the book is for the author to explain why he turned out so abnormal (dressing like a woman, OCD, cannot hold a job) when he grew-up in a family of over-achievers. The author never really explains why. Instead he jumps from thought to thought and story to story. One wonders if his underachievement could be explained as a simple case of ADD combined with OCD. I felt that the author was trying to gain sympathy from his childhood having grown-up with those who expected so much. However, the author had a very privileged life: East coast summer camp, spending the summers in his family’s Vermont summer home, meeting presidents; that I often found myself rolling my eyes at his stories. This author’s boring stories are filled with the longest sentences. Jon-Jon ditch the comas and learn how to use some periods! I would recommend other readers to avoid this book. less

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