Although this is not my favorite Augusten Burroughs book, I enjoyed it from begining to end.
It gave me new insight to Augusten that I didn't have when I read 'Running With Scissors' and 'Dry'.
I hope that Augusten keeps on writing, because I will keep on reading his works.

I expected to connect with this author. After reading the 4 and 5 star reviews, I was eager to begin the journey into Augusten's past. Boy, what a disappointment! I thought I'd read a memoir replete with details making this so called "wolf" come alive! I desparately tried to create this monster, but simply couldn't with Borrough's lack of details and exaggerated accounts of his past. A sick man, indeed. An alcholic I won't deny, but Augusten mentions dad's debilating disease, his dad's own abuse he endured as a child. I think he could have been much worse! A killer, I doubt it. I think in the mind of a child, things can often be very much exaggerated and blurred. Details were spared in this memoir leaving the reader hanging, confused, and with no other choice but to assume things. Not really fair. I did cry while reading the epilogue, however. Coming to the realization that there are loving dads in this world that show affection and act on that affection is eye opening and can be depressing for someone never experiencing unconditional love of a parent.
What truely shocked me was that for such an intelligent child with insight and terrific perspective, he chose to follow a similar path in life as the man he ultimately despised.
That said, not a hair-raising book as cover depicts! Boo.

I have been a fan of Mr. Burroughs since the publication of Running With Scissors. DRY is right up there with one of the most memorable and influential books I have read. His writing is solid, often terse, and always captivating and intense, bringing the emotions and events of his life right into the room with the reader.

So I was looking forward to his latest book - A Wolf at the Table - and sadly, I did not even finish reading it. It is such a sorry retread of where Mr. Burroughs has already so brilliantly and realistically taken us in the past. The prose is tepid and the topic is rendered tedious and inert because Mr. Burroughs has already covered his childhood through many lens' this one being the least engaging. Or maybe just one too many of the same thing. The protagonist and antagonist presented here do not come to life on these pages, something Burroughs has not had happen in his previous memoirs. I really did not care about these people in WOLF, even though one of them, Augusten, has already so fully engaged me in his life, that I thought that anything he did or put to paper would be as unique, insightful, and compelling as always, I did not happen in WOLF. Both father and son stayed glued to the paper, inert and dull, terribly linear and formulaic.

It seems to be time to tackle other topics or events in his life that are beyond bad parents - awful, cruel, evil parents. Mr. Burroughs has such a wonderful sense of how to convey emotions, experiences, and observations that it should not be such a stretch for him to move on and outward. His keen irony about life, his ability to evoke laughter from circumstances that are truly beyond laughter, his ability to grab hold of a reader and keep her in her seat until one of his books is finished - all these talents are something I look forward to. And hope to again.

Much less a roller coaster ride than "Running with Scissors" none the less another look at the dynamics of a dysfunctional family relationship that explores a son's yearning for a fathers love. Although different from my own experiences, the basic theme of a father unable to show love or maybe even incapable of loving, and the consequences of growing up without knowing why our own feelings are subsequently stunted will resonate with many as it did with me. The anger we feel but don't know why. The love we are afraid to commit to and don't know why. Maybe we all react differently but yet somehow those of us who grew up in similar households will know this book deeply.

Augusten Burroughs just might be the greatest storyteller of the century. A Wolf at the Table is a raw, engaging, heart wrenching tale that touches the soul, provokes the psyche, and demands grieving -- for the lost shreds of human connection each one of us ultimately experiences at some point in our lives.

You can count on feeling better after reading any of Augusten's books. This tale will take you through his dark childhood, which makes his book "Dry" more understandable. The more I read his stories the more I'm amazed that he has turned out as such a superstar author. You will not be able to put this one down, but I would recommend checking this one out at the library, because you will burn through this page turner in one night and say good buy to your bucks if you buy it.

I am more unhappy with Mr. Burroughs editors at St. Martin's Press for allowing this book to go forward in it's present form, than I am with the author. I can only guess that they had given a large advance for this book and this is what they got back in return and had to attempt to recoup the monies by printing something. This book will be a stumble that Mr. Burroughs career may not recover from. You would think from his previous works he could make his subjects interesting, but that is not to be found with "A wolf at the table". I have a hard time knowing what this book is about or what message of importance it was to have left with the reader. My thoughts after finishing the book were not about anything that were in the read but wondering if Mr. Burroughs was becoming disorganized as his mother would with her mental illness or perhaps he may be drinking again. For all of Mr. Burroughs fans I hope the next effort will be up to his previous caliber.

Augsten Burroughs has written several excellent memoirs. One gets the impression that he writes them when he's ready to face head on certain truths about his horrific childhood and young adulthood. To write something like this takes hard work and courage. Even reading it takes guts! But you won't regret it.

I've read all of Mr. Burroughs books and by far found this one to be the Most Depressing. The book mostly concerns his life before he moved in the the infamous "Finches" of Running With Scissors and revists his alcoholism with shades of Dry. What I found difficult to bear about this story is that there was none of Burroughs characteristic humor, and that humor is needed to allieviate the the darkness of the story from time to time--but there is almost no humor and only a few bright spots. It's truly amazing considering what he went through that he has been able to suceed in life, other people would have been crushed by the weight of it all.

It's clear to me that Burroughs mother was, in fact, a good mother before she had her psychotic break. Her mental illness was no doubt caused by the years of abuse by her husband. I felt that this book made her a more human person, not just some crazy poet as depicted in Scissors, but someone who had been a typical woman living in a time when women's rights weren't far advanced.

I did have some sympathy for the father, his alcoholism no doubt caused a lot of the anti-social, violent behavior that he acted out. It's interesting to see how the alcoholism spread from Burroughs Grandfather, to his father, and finally to Burroughs himself. It is easy to understand why John was an abuser, he had been abused by his father. Sometimes one has to let some things go. Burroughs mother loved him, but became mentally ill and he blamed her for it. Burroughs father never completely accepted him; perhaps the most difficult thing in life is to accept that not everyone will like or love you--not even your own parents.

I bought this audio book without a second thought, as I have enjoyed all of Burroughs' other works, both in print and on CD. I was looking forward to another well-written, thoughtful, at times humorous work. I knew I was in trouble when this audio book began with a funeral-like dirge by Patti Smith. Burroughs must have gotten tips from Margret Cho's whining memoir on how to read v-e-r-y slowly and with maximum self-pity. Burroughs had an extremely disfunctional childhood and his father was cold and distant. That much is true. But Burroughs tries to imbue every mundane slight that a child can endure with such earth-shattering significance that it is difficult to take him seriously. Where his earlier works prompted compassion, this one undercut his message because of his unwarranted whining, at least in the first two CDs. Perhaps the print version is better.

I was a fan of Burroughs but I will be very careful of buying anything by him in the future.

Does this guy really think he was abused? I felt more compassion for his father who seemed to suffer from not one but two crippling diseases, as well as being "blessed" with a narcissistic psychotic wife. (Think that would make one tend to be a little preoccupied?) Yet in recounting all the horrors his father endured, all this author can seem to feel is pity for himself. Except for enlightening the reader as to what a self absorbed whiner considers to be "abuse," this book is a waste of time and money.

I was a bit suspicious about this book because of the negative reviews with one or two stars, but I can't begin to tell how I'm so glad I got to read this book. Not only because I'm Augusten's biggest fan, but A Wolf At The Table is, without a doubt, clearly one of his masterpieces that made me teary at the end. I highly recommend this book.

I had read the reviews, I always find that helpful. Not crazy about his other book, but found this to be a good reading. Dark, disturbing, a good summer read, not for sensitive reader.

Easy, quick read. His father was obviously lacking in parental skills. Made me sad for Augusten.

Dark autobiography, kept waiting for the mystery that wasn't there.
The author pulls you in and draws out the story. But I was disappointed in end.

I have to admit, it was the cover that attracted me to this book but it was the inside jacket that sold me on it. My father was a (clinically diagnosed) sociopath too so I immediately felt a connection to this book. I say he WAS a sociopath not because he is dead but because it has been ten years since I've spoken to my father. As a matter of fact, it was ten years to the day since our final conversation when I bought this book.

I approached this book cautiously as I began reading because I expected it to be more than a little depressing. Burroughs did a good job of creating vivid scenes of a small child seeking his father's love and affection wherein the child is met with barely a "hello" that reminded me of my own involvement with my father. As the book was just getting going I was remembering my younger brother and I waiting on our father to come and pick us up for the weekend. We'd be glued to the front window an hour before he was supposed to show and we'd still be there hours after. Finally exhaustion would overtake us and we'd lose interest . . . eventually going to bed disappointed, feeling dejected. Like Burroughs' father, mine didn't abuse me or torture me, "all he was guilty of was not wanting me." To someone that hasn't experienced it, those words may not mean much but for someone who's been on the receiving end of such indifference, it's tormenting.

Throughout most of this book Burroughs had me so reeled in that I felt like I was there with him, maybe a sort of unseen moral support or imaginary friend. My empathy for him was that strong. At other times though, I'm sad to admit, he lost me. I met the scene with his father chasing him through the woods with confusion and felt that it was a weak link in Burroughs' memoir. Maybe it's because I cannot relate to such a situation or perhaps it's because it was very late in the night when I read that chapter and was mostly skimming. Whatever it was, I still felt like it was less powerful than the rest of the book.

It is interesting that Burroughs and his father had their game of telling each other "very much I love you" . . . a heartfelt expression from Burroughs, a mechanical response from his father. My oldest son is four years old and he and we sometimes tell each other "I very love you" . . . a heartfelt expression in both directions. My children can rest assured that someday when they're standing on stage receiving THEIR diplomas that their daddy will be there to mouth those words to them, similar to what Burroughs longed for at his (fancied) graduation.

In fairness to Burroughs, at least I had a DAD to replace my FATHER. My father is that guy on my birth certificate. My dad is the man that taught me to ride a bike and not hit girls. My father is the guy that makes me cringe whenever someone mentions our physical similarities. My dad is the man who is a tough act to follow. My father is the guy sets the example of how to screw up so many people's lives that you happen to be a part of. My dad is the man that taught me how simple it is to touch someone's heart in a way that they'll carry with them for a lifetime.

I wouldn't say this is a book that every father needs to read and I wouldn't say it's something that every son needs to read either. However, if you're someone that doesn't have the best relationship with your father or son or if you're already estranged from one another . . . perhaps you should.

I'm sorry for so much personal narrative in this review but this is a review that I wanted to share what I was feeling instead of only what I was reading.

I received and devoured this book on the same day. I must say, as I have read all of Augustens work, he has matured in his writing style and I did enjoy the book. I enjoy his me me me attitude and his narcissism. It gives me a different perspective on other peoples lives that I may not of known had I not met them through their writing. The ending was a little disappointing, the book took us on a tour of his childhood and then kind of just pissed out at the end. It was also annoying that all of the hype talked this book up to be very dark. It was not as dark as I had imagined, maybe that is good for some but not exactly what I was hoping for. All in all still a good read and I will re read it again.
It does leave me wondering though, knowing that Augusten and his mother are estranged makes me sad, it seems his mom, although wrapped up in her own narcissism cared far much more about him than his father......yet he seemed to of spent more of his adulthood still speaking with his father up until his death. Just seems a bit odd to me.

After reading so much praise for an author and specifically this book, I had to see for myself what all the hoopla was about. Well I have rarely read a book that has left me feeling more flat and uninspired. I felt that the author as a child was difficult to feel as someone to sympathetic for. Then as he grows up and the story unfolds I kept waiting for the self understanding and resulting insight. It never came. So it evolved into a failure of recognition and its missed growth of maturity. All together a real disappointment.

One of the best books I have ever read.

The story is fast-paced and heart-breaking. It is totally believable to me because I grew up in a home with one alcoholic parent and another who did nothing to protect us.

I recommend this book to everyone. If you had a happy childhood -- read this book so you'll appreciate your parents even more. If you had an alcoholic parent, read the book so you know you weren't alone and that others had it much worse than you did.

I have to admit I didn't finish this book for a number of reasons. Firstly, I was very upset by the animal cruelty (which, of course, is no fault at all of the author's!). I might have pushed through if I thought the book was worth completing but I have to agree with other reviewers who say that the book does not come across as believable or credible.

Many of the scenes came across as contrived, and the ongoing narrative of 'I'm just a wonderful litttle boy and all I want is for Daddy to love me' didn't give me much reason to read on. The whole thing rang incredibly false.

I knew this would be Augusten's life without the laughs, the part he couldn't face till he'd written five or six other books. I was almost afraid to read it, and I was duly outraged at the things that happened in his family. But the real chills were what he didn't tell. What was the "something terrible" in his father's hand at the foot of Augusten's bed? Has he really forgotten about the years at the farmhouse? Was burying that body really a dream, or not? What were his father's "games"? I find such things far more terrifying than a ream of Stephen King's splatter-prose, and more lasting in a literary sense. Still, I recognized the same author who brought so much humor out of bad situations in "Dry," "Possible Side Effects," "Magical Thinking," "Running With Scissors" and even the completely fictitious "Sellevision," who doesn't hesitate to show his own flaws as boldly as those of anyone else in the books. And as always, he recognizes that behind every sad story, there's usually another sad story.

I'd give it less than one star if I could. This book read like fiction. The author's memories were far too sophisticated and subtle to be observed and remembered by a young child. All this bizarre behavior brought on by a father who pushed his clamoring, clinging son away when he arrived home from work.

I don't want to go into this in detail. I am already sorry that I read the thing. I just want to provide a warning: I do not believe this story is true, despite the author's memory.

After reading the reviews I had high expectations from this book. It was an OK read but for me, there were no great insights and I certainly would not categorize it as "amazing". I know people who have lived through a lot worse without resorting to the pathetic, self-indulgent behaviour that Burroughs admits to.

I was exhilarated with the book, as Burroughs took me to his early days and the stories before "Running With Scissors." Not only does he help explain a lot about the absence of his father in "Scissors" but also gives more preview information on the relationship of his mother and father, their divorce and his brother. But the information is only that -- it's the insight and growth Burroughs writes about that really makes the book such a beautiful and heart-felt read. He's grown so much as an individual and a writer, and it really shows in passage after passage of narrative and examination which really brought me to review and think differently about my own relationship with my father. It's writers like Burroughs that take me to that inner place of reflection and growth -- and make reading such a meaningful experience.

I was so excited to get this book only to find it dull with a lot of whining. My friends and I have read all of his books and this one didn't ring true or even worth the time to read it. I had a crappy father as well and my stories were more interesting than this narcissistic drivel.

I bought this book on a Thursday and finished in Saturday morning. It was a good read. I have read Burrough's "Dry" and "Running with Scissors." I enjoyed both. Like others have said, it was interesting to hear the story with the father as "nut" figure.

I'd recommend it to anyone, but it is a pretty heavy and dark read. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

I could not figure out whether this was suppose to be fiction, true, dark humor or what! The author really seems to feel sorry for himself. Much of the book was very vague and I am not sure what point he was trying to make. I am glad I got it from the library and did not spend money on it.

I have never read his books before but once I started I could not put it down. I grew up with a father that mostly ignored me the better part of my life. This opened wounds and memories I had long forgotten, but it was great in the fact that you must go on. It's amazing to see the power our parents have over our lives good or bad. Luckily I was able to make amends with my father in his later years, and actually became close unlike Augusten. Great book, will worth reading.

I've noticed Burroughs kind of lost his touch after Running With Scissors, Dry, and Sellevision, but the others were still okay. This one failed to grab me in any way at all.

This was a truly amazing book. Though not a "typical" page turner, I could not put it down. It is an oddly inspiring book and gives greater insight into the author's Running with Scissors. It is certainly a must read for any Burroughs fan and highly recommended to anyone who wants to read something original, insightful, entertaining, and oddly inspirational.
How Augusten survived his childhood to become such an incredible writer astounds me.
Also highly recommended are Possible Side Effects and Dry. The man is truly remarkable.

Even though this book was some what sad the writing was so good I zipped right thu it. I found my self laughing out loud at many of Aughusten's thoughts and ideas. And some of his antics (in a good way ) I was so glad at the end of the book he came to the conclusion. That he wasnt his father and he did not have to be. But he wasnt himself yet either. We are all a work in progress. What a very good book, what a good writer!

This book was not at all what I was expecting, but I could not put it down! This memoir had me nodding my head, finally understanding some of the darker notes in Burroughs' previous memoirs. It has me waiting on the edge of my seat for his next project!

I like this author a lot.
The material is awful but I love the way he writes.
Another horrible story of how some parents treat their children.

I am a big burroughs fan. Since I drive while listening to audio cds I found it very hard to make it through this one. It is very deep and dark. At times it made me cry, and at times it scared me. If you are not familiar with augusten, please start with earlier books, then work your way up to this one. Also included some really cool songs on the cd, even though I wasn't crazy about the sound effects here and there during the reading. It throws my concentration on what is being said. Music is ok, but I have never been a fan of any sound effects on any book on cd. I think Augusten may have had a very difficult time writing this book. I hope it has given him closure. I am just so glad Augusten is on the upswing now in his life and has a loving relationship. One of the most painful stories I have ever heard. He is truly a survivor. If you are a current augusten fan I do highly recommend this.

I thought this book was horrible. This seemed to be a father that was physically sick, with a drinking problem and a sick wife that was harassed incessantly by an irritating kid. Most of the issues seemed innocent. If this was written by a child for a child, maybe. This was an adult writing a story that was really rather tame and silly.

ENJOYED THIS NEW BURROUGHS TOME, NOT HUMOROUS LIKE ALL HIS PREVIOUS BOOKS, BUT THE LIKED HIS INTROSPECTION OF HIS EARLY FAMILY LIFE.

If you're familiar with the works of Augusten Burroughs you're in for a surprise. Put aside your opinions about his books and go into this one with a open mind. Also, if you can, forget the hyperbole and reviews. Don't think anything. Just read.

Augusten was a sensitive child who would have done well with parents who were as emotionally together as they were brilliant, but of course that's not what he got. Instead he got a brilliant self-absorbed and sometimes psychotic mother and a brilliant but self-absorbed, alcoholic and apparently sociopathic father. Kudos to him for parlaying these deficits into his own personal growth and successful writing career. Augusten takes unparalleled emotional risks in this brief but heavy book about his relationship with his father. He is to be commended for laying himself so open in such a public venue. I found the scenes where his pets died and where he creates a psudo-loving-daddy out of his father's belongings to be particularly sad.

After reading the hype I made the mistake of expecting this to be overwhelming with horror stories, so I felt a little let down when I actually read it. But the emotions shared and stories portrayed have seeped in over the few days since I finished it, and have been percolating within me ever since. As I said before, try to forget what you've heard, and just give in to the experience.

A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father This book is a gripping account of a boy growing up with a mentally ill, cruel father. The author commented that he had served us dessert with "Running With Scissors", and that this is the main course--without humor. He's right--there's no humor here--just an intensity that builds and builds and leaves you sobbing. It's a wonder Augusten Burroughs survived his childhood.

Beautifully written. I know I'm going to have a difficult time getting into my next book after reading this one. Nothing will compare for awhile.

I suppose we should be grateful to his parents in a way. If he'd had a normal childhood we wouldn't have had "Running with Scissors." This time he's presenting it as straight autobiography so that once again the veracity question becomes relevant. Obviously there's some hyperbole. At one point he is destitute and starving, so what he does is lift the telephone in his apartment to ask his father for help. I don't know about the rents of apartments in Holyoke but I imagine that telephone bills are the same as elsewhere.
The parallels with Linda Gray Sexton's "Searching for Mercy Street" are again striking. Perhaps to some extent that's because his mother really did have a lot in common with Anne Sexton. Maybe all Massachusetts mothers are like that. It's worth reading both books.

In A Wolf at the Table, Augusten Burroughs's brutal and deeply personal new memoir, the author shares the painful details of a childhood spent with a neglectful, abusive father. As a young boy, Burroughs adores his mostly absent father, chasing him for hugs when he returns from work and pestering him with questions. All of his advances are spurned, and Burroughs quickly invents new tactics to get his father's attention. In one harrowing scene, he dresses up like a dog in the hope that he will be treated as well as the family pet. In another, he creates a stuffed version of his father to sleep with at night. Over time, the neglect turns into something more sinister. As his father descends into alcoholism, the boy Augusten is in turn intimidated, physically abused, and--perhaps most devastating of all--denied the attention and unconditional love that should be the birthright of every child.

Written in Burroughs's characteristically fluid and accessible style, this book is darker than his earlier novels; the sprinkles of humor serve merely to highlight the shadows and gloom of the rest of the book. For everyone who sensed the holes in Burroughs's first book, the bestselling Running with Scissors, this book helps fill in the gaps, shedding light on his mother's descent into depression and madness and explaining how he came to live with the dysfunctional family of his parents' psychiatrist at age twelve. It also illuminates the deep emotional scars Burroughs was attempting to drown with alcohol in Dry.

It is painful to bear witness to Burroughs's evolution from wide-eyed childhood reverence, to disaffection, and finally, to hatred of his father. What he will do with his overwhelming hatred and anger is the tension that drives the second half of the book. Burroughs's attempts to separate his own emotional character from that of his father are familiar to anyone who has grown up wondering what of their parents they will inherit. But in this tale, Burroughs triumphs over the neglect of his father--and the failure of his mother to protect him--to grow from a compassionate, loving boy into a caring, successful adult. Ultimately, this is a tale of hope which shows that the chain of abuse and neglect need not link generation to generation. It is also a reminder to those blessed with loving parents to be thankful for their good fortune, and an admonition for all of us with children to hug them just a little bit tighter, and listen just a little bit harder, the next time they greet us with joy when we get home from work.

It was one thing when the guy wrote ONE book, but now he continues to drone on and on about his family. How about just getting over it? Stop using your family and their shortcomings for profit? This guy is a loser and I wouldn't waste your money on his books. Once you've read one, you've pretty much covered everything.

If you're looking for the typical hilarious Burroughs, this book is not for you. This is a sad, heart-breaking tale of lonliness and cuelty. If you are particularly sensitive to animal cruelty, I would just like to give you a heads up that you will find that in here. It's a very fast read--I could not tear myself away. Very well written (of course) but sad, sad, sad!

While I had no such childhood (or parents) as Augusten's, I can relate to and understand his desperate need for attention, affection, and approval when he was a child. As a young child, his innocent ideas of how to gain all of these things from his father are really heart-rending. When his father shoves him away when Augusten tries to hug him, the 7-year-old makes a game of it and tries to get around the interferring arms (almost as though the arms are separate from his father and it's not really his father who is pushing him away).

Another memory from the book that stands out for me after I've finished the book is when Augusten, maybe he was 7 or 8 or somewhere around there, took some old clothes from his father's closet and added some of his father's cologne and other scents familiar to his father, then stuffed the clothes into a semblance of a person. Then the child Augusten climbed into the forbidden lap of his created father and would fight not to fall asleep for fear of the consequences.

All of the questions Augusten asks his dad (which are very rarely answered), the child's hunger for not just food, but for knowledge and understanding and his place in the world (and dealing with the fear, even as a child, that he will grow up to be like his father) just made me ache.

I found nothing whiny about the details of the memories/stories told: They just felt brutally honest and told from the memory of a child: I don't know too many children who wouldn't cry or be scared when threatened, or faced with constant loss of well-loved pets or the myriad other experiences he was forced to face. The writing grabbed me and held me firm from beginning to end. I've not read a Burroughs book yet that has disappointed me.

I read this book yesterday while flying from New York to Los Angeles and I am still haunted by the cruel deaths of Ernie the guinea pig and sweet Grover, the dog who was never allowed inside the house. Somehow the slaughter of innocent, trusting animals seems more heinous than most other atrocities. However, the father's cruelty to Augusten himself nearly killed his spirit, and we wonder at his ability to rise from this childhood of sadistic, neglectful "parenting" and grow into a sensitive writer of enormous talent.

I didn't realize Burroughs had a new book coming out this summer. So when I walked past a table at the bookstore and saw it, I snatched it up immediately.

That was the first and last time I was at all excited about picking up this book.

"Dry" is one of my favorite books. I liked "Magical Thinking," too. And while I went in knowing "A Wolf at the Table" wasn't going to be humorous, I was still disappointed. It just read as the same thing over and over and over - and not in a "wow, i can't believe this stuff just keeps happening to him" way. In a "maybe if I keep reading something more will happen" way. I could never keep track of how old Augusten was in the book. But it didn't really matter, because every year read pretty much the same. His usual quality of writing wasn't there.

I finished it (mostly because the LAST book I picked up I put down and I didn't want to start a trend), but I wasn't happy about it. And wouldn't recommend it. I'm not judging his childhood, just the book he wrote about it.

If it was to expel some demons, I do hope it helped. For that, I won't begrudge him. I'm just kind of sorry I signed up to be present for the exorcism.

After the first chapter when Burroughs was describing his life and memories as a toddler, I knew this wasn't going to be what I had expected. I never felt that I got to know his father save for a few disturbing events. Very whiny, self-serving, and not at all balanced.

I didn't realize Burroughs had a new book coming out this summer. So when I walked past a table at the bookstore and saw it, I snatched it up immediately.

That was the first and last time I was at all excited about picking up this book.

"Dry" is one of my favorite books. I liked "Magical Thinking," too. And while I went in knowing "A Wolf at the Table" wasn't going to be humorous, I was still disappointed. It just read as the same thing over and over and over... Dad is a jerk. Mom is a train wreck. Son has crappy childhood. I could never keep track of how old Augusten was in the book. But it didn't really matter, because every year read pretty much the same. His usual quality of writing wasn't there.

I finished it (mostly because the LAST book I picked up I put down and I didn't want to start a trend), but I wasn't happy about it. And wouldn't recommend it. I'm not judging his childhood, just the book he wrote about it.

If it was to expel some demons, I do hope it helped. For that, I won't begrudge him. I'm just kind of sorry I signed up to be present for the exorcism.

Good book, quick read, but wasn't his best work. It did help to fill in the gaps and understand the relationship with his fater, which is what i believe he set out to do with this book. If your an augusten burroughs fan, then read it. If your not familier with his work, I'd suggest starting at the beginning, read Running with Sissors, first.

I've read Mr. Burroughs other books and found them to be extremely good. A Wolf at the Table is cleverly written with a dark and sinister storyline, but that being said, I must admit that I'm not entirely convinced that this book is an honest portrayal of his life. How is it that Burrough's father, who encompasses the totality of this new book, can be such a relatively minor character in the previous books that he has written? Perhaps the author knew from the beginning that he would write multiple memoirs and thus purposely left his father out of the equation. But I can't help but wonder if Mr. Burroughs made some good money off his first books and wants to repeat his success by writing this new book that most likely exaggerates and falsifies information about his father and their relationship in order to be entertaining. I've read a lot of memoirs and I see a growing trend since James Frey to see who can write the darkest story about their past as this seems to be the most effective way to make a buck. I fear Mr. Burrough may very well fall into this category and I cannot recommend this book for that reason. I would, however, recommend his previous book Running with Scissors: A Memoir, and if you like honest memoirs, I would also check out Goat: A Memoirand COLLEGE LIFE EXTREME: Lies, Sex, Drugs and Violence. Another reason I question the validity of this book is because it flowed a little too smoothly for a memoir, but maybe that was because the author has an excellent talent for writing.