Possible Side Effects

I've read all of Burroughs' books, with the exception of his novel. He's an interesting person with a lot of neuroses, and plenty of fodder for good personal essays. He tends to repeatedly mine the same material of his past, which may not be noticeable to newer readers. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does occasionally lead to moments of thinking "Haven't I read this somewhere before?" All in all, though, this is another fine collection of essays full of humor and pathos from a writer who is clearly comfortable in his unique style and voice.

I love Augusten Burroughs. He is mean and jaded and he knows exactly who he is. He doesn't think he a nice, sweet person; he knows exactly how he views the world. He is funny and caustic, but has a love for dogs. Love him, love this book. My favorite so far besides Running with Scissors.

The essays in this book tackle:

Junior Mints Advertising
Cowcow the god
Vacationing with creepy dolls
Smoking

and more....

A collection of stories from an unusually varied life, this book will charm with its surprising perspective and neurotic tone. The author's paranoid inner life reminds me very much of my own, though our outer lives could not be more different. Laugh-out-loud funny.

most of these essays are well done. funny or thoughtful or insightful, or a mixture of those. i didn't expect to like this after disliking running with scissors but this surprised me. by the end it got a bit repetitive (and i wish there was more linearity time-wise with the essays) but this is good and i'm glad i read it.

I have to admin Burroughs with his issues and exaggerated imaginging at times gets on my nerves, but by and large his short, recalled vignettes are entertaining if not enlightening. Also, his extreme discomfort in his own skin makes me mor ecomftable with my own behavioral aberrations...

More enjoyable than Running with Scissors, in my opinion. Augusten Burroughs has a talent in bringing his horribly dysfunctional past into his humorous writing without making things heavy.

Possible side effects offers "more of the same". Newcomers to the fictional world of Augusten Burroughs will be dazzled by his peculiar supposedly autobiographical hodge-podge of gays, lesbians, midgets and other weirdos all mixed up. Readers familiar may find Possible side effects lacking the sharp, snidiness of some of the other, better collections of short stories.

Hyperbole only works as long as it is extraordinary. However, the whole universe of Augusten Burroughs is supposedly out-of-the-ordinary, and therefore the effect wears off. The collection shows signs of fatigue, and particularly the stories that make up the body of the book are largely rather weak

If you have never read anything by Augusten Burroughs , this might be a good show more book to start, as the stories are funny, but not as over the top as some of his other work. show less