A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father | 
| Author: Augusten Burroughs
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.70
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Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 43
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.1
ISBN: 0312342020
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780312342029
ASIN: 0312342020
Publication Date: April 29, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW!! - SHIPS IN BOOK BOX SAME OR NEXT BUSINESS DAY WITH CONFIRMATION EMAIL!!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Amazon Significant Seven, April 2008: When I started reading A Wolf at the Table, I thought I knew what to expect. Augusten Burroughs captures intense experience with an inexplicably cool remove, imparting a stillness and purity to emotions that would likely run amok in anyone else's hands. I love this quality of his writing, and it's present in full force in this memoir of a childhood spent in thrall to a predatory and deeply unpredictable father. What I wasn't prepared for was the suspense--the dread-filled, nearly sonorous waiting for the worst to happen. An artful sort of bait-and-switch happens in the telling: Burroughs brings you to the brink of a terrible catharsis more than once, but the break in tension never comes. It is profoundly sad, remarkably tender, and fueled by a sense of love and reverence that only a child knows. --Anne Bartholomew
Product Description
“As a little boy, I had a dream that my father had taken me to the woods where there was a dead body. He buried it and told me I must never tell. It was the only thing we’d ever done together as father and son, and I promised not to tell. But unlike most dreams, the memory of this one never left me. And sometimes…I wasn’t altogether sure about one thing: was it just a dream?” When Augusten Burroughs was small, his father was a shadowy presence in his life: a form on the stairs, a cough from the basement, a silent figure smoking a cigarette in the dark. As Augusten grew older, something sinister within his father began to unfurl. Something dark and secretive that could not be named. Betrayal after shocking betrayal ensued, and Augusten’s childhood was over. The kind of father he wanted didn’t exist for him. This father was distant, aloof, uninterested… And then the “games” began. With A Wolf at the Table, Augusten Burroughs makes a quantum leap into untapped emotional terrain: the radical pendulum swing between love and hate, the unspeakably terrifying relationship between father and son. Told with scorching honesty and penetrating insight, it is a story for anyone who has ever longed for unconditional love from a parent. Though harrowing and brutal, A Wolf at the Table will ultimately leave you buoyed with the profound joy of simply being alive. It’s a memoir of stunning psychological cruelty and the redemptive power of hope.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 Haunting May 12, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I, too, am a huge fan of Augusten. I was expecting the same type of humor an etc... I, too, was disappointed, for about five pages, that this book had no humor in it. After the initial reaction, I was drawn into this book as if I was right beside him witnessing...I could not put the book down and finished it in one sitting. His style of writting is superb. Mature and fluid.
This was last week. It still haunts my thoughts. I hold my children a little tighter. My motherly instinct would like to reach out and hold the author for a long time. It saddens me to no end that a child had to go through this horrible experience with both of his parents. I may seem naive, I do know that there are many stories like this or worst. Each has a place of its own. I hope that Mr Burroughs has had the opportunity to heal a little.
Happy Father's Day May 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the perfect Father's Day gift to give to Dad's and ex-husbands
who are abusive in any way, shape or form. It most likely won't change
them as they are self-absorbed, cruel people....but it can give a voice
to what you have been afraid to say or unable to articulate. Abuse comes
in many forms and the extreme unavailability of Augusten's father while
he was growing up left a permanent scar on his soul. I always enjoy reading about his quirky attempts and solutions in dealing with both of
his dysfunctional parents and brother. He was like a little Mowgli relating to animals more than humans. My twenty one year old nephew is
going through exactly what the author experienced. As he becomes a successful young man, he is still trying to get the attention and approval of a father who was absent and abusive during his childhood. It
is painful to witness. This book helped me understand the need they have
to resolve these issues. I think the book would be helpful to children
of these "fathers" who are grappling with hurt, hate and a strange compulsion to seek love and approval from their abuser. (captor of their
heart) My ex-husband lived this and I eventually divorced him because he
continued to seek his father's approval and wasted time and emotions outside our family chasing windmills. I find this problem particularly
"male" and very common in our society and I'm glad Augusten addressed it
in such a compelling format.
 And now for something completely different.... May 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a dedicated reader of Augusten Burroughs. The release date of this book had been marked in my day planner, and I went straight out to buy it the day it came out. This book is probably not what you are expecting it to be. It might be better.
It is not a funny story. You might laugh out loud once or twice, but not more than that. This book is disturbing, throat-clenching, and heartbreaking. It is beautifully written, and Burroughs creates the sense within that you are floating above his little-boy body as he fights desperately for the attention of his cold and sometimes downright terrifying father. It is a difficult and, at times, painful perspective to take. It feels like the little boy you knew who was obsessed with all things shiny and becoming a star had just been putting on a show. Only now are we getting the full story.
If "Dry" was your favorite book by the author, you will love this one, as I did. But if you are looking only for the biting wit that Burroughs has come to be known for, you may find yourself disappointed. "Dry" combined the heartbreak with the absurdly funny. "Wolf" focuses on the heartbreak. I have never before been so upset by plot elements dealing with pets.
I thought it was amazing. I closed the final page and was convinced that Burroughs is even more brilliant a writer than I had previously believed. If you're anything like me, when you finish reading you will have the overwhelming urge to find him and give him the biggest hug you can muster. The intimacy created with the reader in this book is like nothing I have ever read before. Just like when a good friend tells you about something incredibly awful that happened to them, and you don't know what to say in response, this book leaves you speechless. It is like you have been trusted with the biggest secret of your life, something that is not your business to repeat to anyone else.
I highly recommend it, but not for light reading.
 A Mixed Bag May 10, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
First off, I am a fan of Mr. Burroughs and am familiar with all of his books. The author's forte through most of his other work has been his sense of humor and I was curious to find out how he would tackle a serious subject (i.e. his tumultuous relationship with his father).
The book turns out to be a mixed bag. The author is able to portray the pathologic relationship he had with his father quite effectively. The problem is that it seems to lack content at times. The narrative doesn't flow like it usually does in his other work. And though he is able to come through most of these instances using his wit, the overall result is subpar when compared to his other efforts.
Augusten ROCKS! May 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Augusten is my favorite writer. He is brillant- the story is amazing. And you HAVE to read his brother's book, "Look me in the Eye" because it is such a wild dynamic seen from the other side.
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