Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir Review
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I am okay with the fact that he is still clearly not at peace with his parents despite his protestations to the contrary. The entire existence of the book indicates a lack of peace. But I'm fine with this! Where would we be memoir-wise if we only wrote when totally at peace? We'd have so little to read. What worked: he doesn't hold back. (Oh sure, he holds back on his personal life and his suspect relationships with his lovers/wife and children, but I suppose that is outside of the scope of this book. He can write those books later! Seriously.) He's quite the enjoyable narrator--funny, self-deprecating, and to the point.
What's a little painful: constant reference to "Mum" and to "Pup." For reals? Can we get some evidence to the fact that this is how he daily referred to his mom and dad? If so, fine. Unbelievably pretentious and painful, but at least he's just being accurate. The two too many references to the "Lion of the Right" doing some mundane or humiliating action. We get it. He's a titan in your eyes, and should be in ours. Glad "Christo" wrote this. Really helped me see that not all is what it appears to be. The limelight marriages are often not the perfect connections the media make them out to be. The "greats" are often terribly flawed and sadly prove to be inadequate role models, even and especially for their own children.
Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir Overview
In twelve months between 2007 and 2008, Christopher Buckley coped with the passing of his father, William F. Buckley, the father of the modern conservative movement, and his mother, Patricia Taylor Buckley, one of New York's most glamorous and colorful socialites. He was their only child and their relationship was close and complicated. Writes Buckley: "They were not - with respect to every other set of loving, wonderful parents in the world - your typical mom and dad."
As Buckley tells the story of their final year together, he takes readers on a surprisingly entertaining tour through hospitals, funeral homes, and memorial services, capturing the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a 55-year-old orphan. Buckley maintains his sense of humor by recalling the words of Oscar Wilde: "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness."
Just as Calvin Trillin and Joan Didion gave readers solace and insight into the experience of losing a spouse,
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Customer Reviews
Witty and Sensative - Paul Foley - Glen Rock, NJ
Whatever you may think of their politics, you have to admit the Buckleys have a command of the English language. My wife and I listened to this on a long car trip and the time simply flew! Great insight on how the "other half" lives. Sensative, humorous, informative, you learn that even folks with the right pedigree and extra zeros on their net worth struggle with many of the same issues that we all do...and a few extras! These were interesting people leading interesting lives. I found William F's struggle between his Catholic beliefs and thoughts of suicide particularly interesting. Christopher Buckley's narrative is excellant. This is a book that is best enjoyed in audio!!
An enjoyable semi-irreverent look at WFB and pat - AchatesSinha -
This is a nice read for WFB fans as it reveals a less publicized side of WFB,that of an ailing,recalcitrant,disoriented,careless,often bungling man, who pees from moving vehicles.Chris buckley shows candor and temperate humor in this collection of lighthearted reflections on losing his parents. While the book focuses on the events surrounding the deaths of his parents in the same year, the pages are riddled with ample anecdotes about his parents, especially WFB,from Chris's early childhood onwards,including a few references to his father's archnemesis Gore Vidal.Liberal or Conservative,if you have an interest in Buckley, you'll like this book.
Gone but not forgotten - William Whipple III - Middletown, Delaware
Christopher Buckley is the only son of Conservative icon William F. Buckley and socialite Patricia Taylor Buckley, and he lost both of them within the space of about a year - thus "becoming an orphan" at the age of 55.
The author writes of what he thought and experienced during this period, including many flashbacks to earlier points in the family history. It is an eloquently written account, with no false sentimentality and many memorable anecdotes.
With so many references to family friends in high places, however, it rather seems Buckley is name-dropping. Also, some of the humor and literary references seem overdone. I found myself wondering whether he was avoiding deeper issues, such as the feeling of being outshone by his famous father, which he would just as soon not delve into.
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