not my father's son summary

Summary. But not for want of trying –violence and the fear of it marred his childhood. Audie Award for Autobiography/Memoir (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Memoir & Autobiography (2014), Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize (2015). “For yes, being a woman, even one with a penis and for the purposes of drama, really made me feel that women have been coerced into a way of presenting themselves that is basically a form of bondage. “Our family has always been one of secrets,” he writes, “of silence, of holding things in.” As an adult, Cumming has realized the ugliness of such secrets and as a response to that, Cumming has gone in the opposite direction. The scars of an abusive childhood form the backdrop for Alan Cumming's Not My Father's Son. He seems to be a very down-to-earth person. While Gold hides his feelings beneath the façade of a fake smile, Cumming lets go of his revealing the depth of his pain and the triumph of his spirit. I've always been a fan of his acting (especially on The Good Wife, the best television show currently on the air; I said it), but this book did not endear him to me. It seems bizarre to criticize a memoir for being too self-involved, but that's definitely what this felt like. This book centers around the genealogy tv show he hosts "Who Do You Think You Are" where he asked the tv show to help him find out more about his grandfather, who had mysteriously disappeared, and who Alan had never met. If you had a childhood like his, then you might be a bit obsessed about it, but I didn't find him so much obs. John Tiffany and Jack Thorne: ‘It’s a play about people struggling to be good’, Solomon and Marion review – a knockout of a play, Wildefire review – an unexpectedly sympathetic look at the Met, 2071 review – a lecture poised between the alarming and soporific, Queen Coal review – ruptured relationships in a former mining community, Royal Ballet triple bill – a purely surface rendering of Auden’s Age of Anxiety, On my radar: Harry Hill’s cultural highlights, Alan Cumming: ‘I never felt I’d achieved enough because I was always told I was nothing’. Oddly enough, I usually read them in February, too. I loved listening to his Scottish accent! We begin on the Panmure estate in Carnoustie, Scotland – not a council estate but the leftovers of a country house where his dad runs a saw mill: “It was all very feudal and a bit Downton Abbey, minus the abbey… Looking back on it, it was a beautiful place to grow up, but at the time all I wanted was to get away as far as possible.” Didn’t we all? But I needed to feel comfort, I needed to know there was future for me that did not involve my father… Beige and bland with 70s-style flowers, I thought they were the most sophisticated thing I’d ever seen. It's after midnight and I'm determined to finish this review so I don't have it hanging over my head any longer. For much of the story, Cumming flips between telling the story of his own upbringing and investigating his father’s identity and learning more about the history of his mother’s father, who died under mysterious circumstances. Alan Cumming does not tell the story of his stardom but rather of his hard upbringing with a physically and mentally abusive father, bullying at school and the search for answers regarding his missing maternal grandfather. If you had a childhood like his, then you might be a bit obsessed about it, but I didn't find him so much obsessed, as someone trying to work out his issues. Thankfully, for us, he’s forgotten nothing. Last modified on Thu 26 Mar 2020 12.47 GMT. It focuses on two incidents in his life, his relationship with his father, and his search for information about his enigmatic maternal grandfather. Blargh. Nikolai Petrovitch Kirsanov and his servant Piotr are waiting the arrival of Arkady, Nikolai's son, who has recently finished his studies at the University of St. Petersburg and is returning to his country home for a visit. I like the way they sound, be it from the mouths of men or women. There’s no big coming-out scene for Alan but surely we’re past needing that? Not My Father's Son: A Memoir Alan Cumming, 2014 HarperCollins 304 pp. There was a focus on minute details here that felt self-absorbed, like we were supposed to care about what happened at what time, and which episode preceded. Dark, painful memories can be put away to be forgotten. Click here to buy it for £12.99, Available for everyone, funded by readers, The duo behind vampire hit Let the Right One In talk to, Janet Suzman shows what great acting is in Lara Foot’s tense, moving two-hander set in South Africa, writes, Lorraine Stanley is superb as a young south London copper in Roy Williams’s sparky but flawed new play, writes, Katie Mitchell directs this powerful riposte to all climate-change deniers. Can anyone tell me how this book can already have 43 reviews on Goodreads when it isn't released until 7 October? He seems to be a v, I really enjoyed this memoir which I listened to via Overdrive. This is an incredible memoir read by the author with such an engrossing story of his damaged childhood and his ability to rise above it. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Luckily he has a wonderful and supportive family including his mother (Mary Darling - you have to love the name), brother, grandmother and husband, etc. (I read at least one bio a year. He is, rightly, suspicious. Alan Cumming’s violent upbringing at the hands of his father taught him the value of putting on an act, Sun 16 Nov 2014 08.00 GMT After finishing this I wanted to give the guy a hug. by Dey Street Books. He blows his pocket money on a dinner service from the back of a van: “I wasn’t likely to be throwing any dinner parties for quite a while hence. When I started reading Cumming’s memoir, I expected a colorful and provocative look at his Hollywood career. Alan's maternal grandfather, Tommy Darling, had disappeared to the Far East after the Second World War. ISBN-13: 9780062225061 Summary In his unique and engaging voice, the acclaimed actor of stage and screen shares the emotional story of his complicated relationship with his father and the deeply buried family secrets that shaped his life and career. I loved listening to his Scottish accent! ), they will easily become involved in the unfolding stories he tells. What I found was so much more. My Father's Song Summary & Study Guide Simon J. Ortiz This Study Guide consists of approximately 25 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of My Father's Song. Last year, I read, This was pretty disappointing. Cumming clearly had a lousy childhood and I found him at his most articulate and interesting talking about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, but the rest of it just made me dislike him. Welcome back. This is not your standard celebrity memoir.

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