Not My Father's Son
A Family Memoir
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Not My Father's Son
Narrated by:
Alan Cumming
Buy Now for £12.07
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Narrated by:
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Alan Cumming
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By:
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Alan Cumming
DISCOVER THE NEW MEMOIR FROM ALAN CUMMING. BAGGAGE: TALES FROM A FULLY PACKED LIFE
'One of the most memorable, heart-stopping autobiographies I have ever read' STEPHEN FRY
WINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE 2015
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
ATTITUDE MAGAZINE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR
A beloved star of stage and screen, Alan Cumming's life and career have been shaped by a complex and dark family past - full of troubled memories, kept buried away. But then an unexpected phone call from his long-estranged father brought the pain of the past hurtling back into the present, and unravelled everything he thought he knew about himself. Not My Father's Son is the story of his journey of discovery, both a memoir of his childhood in Scotland, and an investigation into his family history which would change him forever.
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Critic reviews
"What a shattering, compelling and extraordinary story Alan Cumming has to tell. And he does so with such style and grace . . . Beautifully and cunningly structured, Not My Father's Son is one of the most memorable, heart-stopping autobiographies I have ever read" (STEPHEN FRY)
"Do you know the old line "I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me"? Alan Cumming's moving memoir Not My Father's Son is all that and more. This is a beautiful book-sad, funny, haunting, surprising, suspenseful, gut-wrenching, endearing. It will linger inside of you long after you turn the final page" (HARLAN COBEN)
"In beautiful, honest, arresting prose, he offers a tale you'll never forget. A real diamond of a book." (ANDREW O'HAGAN)
"Incredibly affecting" (DAMIAN BARR, Books of the Year)
"A poignant chronicle of damage sustained in youth and his recovery" (MARIELLA FROSTRUP)
"Powerful . . . the result is both heart-breaking and brave . . . A thoroughly gripping read, one that keeps its biggest revelation until the very end"
"Moving"
"You'll like him a lot . . . Compelling"
"A clear-eyed, often moving account of both his terrifying childhood and his recent attempts to come to terms with his past [. . .] Not My Father's Son moves elegantly and with an occasional dash of humour between Cumming's childhood and the revelations of the more recent past [. . .] memorable"
"One of the most fun people in show business"
"Cumming's eccentric style and assured voice shine brightly on every page, while escorting readers and fans on a memorable journey that is simultaneously insightful, brave, moving, and witty"
"Not My Father's Son shows Cumming to be a particularly skilled storyteller. His personal story is spun out in a thrillingly mysterious way . . . in this deeply touching memoir, Cumming has certainly marked himself out as one of our bravest and most perceptive writers, and an unexpected literary talent"
"Powerful and shocking . . . That he can write isn't a surprise . . . He delves into his own history and leaves no stone unturned, no dark corner unprodded . . . What Cumming knows better than most is that you can never tell from the surface what's going on beneath"
"An open and honest memoir with some extraordinary twists"
"Powerful"
"Compelling . . . a frank, twisting book . . . a page-turner"
"A brave and thoughtful book"
"Cumming's bravery is breathtaking . . . this is a brave book, airing fundamental agonies of the human condition with as light a touch as is possibly possible"
"Best of all, [Not My Father's Son's] emotional intelligence is high"
Alan Cumming is asked if he wants to be the subject of one of the BBCs ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ TV shows, in which the BBC delve through a celebrities family history to see if there are any skeletons in cupboards. As it happens Cummings is interested in his maternal grandfather, Tommy Darling, who disappeared after WWII and never came home again, and so he agrees.
But thinking about what the show may discover Cummings is reminded (as if he needs to be) of his traumatic childhood where he lived under the threat of his bullying fathers explosive temper, enduring a constant stream of criticism and sarcasm that nearly always erupted into violent beatings. Try as he does to please his father nothing he does is good enough, and Alan and his brother Tom are constantly reminded of how worthless their father considers them both to be. And so, as the BBC filming progresses and the story of grandfather Tommy Darling unravels, Alan often travels back to his childhood and the key events that help forge the man he is today.
As a parent I found some of these passages very difficult to listen to, especially when the father seems to take pleasure in preventing his sons pursuing any interests they may have. But the worst for me was when Alan retells the story of a particularly savage beating he endured over some minor chore not carried out to his father’s satisfaction. The anger and sadness that wells up when you listen to this story is palpable.
An amazing book, and one that leaves the listener speechless afterward.
Very well done Mr Cumming, dreams can indeed come true…
A heartbreaking, and yet heartwarming story...
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Well worth a read
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This is a great book.
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Unutterably moving.
Recommended
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Excellent
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