A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father

Burroughs’ latest memoir makes a timely appearance, with Father’s Day just behind us. Yet readers of A Wolf at the Table will surely find that this story’s father instills more fear than he inspires praise. Insensitive and unbelievably cruel at times, the man skips out on family vacations, starves a pet to death and pits an aggressive dog against those around him. As it turns out, his father’s omissions become more unforgivable than his actions, as he seems unable to extend even the most basic expressions of love. Little of the humor that characterizes Burroughs’ previous work (as in his best-selling Running with Scissors) surfaces in this one; A Wolf at the Table reads as a family tragedy—and in it, Burroughs’ writing is sincere, raw and heartbreakingly sad.