KooKooLand: A Memoir

Hidden in plain sight in America this mirrors many people's reality. Not all of the homes ruled by an angry father were as poor as this one but many of us are familiar with the raging bull that rules the roost because of a man's sense of inferiority. Cowering women who stay silent and.terrified children who fight their way to freedom as adults, is sadly more common than is comfortable. The quick smacks across the face that render bloody noses until they realize the power of simple resistance such as screaming near an open window so the neighbors will hear. So glad that this family was saved from the violence of an inadequate male in the end.

In a remarkable first book, Gloria Norris gives us a memoir of a terribly dysfunctional childhood that is equal parts terrifying, tender, funny, sad and uplifting.Memoirs of difficult childhoods aren't new, but Ms. Norris brings a freshness to the genre with the intelligence of her writing, and with her huge sense of empathy. Even the monsters, the lost and the destructive characters in this book have human sides, and that sense of humanity lifts this far beyond the "I was a victim" re-telling of early life scars. Like Ms. Norris, at times we feel kindly to the monsters of her past, and see that they too are victims of their own upbringings and history.The book is also brought to life by the sense of humor found in the the midst of the dark tale. What could have been dour is enlivened by the playfulness of both the characters, and Ms. Norris's writing. Watch the way she subtly and oh-so-slowly changes the vocabulary and voice of her narrator, as if she was growing up all over again as she re-tells her story, taking on some of the voice of her both hated and loved father.There's also a sort of murder mystery in the book, revolving around Ms. Norris's childhood crush on an older neighborhood girl who seemed to have everything young Gloria wanted; brains, courage, beauty, a free-sprit. That haunting obsession becomes a running theme through the story as that perfect girl's father is murdered and no one will listen to the daughters insistence that the case is more complex than everyone assumes.I raced through the book in under 48 hours. It's compelling, fun to read, and has some of the page-turner quality of a thriller, while it's deeper themes of loss, re-birth and possibilities in the dark echo long after one is finished.I look forward to reading it again.

Truthfully, I was a bit hesitant about opening this book, based on one of the promos. I'm so glad I did, and I think you'll be rewarded tenfold if you do as well. For two reasons. First, the story is gripping. Once I started the book, I could barely stop to eat. It's gritty, often tragic, but ultimately triumphant! It's told with humour, insight and compassion. The main characters are among the most vividly portrayed people I've read in years. You're transported into their world, and you feel like you are standing right next to them, as each decides how to play the cards they've been dealt. There are villians, but outnumbered by flawed, very human, real life heroes.Secondly, the writing is wonderful! It's spare, evocative, beautifully crafted, powerful. I'm self-protectvive about what I read, and I avoid graphic, gratuitous violence. Remarkably, though the story is about violence, the author hasn't succumbed to that temptation, or any other emotional shortcuts. Instead you're moved by the sheer power of her observations, and insights, and the vivid portraits she paints. You can't help but grieve and cheer for the people in KooKooLand.

FANTASTIC read, really a great achievement. There are several things going on here: 1) Gloria covers perhaps the most bizarre crime story in NH history, from the perspective of a family friend of the principals; 2) Life growing up with a complicated low level criminal (her father) who hunts his own food, reads Vonnegut and watches art films while drinking, stealing and threatening violence on his family, and 3) It’s a coming of age piece with many surprising turns. Written in the wise-cracking voice of the 9 year old heroine it took us no time to fall in love with, the book in turns gives the reader belly laughs, worry about the state of civilization, and absolute wonder that, yes, all this actually DID happen. Highly recommended.

Not sure how many stars to give this: I’m not quite finished reading it and I almost feel like I am going to get an ulcer! What a horrid childhood and a misogynistic, bigoted, idiot of a father. I pulled up a YouTube video of the author’s to see what she is like now, and was surprised to hear her speaking normally instead of like she did at 9 years old. What a waste of a childhood. It’s so hard to wrap my head around people like her father and his equally messed-up cronies.You could say I am having a love/hate relationship with this book: while on one hand I am fascinated (in a morbid sense) by it, I am also very uncomfortable reading it. It makes me angry that someone (not the author--her father) could be this way. And unfortunately, at 9 years old, a child thinks that the parent is right. Sad, sad, sad... Jimmy reminds me of a certain orange-haired...I'm glad she survived her childhood. My heart goes out to her.

A very foul mouthed bullying father, a doormat mother and siblings are portrayed perfectly by the author who even manages to interject humor in her story. She is subjected to contains racial slurs, abuse, crime and derogatory name calling by her Greek father who is oblivious to his awful behavior "because he is Greek and boss of the house". There were times when I would have tossed the book across the room in anger had I not been reading it on my Kindle. Knowing this was an autobiography kept me reading knowing the author had succeeded in life against all odds ... or this book would not have been written.

I was completely riveted to this wonderful book. Kookooland is vividly written,nakedly honest and often sad and troubling. It is also sometimes wryly humorous and always full of insight, compassion and optimism. Little Gloria is not to be forgotten.

Wonderful book, very well written and very captivating, could not put the book down once I started reading it. Highly recommended!

Ce livre est profond et émotionnel. Il est l'oeuvre d'une grande scénariste qui a connu un parcours incroyable. C'est savoureux comme un film inoubliable.