Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Being Flynn

A Memoir

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"Sometimes I'd see my father, walking past my building on his way to another nowhere. I could have given him a key, offered a piece of my floor. But if I let him inside the line between us would blur, my own slow-motion car wreck would speed up."

With a raw authenticity stripped of self-pity and a powerful narrative voice unlike any other, Being Flynn illuminates the hidden story of fathers and sons in America. Nick Flynn has written a remarkable testament to the enduring strength of one boy's struggle for survival.

Nick met his father when he was working as a caseworker in a homeless shelter in Boston. As a teenager, he'd received letters from this stranger, a self-proclaimed poet and con man doing time in federal prison for bank robbery. Being Flynn tells the story of the trajectory that led Nick and his father onto the streets, into that shelter, and finally, to each other.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 21, 2004
      Flynn's wayward father, a self-styled writer and ex-con, describes his life on Boston's streets as "another bullshit night in Suck City": he hangs out in ATM lobbies, stuffs his coat with newspaper and is often "still drunk from the night before." This biting memoir describes the years poet Flynn (Some Ether
      ; Blind Huber
      ) spent, in his late 20s, working at one of the city's homeless shelters, where his path crisscrossed with his down-and-out father's. In examining their troublesome relationship, Flynn admits to feeling lost, as he turned to alcohol and came close to being on the other side of the shelter admissions booth himself. Punchy language and short chapters make what could otherwise be excessively painful more palatable (e.g., "Fact: In 1839 Dostoyevsky witnessed a mob of peasants attacking his father.... they poured vodka down his throat until he died. Fact: I can watch my father pouring vodka down his own throat any day of the week. My role is to play the son, though I often feel like a mob of peasants"). Although it's depressing, the book never seems hopeless, because readers know the author has succeeded at doing what his father only pretended to do: write, and write well. Agent, Bill Clegg. (Sept.)

      Forecast:
      Norton has high hopes for this memoir; they promoted it heavily at BEA and have planned an author tour.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Nick Flynn recalls his experiences with his father, a failed writer who experienced homelessness and prison. At the same time, Flynn touches on his own life, which has included shoplifting, drugs, alcohol, and gangsters, and times he lacked compassion for his dad. Flynn's writing seems meant for the ear, giving narrator Scott Brick plenty to work with. Brick's voice takes on a weary tone as Flynn tells anecdotes about his father's daydreams and dishonesty. Brick brings in a whole range of emotions and reactions--from bitter sarcasm to admiration. The often sad story can be painful, yet always interesting. Despite his failings, listeners themselves may end up admiring the troubled parent. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading