Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming
Not My Father's Son
Alan Cumming
An absolutely amazing memoir. I've loved Alan Cumming's acting roles for years, so when I saw this memoir on the new shelves at the library, I snagged it immediately. He reads the audiobook, and ANYTHING in his accent is amazing, but this book especially.
It's the duel story of his childhood relationship with his father--who was not a particularly nice man--and his mother's father, who was a soldier in WWII and then never came home after the war. Alan's memoir follows many of his insights during the filming of an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" a genieology program I've seen a few episodes of. Apparently, those of us in the US can't see the British version, however, which I would LOVE to see now that I've read this! I would love to see images of the fields and parks and buildings described in his adventures.
While dealing with the filming of this episode, his father calls him, though they hadn't spoken in years, and declares that Alan is not his son. This is both a source of shock and maybe a bit of relief as well. Alan's father was both emotionally and physically abusive. His whole family lived in fear of his actions, and moved out of the house as soon as they were able to escape that, but it still haunts them all. And, apparently, the manipulation continued not only through adulthood but even after his death when it came time to deal with the will.
Alan's memoir was so insightful, raw, and honest as he talks about the incidents and his reactions to the. Being able to understand his father and his grandfather through his eyes was beautiful. I wish several times I could reach into the audiobook and hug poor Alan. I was also amazed at the number times Alan was honest about his reactions and his faults. It made me fall in love with him and understand him in a much more complex way. He's such an interesting and open guy already, but seeing him put it all out there like this was wonderful. I am grateful for all he shared.
I loved this and would recommend it to the moon and back.