Bettyville - Softcover

Hodgman, George

3.74

8,067 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1473649668 ISBN 13: 9781473649668

Publisher: Two Roads, 2016

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'OUR FAVOURITE READS OF 2016' THE TIMES | A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A BOOK THAT HAS YOU EMAILING FRIENDS "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS"' The Sunday Times - 'A WARM AND POIGNANT MEMOIR' Daily Express - 'WITHOUT A DOUBT MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE YEAR' Nathan Lane, Wall Street Journal
Signed by Paramount for TV starring Oscar-winner Shirley MacLaine & Tony-winner Matthew Broderick

A witty, tender memoir of a son's journey home to care for his irascible mother with dementia - a tale of secrets, silences, and enduring love.
When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself-an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook-in a head-on collision with his ageing mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure-the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict: Betty, who speaks her mind but cannot quite reveal her heart, has never really accepted the fact that her son is gay.

As these two unforgettable characters try to bring their different worlds together, Hodgman reveals the challenges of Betty's life and his own struggle for self-respect, moving readers from their small town-crumbling but still colourful-to the star-studded corridors of Vanity Fair. Evocative of The End of Your Life Book Club and The Tender Bar, Hodgman's New York Times bestselling debut is both an indelible portrait of a family and an exquisitely told tale of a prodigal son's return.

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Review:

I would implore you to read Bettyville, George Hodgman's tender, funny, touching memoir (The Times - 'Our Favourite Reads of 2016')

Touching... A book that has you emailing friends: "You have to read this."
Hodgman is a gifted comic...This is a book that will resonate with all baby boomers who have entered the ever-shrinking world of their aged parents

(The Sunday Times)

A remarkable, laugh-out-loud book . . . Rarely has the subject of elder care produced such droll human comedy, or a heroine quite on the mettlesome order of Betty Baker Hodgman. For as much as the book works on several levels (as a meditation on belonging, as a story of growing up gay and the psychic cost of silence, as metaphor for recovery), it is the strong-willed Betty who shines through. (The New York Times)

This self-contained memoir centres around Vanity Fair writer George Hodgman and his formidable mother, Betty... Both are outcasts in many ways: he has outgrown his childhood home filled with dusty antiques and his dead father's influence; and she is too cultured to identify with her well-meaning neighbours. What follows is a touching account of new- found respect and reconciliation. A genuinely charming literary debut (The Lady)

A lovely memoir . . .You won't finish this tale dry-eyed. (People, Book of the Week)

A gorgeously constructed memoir . . . Hodgman creates an unforgettable portrait of his mother, Betty-a strong-willed nonagenarian struggling against the slow-motion breakdown of her mind and body. He evokes her with wit and tenderness. (The New York Times Book Review)

An intimate, heartfelt portrait of a mother and son, each at the crossroads of life . . . Hodgman's sharp wit carries the book ever forward. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

A superb memoir . . . Hodgman is by turns wry, laugh-out-loud funny, self-deprecating, insecure to the point of near suicide, and an attentive caregiver despite occasional, understandable resentments. . . . I have read several hundred American memoirs; I would placeBettyville in the top five. (Steve Weinberg, Kansas City Star)

Without a doubt my favorite book of the year. Wise, witty, and heartbreaking . . . a surprisingly profound and hilarious look at aging, mothers and sons, fathers and sons, growing up gay and small-town life in America. (Nathan Lane, “Who Read What: Books of the Year 2015,” The Wall Street Journal)

A humorous, bittersweet account of Hodgman's caring for his aging, irascible mother. (Vanity Fair)

Book Description:

The New York Times word-of-mouth bestseller, soon to be a TV series starring Shirley MacLaine and Matthew Broderick.
A witty, tender memoir of a son's journey home to care for his irascible mother-a tale of secrets, silences, and enduring love.

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