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Born Weird
The Weirds have always been a little off, but not one of them ever suspected that they'd been cursed by their grandmother.
At the moment of the births of her five grandchildren Annie Weird gave each one a special power. Richard, the oldest, always keeps safe; Abba always has hope; Lucy is never lost and Kent can beat anyone in a fight. As for Angie, she always forgives, instantly. But over the years these so-called blessings ended up ruining their lives.
Now Annie is dying and she has one last task for gather her far-flung brothers and sisters and assemble them in her grandmother's hospital room so that at the moment of her death, she can lift these blessings-turned-curses. And Angie has just two weeks to do it.
What follows is a quest like no other, tearing up highways and racing through airports, from a sketchy Winnipeg nursing home to the small island kingdom of Upliffta, from the family's crumbling ancestral Toronto mansion to a motel called Love. And there is also the search for the answer to the greatest family mystery of what really happened to their father, whose maroon Maserati was fished out of a lake so many years ago?
At the moment of the births of her five grandchildren Annie Weird gave each one a special power. Richard, the oldest, always keeps safe; Abba always has hope; Lucy is never lost and Kent can beat anyone in a fight. As for Angie, she always forgives, instantly. But over the years these so-called blessings ended up ruining their lives.
Now Annie is dying and she has one last task for gather her far-flung brothers and sisters and assemble them in her grandmother's hospital room so that at the moment of her death, she can lift these blessings-turned-curses. And Angie has just two weeks to do it.
What follows is a quest like no other, tearing up highways and racing through airports, from a sketchy Winnipeg nursing home to the small island kingdom of Upliffta, from the family's crumbling ancestral Toronto mansion to a motel called Love. And there is also the search for the answer to the greatest family mystery of what really happened to their father, whose maroon Maserati was fished out of a lake so many years ago?
288 pages, Paperback
First published December 26, 2012
About the author
Andrew Kaufman
30 books459 followersANDREW KAUFMAN's critically acclaimed first book, All My Friends Are Superheroes, was a cult hit and has been translated into six languages. Kaufman is also an accomplished screenwriter, film-maker and radio producer and has completed a Director's Residency at the Canadian Film Centre. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 279 reviews
April 26, 2019
"The Shark claims," Lucy said, "that at the moment of our births she blessed each of us with a supernatural power that has since cursed us and ruined our lives. I call them blursings."
The five Weird siblings embark on a cross country adventure to reach their grandmother's deathbed. If they make it before she croaks, she has promised to lift their "blursings." On their journey, the Weirds will do plenty o' soul-searching, rehash old arguments, and get some mighty weird haircuts from a familiar barber.
This is yet another strange and wonderful book by Kaufman. He made me smile, and giggle, and occasionally wish that I'd not been an only child. BUT, a pox upon him for stealing the title of my maybe-I'll-write-it-someday memoir . . . and, also for naming one of his characters Abba, thus ensuring that I'd have Waterloo stuck in my head for days.
The five Weird siblings embark on a cross country adventure to reach their grandmother's deathbed. If they make it before she croaks, she has promised to lift their "blursings." On their journey, the Weirds will do plenty o' soul-searching, rehash old arguments, and get some mighty weird haircuts from a familiar barber.
This is yet another strange and wonderful book by Kaufman. He made me smile, and giggle, and occasionally wish that I'd not been an only child. BUT, a pox upon him for stealing the title of my maybe-I'll-write-it-someday memoir . . . and, also for naming one of his characters Abba, thus ensuring that I'd have Waterloo stuck in my head for days.
June 3, 2015
Born Weird was definitely a weird book, no pun intended. The blurb in the cover says that if you love Wes Anderson films you'll find a character to love here and he has been mostly a miss for me: Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums left me indifferent, Moonrise Kingdom was a good looking movie but I didn't connect with it either. On the other hand, Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of my favorite movies but considering it was based on a Roald Dahl novel, I'm not giving full points to Anderson. The reason I keep giving him so many chances is because I'm hoping to find the new Fantastic Mr. Fox same way I gave Kaufman a second chance after My Friends are Superheroes disappointing me. Kaufman does know how to make book sound interesting. Read the synopsis for any of them and try to find another book that sounds remotely similar. I bet you can't.
While My Friends are Superheroes failed to deliver in making the characters feel relateable, Born Weird does not. The Weirds are unique characters, quirky in a way you probably never read before.
I recommend diving into this book knowing the least possible. I know it's a pain in the ass to go into a book blindly because some random crazy cat lazy said so in a review but this is one of these book that benefit from surprising you. You'll see that you soon buy into the unlike premise because this family is so unlike any other, you'll just want to keep reading to see where they go.
Kaufman has crafted a tale of family, loss and forgiveness in a weird way (okay, this one is intended) that didn't leave me indifferent.
Highly recommend if you are looking for a book that's out of the ordinary.
While My Friends are Superheroes failed to deliver in making the characters feel relateable, Born Weird does not. The Weirds are unique characters, quirky in a way you probably never read before.
I recommend diving into this book knowing the least possible. I know it's a pain in the ass to go into a book blindly because some random crazy cat lazy said so in a review but this is one of these book that benefit from surprising you. You'll see that you soon buy into the unlike premise because this family is so unlike any other, you'll just want to keep reading to see where they go.
Kaufman has crafted a tale of family, loss and forgiveness in a weird way (okay, this one is intended) that didn't leave me indifferent.
Highly recommend if you are looking for a book that's out of the ordinary.
April 5, 2013
“All of you got one, you know. All five of you got one.”
“You gave Kent the power to be an asshole?”
“Yes. In a way I did. Kent is slightly stronger than anyone he fights. Physical fights, I mean. He came out so small and I knew he’d need to defend himself, somehow. That he’s emotionally stunted is not my fault.”
“He’s not stunted. He’s just angry all the time.”
“Lucy is never lost. Abba never loses hope. Richard keeps himself safe. I never thought they’d all become curses. They were supposed to be blessings. I didn’t know that they’d end up ruining your lives.”
“Our lives are ruined?”
“And it’s not just you kids. It’s the family. The family name! I will not go to the grave responsible for taking down the good name of the Weirds.”
“Oh yes. Well, then, that makes more sense.”
“That’s why you’re here, Angie. You must go and find them. Round all of them up and bring them here. All five of you must be in this room at 7:39 p.m. on April 20 precisely. At the moment of my death I will lift the curses.”
***
The Weird siblings, from oldest to youngest: Richard, Lucy, Abba, Angie, and Kent. Each of them has been gifted a “blursing”—a blessing and a curse rolled into one: Richard has an almost psychic capacity for self-preservation, which keeps his heart at an arm’s length of genuine love; Lucy is gifted with an unnaturally well-tuned sense of direction that makes it impossible for her to ever fully abandon the life she has (which spawns a tragic need for her to spread her legs at far too many opportunities); Abba never loses hope, no matter how misguided it may be; Angie has a heart too big for its own good, which allows her to forgive her siblings’ many (and varied) transgressions; and Kent, the runt of the litter, is blursed with a fucking short fucking fuse that gets him into more than a few tight situations along the way.
Life for the Weird siblings is, to put it mildly, a little less than straightforward. Their father Besnard died eight and a half years prior to the start of the tale. Their mother Nicola, following their father’s death, checked out from reality and is confined now to a nursing home where she operates a makeshift hair salon for the visiting children she no longer recognizes. And last but not least is the Shark—Grandma Weird, who mistakenly blursed the five siblings early in life, and now, on her deathbed, seeks to undo the very real (or convincingly imagined) damage she’s done.
Each blursing has, over time, become a prison of sorts for the affected sibling. Following Besnard’s death, the Weird siblings went along their separate paths, each one struggling to make sense of life in their own special, messed up sort of way. Our story begins as Grandma Weird summons the very pregnant Angie to her side with a mission: to reunite the wayward Weirds in time for Grandma to break their blursings upon her untimely (though very much expected) death. What follows is a quick gathering of bickering souls in time for a chaotic road trip from one end of Canada to the other.
Like Kaufman’s All My Friends Are Superheroes, Born Weird is magical realism-lite: a story that treads the line between literary and genre work, with a healthy smattering of surrealism for flavour, for oomph.
The Theory of Snakes and Sharks at the spine of Born Weird is a sort of CliffsNotes for family fuck-uppery: “The sharks are the people who are naturally evil. They just cruise around the world doing evil things. But that’s what they do. It’s in their nature. Snakes are different. They don’t actually commit evil themselves, they convince other people to do it.” Between Besnard’s spectacular lack of parenting and Grandma’s unwanted life lessons-style magical intervention, the Weird siblings’ very natures have been, against their better desires, dictated by what was lost and never truly known, and what was given—and possibly needed—but never wanted in the first place.
Kaufman’s strengths are his abilities to play with rhythm and dialogue. Each of the five Weird siblings feels authentic and accessible—and so incredibly flawed. More than that, when they come together their voices sync up in very natural ways. The casual back biting and sibling rivalry-style language paints an effective scene with plenty of implied history between them. While the dialogue is never laugh-out-loud funny, it has a sarcastic charm to it, a playfulness that gnaws at the bone without ever breaking skin. Like All My Friends Are Superheroes, which employed a similar tone and playfulness of voice, the metaphors surrounding each siblings’ blurse are never rich enough to mine for extended depths, and neither are they shallow enough to merely coat the surface.
The qualities of Kaufman’s writing do most of Born Weird’s heavy lifting. The family values-style narrative offers little more than your typical redemption-and-forgiveness tale wherein a neglectful parent is taught the error of their ways and the siblings all learn what matters most. And as the narrative stumbles in its final few steps across the finish line with a pat (but mostly earned) conclusion, a little of its bite—bite that gave the novel its life and strongest sense of identity—is lost.
In spite of that, Born Weird is a delightful, highly engaging read, and a successful marriage of magical realism with more conventional literary tendencies. Kaufman has a quick wit; the sharpness of his dialogue and how well it informs each of his characters gives Born Weird its unique comic timing and sensibility. This book is a lot of fun.
“You gave Kent the power to be an asshole?”
“Yes. In a way I did. Kent is slightly stronger than anyone he fights. Physical fights, I mean. He came out so small and I knew he’d need to defend himself, somehow. That he’s emotionally stunted is not my fault.”
“He’s not stunted. He’s just angry all the time.”
“Lucy is never lost. Abba never loses hope. Richard keeps himself safe. I never thought they’d all become curses. They were supposed to be blessings. I didn’t know that they’d end up ruining your lives.”
“Our lives are ruined?”
“And it’s not just you kids. It’s the family. The family name! I will not go to the grave responsible for taking down the good name of the Weirds.”
“Oh yes. Well, then, that makes more sense.”
“That’s why you’re here, Angie. You must go and find them. Round all of them up and bring them here. All five of you must be in this room at 7:39 p.m. on April 20 precisely. At the moment of my death I will lift the curses.”
***
The Weird siblings, from oldest to youngest: Richard, Lucy, Abba, Angie, and Kent. Each of them has been gifted a “blursing”—a blessing and a curse rolled into one: Richard has an almost psychic capacity for self-preservation, which keeps his heart at an arm’s length of genuine love; Lucy is gifted with an unnaturally well-tuned sense of direction that makes it impossible for her to ever fully abandon the life she has (which spawns a tragic need for her to spread her legs at far too many opportunities); Abba never loses hope, no matter how misguided it may be; Angie has a heart too big for its own good, which allows her to forgive her siblings’ many (and varied) transgressions; and Kent, the runt of the litter, is blursed with a fucking short fucking fuse that gets him into more than a few tight situations along the way.
Life for the Weird siblings is, to put it mildly, a little less than straightforward. Their father Besnard died eight and a half years prior to the start of the tale. Their mother Nicola, following their father’s death, checked out from reality and is confined now to a nursing home where she operates a makeshift hair salon for the visiting children she no longer recognizes. And last but not least is the Shark—Grandma Weird, who mistakenly blursed the five siblings early in life, and now, on her deathbed, seeks to undo the very real (or convincingly imagined) damage she’s done.
Each blursing has, over time, become a prison of sorts for the affected sibling. Following Besnard’s death, the Weird siblings went along their separate paths, each one struggling to make sense of life in their own special, messed up sort of way. Our story begins as Grandma Weird summons the very pregnant Angie to her side with a mission: to reunite the wayward Weirds in time for Grandma to break their blursings upon her untimely (though very much expected) death. What follows is a quick gathering of bickering souls in time for a chaotic road trip from one end of Canada to the other.
Like Kaufman’s All My Friends Are Superheroes, Born Weird is magical realism-lite: a story that treads the line between literary and genre work, with a healthy smattering of surrealism for flavour, for oomph.
The Theory of Snakes and Sharks at the spine of Born Weird is a sort of CliffsNotes for family fuck-uppery: “The sharks are the people who are naturally evil. They just cruise around the world doing evil things. But that’s what they do. It’s in their nature. Snakes are different. They don’t actually commit evil themselves, they convince other people to do it.” Between Besnard’s spectacular lack of parenting and Grandma’s unwanted life lessons-style magical intervention, the Weird siblings’ very natures have been, against their better desires, dictated by what was lost and never truly known, and what was given—and possibly needed—but never wanted in the first place.
Kaufman’s strengths are his abilities to play with rhythm and dialogue. Each of the five Weird siblings feels authentic and accessible—and so incredibly flawed. More than that, when they come together their voices sync up in very natural ways. The casual back biting and sibling rivalry-style language paints an effective scene with plenty of implied history between them. While the dialogue is never laugh-out-loud funny, it has a sarcastic charm to it, a playfulness that gnaws at the bone without ever breaking skin. Like All My Friends Are Superheroes, which employed a similar tone and playfulness of voice, the metaphors surrounding each siblings’ blurse are never rich enough to mine for extended depths, and neither are they shallow enough to merely coat the surface.
The qualities of Kaufman’s writing do most of Born Weird’s heavy lifting. The family values-style narrative offers little more than your typical redemption-and-forgiveness tale wherein a neglectful parent is taught the error of their ways and the siblings all learn what matters most. And as the narrative stumbles in its final few steps across the finish line with a pat (but mostly earned) conclusion, a little of its bite—bite that gave the novel its life and strongest sense of identity—is lost.
In spite of that, Born Weird is a delightful, highly engaging read, and a successful marriage of magical realism with more conventional literary tendencies. Kaufman has a quick wit; the sharpness of his dialogue and how well it informs each of his characters gives Born Weird its unique comic timing and sensibility. This book is a lot of fun.
February 6, 2013
This novel was both a blessing and a curse; a ‘blurse’ if you will, as the Weird siblings like to say. It was a relief to read a story that was so fully focused on nothing but family ties. There were no big romantic subplots. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love story. I’m a sucker for those comedic romantic gestures and heaving bosoms (ours, not theirs because that would be cliched) and happy endings. But once in awhile, it’s nice to get a reprieve and just enjoy something that goes a different direction. Therein lies the blessing. The curse? It was so…sad(ish)! You won’t be sobbing tears or wishing you had bought more Kleenex, but it does make you feel a bit heavy.
The five Weird siblings were all blessed with a curse upon their births. Richard was blursed with the ability to always be safe. Lucy was blursed with the ability to never get lost. Kent was blursed with physical strength. Abba was blursed with the ability to hope. Angie was blursed with the ability to forgive. While all of these sound like nothing but blessings, they were actually huge downfalls. Richard self-preserved by never letting himself get hurt, which meant he was emotionally detached from everyone he could have cared about. Lucy wandered aimlessly because she knew she would never truly be lost. Kent, well he’s just an angry man. Angie let everyone walk all over her because she had the ability to forgive everything. And Abba, poor Abba. To quote a wise man, “It does not do to dwell in dreams and forget to live”. Replace dreams with unending hope and that’s what I wish I could say to Abba.
So when the five of them finally get the chance to lift their curses, it’s a race against time and a struggle to be cordial after not speaking to each other for several years. I thought Kaufman did a great job of portraying the chemistry between the siblings, which is funny because a friend of mine who read it said she couldn’t relate to it. I’m the single child and she’s the one with three brothers, so maybe I’m just missing the reality check. Either way, the interaction between them from start to finish was my favourite part of the book. There were so many factors that made each individual broken–from the mysterious loss of their father, to their mother’s inability (or unwillingness) to recognize any of them, to the pressure their blurses put on their everyday lives. They were desperate individuals and their inner demons really struck through the pages. Being reunited for this cause was only the beginning of their journey, and it was heartwarming to watch them evolve.
So let me rephrase. It was not a ‘sad’ book, but it’s not a laugh-out-loud, feel-lighter-than-a-feather book either. It is, however, a quick and touching read.
The five Weird siblings were all blessed with a curse upon their births. Richard was blursed with the ability to always be safe. Lucy was blursed with the ability to never get lost. Kent was blursed with physical strength. Abba was blursed with the ability to hope. Angie was blursed with the ability to forgive. While all of these sound like nothing but blessings, they were actually huge downfalls. Richard self-preserved by never letting himself get hurt, which meant he was emotionally detached from everyone he could have cared about. Lucy wandered aimlessly because she knew she would never truly be lost. Kent, well he’s just an angry man. Angie let everyone walk all over her because she had the ability to forgive everything. And Abba, poor Abba. To quote a wise man, “It does not do to dwell in dreams and forget to live”. Replace dreams with unending hope and that’s what I wish I could say to Abba.
So when the five of them finally get the chance to lift their curses, it’s a race against time and a struggle to be cordial after not speaking to each other for several years. I thought Kaufman did a great job of portraying the chemistry between the siblings, which is funny because a friend of mine who read it said she couldn’t relate to it. I’m the single child and she’s the one with three brothers, so maybe I’m just missing the reality check. Either way, the interaction between them from start to finish was my favourite part of the book. There were so many factors that made each individual broken–from the mysterious loss of their father, to their mother’s inability (or unwillingness) to recognize any of them, to the pressure their blurses put on their everyday lives. They were desperate individuals and their inner demons really struck through the pages. Being reunited for this cause was only the beginning of their journey, and it was heartwarming to watch them evolve.
So let me rephrase. It was not a ‘sad’ book, but it’s not a laugh-out-loud, feel-lighter-than-a-feather book either. It is, however, a quick and touching read.
June 27, 2014
I'll actually start by saying this book is nothing like I thought it was going to be. Picking a book because it's got a shiny yellow cover is perhaps not the greatest idea I've ever had.
That being said Born Weird is an all right story. The concept - whilst not being particularly developed - is interesting. I found the characters a bit under developed and found it hard to bond with them on any real level. It is a cute family story in a way but I found the payoff at the end lacking.
It reads a lot like an experimental YA novel although it's main characters are all adults which I found somewhat off putting. The characters themselves are pretty interesting and I would have liked to have had more of an overview of them. The blursings (blessing + curse = blursing) were fascinating to me and I wish I had learned a little bit more about the affect they had on all the family members lives. Alas, this book reads a little more like the pitch for a good novel than the novel itself which I found disappointing.
All in all, it was an okay story. It won't make any favourite lists of mine but it didn't feel like a waste of time either, so there is that.
January 14, 2013
I've been looking forward to this book since I interviewed Andrew and he said:
"I’m surprisingly close to completing a ‘Three Generations of Family Saga’ story. In this one, a grandmother gave each of her grandchildren a special ability at the moment of their birth, which have had the unforeseen consequence of completely ruining their lives. Right now it’s called ‘The End of the World and Everything That Came Next.” It could also be called ‘Shark Bites’ or “The Waterfields” or ‘Your Impossible Standards.’ At this point, I’m open to suggestions…"
I'm a little sad that it wasn't called 'The End of the World and Everything That Came Next,' but 'Born Weird' is a very good title, too. The book follows the story of five siblings, the Weirds, whose father died when they were young. Their mother went insane, and they had to fend for themselves. When they were little, to while away the time alone, they built a cardboard city called Rainytown, where they imagined and dreamed, build and demolished.
There are several things the Weird children can't help doing, traits in their personality that they cannot control; given to them at birth by their grandmother. They're all lost, in one way or another, by these traits, or 'blursings' (blessings/curses). Now their grandmother tells Angie, one of the Weirds, that she can lift these curses, but only if the Weird children all get to her side at the exact same time: the time of her death, which she predicts will be in exactly three weeks time. The problem? Angie hasn't seen her siblings for eight years, and she's not sure how to find them.
"I’m surprisingly close to completing a ‘Three Generations of Family Saga’ story. In this one, a grandmother gave each of her grandchildren a special ability at the moment of their birth, which have had the unforeseen consequence of completely ruining their lives. Right now it’s called ‘The End of the World and Everything That Came Next.” It could also be called ‘Shark Bites’ or “The Waterfields” or ‘Your Impossible Standards.’ At this point, I’m open to suggestions…"
I'm a little sad that it wasn't called 'The End of the World and Everything That Came Next,' but 'Born Weird' is a very good title, too. The book follows the story of five siblings, the Weirds, whose father died when they were young. Their mother went insane, and they had to fend for themselves. When they were little, to while away the time alone, they built a cardboard city called Rainytown, where they imagined and dreamed, build and demolished.
There are several things the Weird children can't help doing, traits in their personality that they cannot control; given to them at birth by their grandmother. They're all lost, in one way or another, by these traits, or 'blursings' (blessings/curses). Now their grandmother tells Angie, one of the Weirds, that she can lift these curses, but only if the Weird children all get to her side at the exact same time: the time of her death, which she predicts will be in exactly three weeks time. The problem? Angie hasn't seen her siblings for eight years, and she's not sure how to find them.
December 18, 2022
Familjen Weird lever upp till sitt namn, men de visste inte att det berodde på en förbannelse. Farmor Annie, "Hajen" kallad, ligger för döden när hon erkänner för sitt barnbarn Angie att hon gett de fem syskonen Weird var sin kraft när de föddes. Richard, den äldste, har en stark självbevarelsedrift som alltid håller honom i säkerhet; Lucy kan aldrig gå vilse; Abba förlorar aldrig hoppet; Angie har förmågan att alltid förlåta; och minstingen Kent kan inte förlora ett slagsmål. Men dessa välsignelser har visat sig förstöra syskonens liv och splittra familjen. Farmor Annie lovar att lyfta förbannelserna om Angie kan hitta sina utspridda syskon och samla dem i sjukrummet i hennes dödsögonblick. Farmodern vet exakt när hon kommer att dö och Angie har bara tre veckor på sig.
Som vanligt när Kaufman är i farten så är det skruvat! Det finns dock en hel del tankeväckande inslag och även sorgliga episoder. Den är ändå rolig att läsa, men inte på ett "skratta högt"-vis, utan mer att man drar på munnen mellan varven. På något konstigt, helt ologiskt, sätt så känns det ganska vilsamt att läsa om familjen Weird, trots den oftast absurda situationen. Namnet Weird fick de förresten av en slump (eller var det ödet?!). Några generationer tidigare hade deras förfader Sterling D Wyird emigrerat från England till Kanada. Vid ankomsten till Halifax byttes y:et i efternamnet ut till ett e av en kontrollant - och det blev kvar.
Som vanligt när Kaufman är i farten så är det skruvat! Det finns dock en hel del tankeväckande inslag och även sorgliga episoder. Den är ändå rolig att läsa, men inte på ett "skratta högt"-vis, utan mer att man drar på munnen mellan varven. På något konstigt, helt ologiskt, sätt så känns det ganska vilsamt att läsa om familjen Weird, trots den oftast absurda situationen. Namnet Weird fick de förresten av en slump (eller var det ödet?!). Några generationer tidigare hade deras förfader Sterling D Wyird emigrerat från England till Kanada. Vid ankomsten till Halifax byttes y:et i efternamnet ut till ett e av en kontrollant - och det blev kvar.
April 2, 2013
It's no secret that I'm a huge Andrew Kaufman fan. I loved The Tiny Wife and All My Friends Are Superheroes. They're playful, they're mad, they're bizarre and they're brilliant. Touching too. This may just be his best yet.
It's a story about a family. It's a story about blursings (blessings + curses) and it's a story about having unusual abilities and how you cope with them. How would you feel going through life instantly forgiving anyone and anything? How would you cope with constantly keeping yourself safe? Would it really be such a great thing if you were constantly living in hope?
This is the kind of story you really shouldn't help but love. Do have a look. You'll thank me for it. I promise. It's wonderful.
It's a story about a family. It's a story about blursings (blessings + curses) and it's a story about having unusual abilities and how you cope with them. How would you feel going through life instantly forgiving anyone and anything? How would you cope with constantly keeping yourself safe? Would it really be such a great thing if you were constantly living in hope?
This is the kind of story you really shouldn't help but love. Do have a look. You'll thank me for it. I promise. It's wonderful.
August 15, 2013
Born Weird should be in a category all on its own and it's definitely magical realism at its best! The Weird family's five grandchildren were each given different super powers courtesy of their grandmother. She promises to lift their blessings-turned-curses upon her death. This creative story inspires the imagination, endears and entertains. If you were born with a super human trait and given the chance to have it disappear one day, would you take it away? Well, would you?
See more at: http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/blogs/wa...
See more at: http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/blogs/wa...
January 30, 2023
This was the kind of book where you enjoy the reading experience and can’t stop turning the pages, but when you get to the end, you’re like, “…so what just happened?” If you want to just get lost in a book, this is perfect for you. But it doesn’t really go anywhere from there.
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March 8, 2021Not very good
February 4, 2023
I feel like this book was written on a dare, like the author put a bunch of random plot points in a hat and then whatever he pulled out he had to write. I liked it though. It made me laugh quite a bit and was fairly entertaining. I did feel like the synopsis had so much potential and then the story went in a different direction then I expected which was disappointing but if your just looking for a book that’s fun and easy I would recommend.
December 3, 2012
Born Weird by Andrew Kaufman will be published by The Friday Project (an imprint of Harper Collins) on 3 January 2012.
I discovered Andrw Kaufman's writing back in January of this year when I read and reviewed his wonderful novella The Tiny Wife I startled myself, and some of my friends by praising a story that could be classed as magical realism - a genre that usually leaves me cold.
I am startled once more! Born Weird is most certainly magical realism, and is a full-length novel, and I loved every page. I'm a little perplexed, a little bemused and fairly confused about it all to be honest; it's a case of thinking 'what the hell was that all about?', but I really really enjoyed it.
Born Weird is book weird! Five brothers and sisters, all with a blursing. What in God's name is a blursing? Well, each of the siblings were given a blessing by their Grandmother when they were born, these blessings turned out to be more curse-like. So, a cross between a blessing and a curse - a blursing!
Grandmother Weird is going to die, on her birthday, and has decided that she will remove these blessings on her death-bed. Angie is given the task of making sure that all the brothers and sisters arrive together, on time before Grandmother dies.
And so the reader is plunged into the weird and wonderful world of the Weird family and travels along with them on their remarkable journey. Along the way their past history is revealed and each character is introduced, along with their dead (or is he?) father and their totally bonkers mother.
I giggled and spluttered and gasped as this remarkable story unfolded, often wondering where on earth it was heading, but always eager to turn the page to find out a little bit more.
If you enjoy quirky and strange, and of course, weird, you will love this tale of family drama and life journeys
I discovered Andrw Kaufman's writing back in January of this year when I read and reviewed his wonderful novella The Tiny Wife I startled myself, and some of my friends by praising a story that could be classed as magical realism - a genre that usually leaves me cold.
I am startled once more! Born Weird is most certainly magical realism, and is a full-length novel, and I loved every page. I'm a little perplexed, a little bemused and fairly confused about it all to be honest; it's a case of thinking 'what the hell was that all about?', but I really really enjoyed it.
Born Weird is book weird! Five brothers and sisters, all with a blursing. What in God's name is a blursing? Well, each of the siblings were given a blessing by their Grandmother when they were born, these blessings turned out to be more curse-like. So, a cross between a blessing and a curse - a blursing!
Grandmother Weird is going to die, on her birthday, and has decided that she will remove these blessings on her death-bed. Angie is given the task of making sure that all the brothers and sisters arrive together, on time before Grandmother dies.
And so the reader is plunged into the weird and wonderful world of the Weird family and travels along with them on their remarkable journey. Along the way their past history is revealed and each character is introduced, along with their dead (or is he?) father and their totally bonkers mother.
I giggled and spluttered and gasped as this remarkable story unfolded, often wondering where on earth it was heading, but always eager to turn the page to find out a little bit more.
If you enjoy quirky and strange, and of course, weird, you will love this tale of family drama and life journeys
August 24, 2014
This was a fast read as i couldn't put it down and the writing was just easy on the eyes. Not to say it was simple but it just flowed so smooth.
The story follows Angie Weird, who was sent by her dying grandmother to bring the rest of the Weird children to her death bed. The reason for this quest is that her grandmother claimes to have given them all a gift when they were born, a kind of blessing, but it turned out these blessings ruined their lives.
I really enjoyed the story, it was interesting to read about the Weird family and all the things they had gone through. A lot of that was caused by their father's disappearance, and some by their 'blursings'.
As usual Kaufman gets the reader to look at everyday things and character traits in a different way. I liked the way how all these blessings which sound like good things turn evil and effect the character's lives.
For me an important message of the book was that you can't have one without the other, or too much of one thing isn't good. (it will make more sense once you read the book ;)
Something I kept thinking of while reading the book was the movie: the Royal Tennenbaums. If you liked that movie, you will like this book!
The story follows Angie Weird, who was sent by her dying grandmother to bring the rest of the Weird children to her death bed. The reason for this quest is that her grandmother claimes to have given them all a gift when they were born, a kind of blessing, but it turned out these blessings ruined their lives.
I really enjoyed the story, it was interesting to read about the Weird family and all the things they had gone through. A lot of that was caused by their father's disappearance, and some by their 'blursings'.
As usual Kaufman gets the reader to look at everyday things and character traits in a different way. I liked the way how all these blessings which sound like good things turn evil and effect the character's lives.
For me an important message of the book was that you can't have one without the other, or too much of one thing isn't good. (it will make more sense once you read the book ;)
Something I kept thinking of while reading the book was the movie: the Royal Tennenbaums. If you liked that movie, you will like this book!
February 4, 2016
If this really was a Wes Anderson movie, I probably would have liked it. Just for the cinematography and the characters' quirkiness and eccentricity.
I dove into this with high expectations, a certain kind of prose in mind, but Kaufman's choice of tone, mood and vocabulary left me underwhelmed. I was unable to empathise with the characters. The Weird siblings' feelings and thoughts about one another felt superficial most of the time. I would've wanted to delve deeper into their thoughts and their stories—specifically how Abba became "queen" of Upliffta and how Kent's situation came about—but no.
At most, what I did enjoy were the "flashbacks" interspersed with the siblings' reunion narrative, as well as the theme of family and forgiveness. The humour too, at times, was just on the spot. So, I'm giving this novel two stars and hope my next experience with Kaufman's prose is better.
I dove into this with high expectations, a certain kind of prose in mind, but Kaufman's choice of tone, mood and vocabulary left me underwhelmed. I was unable to empathise with the characters. The Weird siblings' feelings and thoughts about one another felt superficial most of the time. I would've wanted to delve deeper into their thoughts and their stories—specifically how Abba became "queen" of Upliffta and how Kent's situation came about—but no.
At most, what I did enjoy were the "flashbacks" interspersed with the siblings' reunion narrative, as well as the theme of family and forgiveness. The humour too, at times, was just on the spot. So, I'm giving this novel two stars and hope my next experience with Kaufman's prose is better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2012
The story of the Weird family, each sibling was must come to terms with the 'blessing' granted to them at their birth, and acknowledge just how badly this 'blessing' has blighted their lives. This is a really interesting concept and story which holds together well right to the final page. Gathering the siblings together provides a long road trip through the Canadian countryside and a chance for each sibling to realise the impact that their father's death had on them. Sweet, funny and thoughtful. Well worth the wait from Kaufman.
November 1, 2014
Quick, quirky story. None of Andrew Kaufman's stories have quite lived up to his first one, but reading this was not a bad way to spend an hour or two.
May 15, 2022
I like how Kaufman writes and it was interesting to delve a little deeper with a longer page length for this book. This is the third book I've read by him, and "All my friends are superheroes" is still my favourite, which is only 100 pages long, but I can see that with this book he was building a fuller discussion of family relationships.
The set up is all about curses (but not your usual curses) and that plot device is used to give the characters a chance to confront each other, build bridges and learn a little about love, forgiveness and their own fears.
It's worth a read - although he's better at creating situations that are more absurd and working on a similar moral/philosophical thread...
The set up is all about curses (but not your usual curses) and that plot device is used to give the characters a chance to confront each other, build bridges and learn a little about love, forgiveness and their own fears.
It's worth a read - although he's better at creating situations that are more absurd and working on a similar moral/philosophical thread...
May 10, 2022
Jag gillar det mesta jag läst av Andrew Kaufman. Jag gillar däremot sällan relationsdramer, men den här är väldigt bra och väldigt Kaufman. Väldigt filosofisk också, med Kaufmans absurda humor och karaktärer. Förlåtelse är ett viktigt tema, och hopp, vilket enligt Kaufmans filosofi är ett hinder för sann kärlek.
April 18, 2020
Ler este livro é andar na linha entre a realidade e a fantasia. À semelhança do excelente All My Friends Are Superheroes, as personagens são muito complexas, e a narrativa desenvolve-se com surpreendente naturalidade
April 30, 2023
This type of book has never been my thing and yet, I constantly try it.
July 6, 2022
Loved it. Hooked immediately - love that.
The 4 Weird family children have been called to the deathbed of a grandmother, who is nobody's favourite person, to have a curse lifted.
One sibling has been appointed wrangler and must gather all the others from points near and far.
As they are assembled their stories are told and it's a page turner.
The 4 Weird family children have been called to the deathbed of a grandmother, who is nobody's favourite person, to have a curse lifted.
One sibling has been appointed wrangler and must gather all the others from points near and far.
As they are assembled their stories are told and it's a page turner.
October 25, 2021
Wonderfully weird.
January 28, 2013
I'm going to catch hell for asking this - but why are so many Canadian novels well, crap? As a bookseller, I have to be honest, I very, very rarely enjoy anything written by a Canadian. Why is that? Even the Canadian authors I do enjoy, the ones who have had some semblance of international acclaim - even they're not the most innovative & original storytellers out there. Richler is the Jewish Amis, Robertson Davies - a poor man's Wodehouse, Ondaatje - well he's just too exotic to be Canadian, isn't he? All great, though not quintessentially Canadian. Timothy Findlay - obscenely gifted, hardly acclaimed on an international scale. (And yet Atwood is... Why, oh why?)
Is the state of Canadian literature stagnating because well, the money's not there? Without a government grant, the chances of being published in Canada is slim to none. Canadian publishing houses don't have the cash advances that the American bigwigs do. Is it for this reason that contemporary Canadian fiction seems so...safe? Yet another story churned out of a university writing course... because maybe the Canadians who CAN write, they know better than to publish themselves - it borders on public humiliation. Who wants to write something that is barely promoted, stock photo covers, empty author readings, and no money. None to survive on anyway. Why torture yourself? Instead, we see the same formulas over and over... Small town Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Ontario. Bleak landscape. Quiet and angry protagonist. "Canadian life." Or something akin to "Jesus of Montreal" in book form. How artistic! How subversive! How gauche and cringe-worthy.
This brings me to "Born Weird". I first read Andrew Kaufman ten years ago - "All My Friends Are Superheroes" - a clever little idea, not particularly well-written or even all that good, but I liked it enough to think, yeah, I'd read him again. He can only get better, right? Wrong. While "Born Weird" isn't the worst novel I've ever read (that honor goes to Sheila Heti's "How Should a Person Be?") - "Born Weird" was bad. Really bad. The premise of the story was intriguing and full of possibilities. The five Weird siblings were each given a blessing by their grandmother on the day they were born. It turns out those blessings became more of a curse. As adults they set out to reverse this. Clever, hey? Oh, the places this story could go! But it didn't go anywhere. Instead it read like a second grader's short story as interpreted by a tenth grader completing his first film project. The story meandered, without going into any particular detail, the writing was weak, and completely over-cliched, any possibility of a great story being told was lost. No detail was ever made about how these blessings somehow became curses and ruined each sibling's life. (Apparently if you're blessed with a good sense of direction, you will inevitably become a huge slut? Have the ability to predict danger? Obviously that means you're going to be divorced several times. Too much hope? You will marry someone and live in an imaginary country as it's queen.) The Weird siblings even use the eye-rolling term "blursings" (blessing + curse) to describe their special abilities. Groan.
The only character I found even remotely interesting was their mother - who since the supposed death of their father has slipped quietly into dementia. Her time in the novel is brief and I honestly wished she played a bigger role. Her appearances were poignant and surprisingly realistic. The rest - well, it was just rambling, directionless noise.
Is the state of Canadian literature stagnating because well, the money's not there? Without a government grant, the chances of being published in Canada is slim to none. Canadian publishing houses don't have the cash advances that the American bigwigs do. Is it for this reason that contemporary Canadian fiction seems so...safe? Yet another story churned out of a university writing course... because maybe the Canadians who CAN write, they know better than to publish themselves - it borders on public humiliation. Who wants to write something that is barely promoted, stock photo covers, empty author readings, and no money. None to survive on anyway. Why torture yourself? Instead, we see the same formulas over and over... Small town Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Ontario. Bleak landscape. Quiet and angry protagonist. "Canadian life." Or something akin to "Jesus of Montreal" in book form. How artistic! How subversive! How gauche and cringe-worthy.
This brings me to "Born Weird". I first read Andrew Kaufman ten years ago - "All My Friends Are Superheroes" - a clever little idea, not particularly well-written or even all that good, but I liked it enough to think, yeah, I'd read him again. He can only get better, right? Wrong. While "Born Weird" isn't the worst novel I've ever read (that honor goes to Sheila Heti's "How Should a Person Be?") - "Born Weird" was bad. Really bad. The premise of the story was intriguing and full of possibilities. The five Weird siblings were each given a blessing by their grandmother on the day they were born. It turns out those blessings became more of a curse. As adults they set out to reverse this. Clever, hey? Oh, the places this story could go! But it didn't go anywhere. Instead it read like a second grader's short story as interpreted by a tenth grader completing his first film project. The story meandered, without going into any particular detail, the writing was weak, and completely over-cliched, any possibility of a great story being told was lost. No detail was ever made about how these blessings somehow became curses and ruined each sibling's life. (Apparently if you're blessed with a good sense of direction, you will inevitably become a huge slut? Have the ability to predict danger? Obviously that means you're going to be divorced several times. Too much hope? You will marry someone and live in an imaginary country as it's queen.) The Weird siblings even use the eye-rolling term "blursings" (blessing + curse) to describe their special abilities. Groan.
The only character I found even remotely interesting was their mother - who since the supposed death of their father has slipped quietly into dementia. Her time in the novel is brief and I honestly wished she played a bigger role. Her appearances were poignant and surprisingly realistic. The rest - well, it was just rambling, directionless noise.
January 21, 2016
This book was so wonderfully weird. And strange. And quirky. And funny. On the cover it says "If you enjoy Wes Anderson films you'll find a character to love here" and I can totally see that. If you've watched Moonrise Kingdom or The Grand Budapest hotel, you know what I'm taking about. Full of odd incidents that are not always explained but somehow just makes sense. Incidents that sets other strange incidents in to motion until we are all over the place. Basically, incredibly unpredictable - in the best way possible.
There are no elaborate words or long explanations is this book, it's written in a very matter of fact way. Kaufman manages to write about complex things and feelings with so few words, and I found it took me longer than usual to finish a book of this size because of how compacts the text was. Everything means so much.
On the one hand it is incredibly funny and witty, and on the other hand it's completely serious at the same time. I kept getting stunned by small observations, sentences and dialog made from our characters that made me stop to think and feel. It was such a reading experience.
Even though I would love to keep writing about Kaufman's superb writing, I think it might be worth to mention the actual story. And the story was great. I loved the characters, the strong sibling love relationship I don't often see so well portrayed in books and I loved how by the end of all I wanted to do was read again. It really moved and fascinated me and made such a strong impression. This is a book that will grow even better with time and understanding. I'm going to read it over and over again.
There are no elaborate words or long explanations is this book, it's written in a very matter of fact way. Kaufman manages to write about complex things and feelings with so few words, and I found it took me longer than usual to finish a book of this size because of how compacts the text was. Everything means so much.
On the one hand it is incredibly funny and witty, and on the other hand it's completely serious at the same time. I kept getting stunned by small observations, sentences and dialog made from our characters that made me stop to think and feel. It was such a reading experience.
Even though I would love to keep writing about Kaufman's superb writing, I think it might be worth to mention the actual story. And the story was great. I loved the characters, the strong sibling love relationship I don't often see so well portrayed in books and I loved how by the end of all I wanted to do was read again. It really moved and fascinated me and made such a strong impression. This is a book that will grow even better with time and understanding. I'm going to read it over and over again.
January 18, 2013
Andrew Kaufman is lovely. He signed my copy of this book in handwriting so dreadful that I couldn't read what it said and, in doing so, set the quirky-but-charming tone for the rest of the novel.
The characterisation of the Weird siblings is very impressive. Even though there are five of them, the author has formed intriguing personalites so different from each other that I found the relationships and interactions between Richard, Lucy, Abba, Angie and Kent entirely credible. Kent is a jerk, but the dynamic that he adds is brilliant.
For me, Rainytown (the town made out of cardboard boxes in the Weird's attic) added so much to the novel. It really helped in establishing a connection between the siblings and also had plot significance, which I found clever. I laughed every time that a new building was introduced, simply because they are so imaginative and funny, and I think I actually choked on and inhaled part of my custard cream when "The Hanging Garden, where at the end of every meal the customers were not served with a check, but a noose" was given a mention.
Most of all, I liked how the author buries within Born Weird the idea that it is okay to make mistakes in life. The blessings that are more-curse-than-blessing possessed by each of the Weirds, such as self-preservation, forgiveness and hope, are all qualities that are conventionally considered positive, but it is fascinating to see them turned on their head and become negative. It really adds a thoughtful element to what is an engaging and amusingly original read.
The characterisation of the Weird siblings is very impressive. Even though there are five of them, the author has formed intriguing personalites so different from each other that I found the relationships and interactions between Richard, Lucy, Abba, Angie and Kent entirely credible. Kent is a jerk, but the dynamic that he adds is brilliant.
For me, Rainytown (the town made out of cardboard boxes in the Weird's attic) added so much to the novel. It really helped in establishing a connection between the siblings and also had plot significance, which I found clever. I laughed every time that a new building was introduced, simply because they are so imaginative and funny, and I think I actually choked on and inhaled part of my custard cream when "The Hanging Garden, where at the end of every meal the customers were not served with a check, but a noose" was given a mention.
Most of all, I liked how the author buries within Born Weird the idea that it is okay to make mistakes in life. The blessings that are more-curse-than-blessing possessed by each of the Weirds, such as self-preservation, forgiveness and hope, are all qualities that are conventionally considered positive, but it is fascinating to see them turned on their head and become negative. It really adds a thoughtful element to what is an engaging and amusingly original read.
November 7, 2013
This is my second full-length novel by Andrew Kaufman - the first being the Waterproof Bible - and I am yet again blown away by his simple, yet extraordinary plots. Every time I read one of his novellas, which I've also loved and devoured in one sitting, I wanted more. More absurdity, more magic, more...weird. And he gave us just that.
In this story, we meet 5 siblings, all of whom were born Weird - not only because of their surname, which was a misspelling of their ancestor's name, Sterling D. Wyird, when he emigrated from England to Canada - but also because of their Grandmother (referred to as the Shark) who bestowed upon each of them a "blursing" (a blessing turned curse). Richard would always be safe, Lucy would never be lost, Abba would never lose hope, Angie will always forgive, and Kurt will always be strong when he needs to defend himself.
Angie is given the task of reuniting her siblings so that their grandmother, who is now on her deathbed, could lift the curse at the exact moment of her death.
Embarking on a fantastic road trip across Canada with the 5 siblings, we are plunged into their lives (past and present)and we get to know them so much better as we become connected with these characters while their story slowly unfolds.
Once again, Kaufman delivers an excellent read, one that I've added to my favourite reading list. I look forward to reading more of his work.
In this story, we meet 5 siblings, all of whom were born Weird - not only because of their surname, which was a misspelling of their ancestor's name, Sterling D. Wyird, when he emigrated from England to Canada - but also because of their Grandmother (referred to as the Shark) who bestowed upon each of them a "blursing" (a blessing turned curse). Richard would always be safe, Lucy would never be lost, Abba would never lose hope, Angie will always forgive, and Kurt will always be strong when he needs to defend himself.
Angie is given the task of reuniting her siblings so that their grandmother, who is now on her deathbed, could lift the curse at the exact moment of her death.
Embarking on a fantastic road trip across Canada with the 5 siblings, we are plunged into their lives (past and present)and we get to know them so much better as we become connected with these characters while their story slowly unfolds.
Once again, Kaufman delivers an excellent read, one that I've added to my favourite reading list. I look forward to reading more of his work.
December 20, 2016
Reading this book is like watching a quirky indie movie inside your head.
Will write a proper review in the near future!
Will write a proper review in the near future!
December 17, 2021
I really liked Kaufman's first novella All My Friends Are Superheroes, was annoyed by his second, but thought I'd give one of his proper novels a go and now enormously regret doing so. It starts off well and for the first thirty pages I was enjoying it a fair bit, but then it plummets downhill horribly quickly, the prose is smug and its not even close to being as clever as it thinks it is. It also suffers a lot from repetition, the character's become increasingly unlikeable as the novel continues, and the ending is full of trite moralising and a final message which is so patronising (and ill considered) that I thought about throwing the book in the bin. Still, it's short at least, and now I know never to read anything by Kaufman ever again. 1/5
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