My Father's Guitar and Other Imaginary Things

September 15, 2015
Creatively dispatched memories from a noted essayist and fiction writer. In his first foray into nonfiction, novelist Skibell (A Curable Romantic, 2010, etc.) touches on themes of identity, parental mortality, Judaism, and all of the foibles encountered within a close-knit lineage. The bonds of family figure greatly in these fondly depicted stories. In the resonant title piece, the first musical instrument the author's father, a family businessman, bought him as a youngster-a Fender guitar-incites a "laughably Freudian" correlation to another guitar his father would later purchase as well as yet another he bought to perpetuate his father's memory. Elsewhere, the author details his clumsy navigation around female students at college as a self-described "sexual maladroit" who dropped out of graduate school and dated a woman haunted by ghosts, a supernatural concept that he, then 23, mocked and arrogantly debunked with theoretical gibberish. Throughout the collection, Skibell makes plenty of room for humor. Though his family scoffed at his interest in learning the universal language Esperanto, he persevered "like a postman through the snow and the sleet and the gloom of their derision" only to hilariously turn the tables on a telemarketer by requesting they sponsor his classes. Another entry finds the author getting sweet comeuppance on a cousin who posted a negative review of his second novel online. The lengthier essays detail Skibell's trials through his years struggling as a screenwriter in Hollywood and the histrionic heritage of his father's cousin Tiger. In the closing essay, the author reflects on the occupational hazards of being a published author and the revelations that can occur after listening to a complete stranger's tale of woe. Colorful and endearing, the book will appeal to readers who appreciate Augusten Burroughs-style, real-life anecdotal ponderings focused on familial ties and how life's eternal cycle of enchantment and disillusionment somehow sustains us. A memoir/essay collection of consistently heartfelt and enlightening morsels of humanity.

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November 15, 2015
The guitar Skibell received from his father was not the lovely instrument he had imagined. In this collection of true stories from his life, novelist Skibell (A Blessing on the Moon, 2010) often explores the gap between what one believes and the cold, hard truth. His tales are both humorous and heartfelt, and while he's not afraid to make himself the butt of a joke, he builds much of his material off the characters he encounters. His family tree especially is dotted with a fair share of eccentrics, such as the junkie and confirmed bachelor uncle or the fabled cousin who made it big in Hollywood. Whether the stories are mere snapshots or more extended, he writes with a humor that flies under the radar until a joke pops up with a well-timed zing. The emotional core of the stories, though, revolves largely around Skibell's choppy relationship with his strict father. Skibell looks back on their differences with the emotional maturity that comes with time and distance, and his recollections, both funny and somber, resound with feeling.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)