Wowza.
I just finished this book and that's all I can say.
Wow.
I took a peek in when it arrived in the mail, and did not put it down until I was finished.
Laurie Sandell grew up in my hometown, but I didn't know her. I think I babysat for her and her sisters once, but other than that my only knowledge of her comes from reading her magazine articles over the years. I always liked her magazine writing, and I thought it would be nice to support a hometown girl, so I ordered it.
Wow.
Wow.
I realize that I'm gushing incoherently, so I'll share the blurb on the the cover flap, which says it all better than I ever could:
Laurie Sandell grew up in awe--and sometimes in terror--of her larger-than-life father. A former Green Beret with a law degree, a PhD, and fluency in several languages, he told dazzling tales of life in Buenos Aires, heroism in Vietnam, friendships with Henry Kissinger and the pope. In her childhood drawings, Laurie placed her father prominently among the faces on Mount Rushmore and herself ant-sized, gazing up at him. Beguiled and repelled by outrageous behavior, she grew into a young woman as restless as her father, roaming the globe, trying on her own outsized personalities--Tokyo stripper, seducer of Yeshiva girls, yogi, Ambien addict. Laurie finally lucked into the perfect job: interviewing celebrities for a top women's magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father gave her a knack for relating to the stars--she slipped easily into their surreal worlds, having lived in one herself. Yet even after meeting so many of entertainment's most intriguing people, it was her father she still desperately wanted to understand.
Her investigation uncovered a staggering secret: her father wasn't the man he had always claimed to be, not even close. His unbelievable stories were in fact an extravagant collection of lies, the discovery of which shook Laurie to the core.
**I love this book so much that I want to send a copy to everyone I know, but since I can't do that, I'm going to send it to one lucky person. Leave a comment by Friday afternoon, and I'll pick a random winner. International entrants welcome!In The Impostor's Daughter, Laurie Sandell asks: if the man whose identity is the basis of my own is a fraud, then who am I? This is a brilliantly original and dramatic graphic memoir, a father-daughter story as achingly loving and heartbreakingly honest as it is visually captivating.
Now I crazy want to read this book...and give it to my sister. And if i love it, to my dad, whose larger than life antics still leave me in awe.
Posted by: Andrea | July 23, 2009 at 11:13 PM
WOW...I love her writing already and the story sounds incredible!!!
Posted by: Jeanne | July 23, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Wow, that sounds incredible. I want to read it now! Thanks for the chance, but if I don't win, thanks for the heads up, as I will surely be ordering one for myself. Keeping my fingers crossed that your gift of randomness comes my way! ;0)
Posted by: nkp | July 21, 2009 at 04:05 PM
it sounds fascinating. Did you meet him, by chance, when you were babysitting?
Posted by: The Coffee Lady | July 21, 2009 at 03:13 PM
Oh I love a good book.
The story reminds me of "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessl, except that this book is fiction. It is a good read too.
Posted by: Natalie | July 21, 2009 at 02:56 PM
oh please, please, please random generator!!!
Posted by: Starlene | July 21, 2009 at 01:38 PM
Me me me me me me me! Too much?
Posted by: Liz | July 21, 2009 at 12:01 PM
that sounds like a good book! i need to read some fiction - so much how-to going on in my life right now!
Posted by: maya | July 21, 2009 at 10:56 AM
I'm random!
Posted by: Paper Dolls for Boys | July 21, 2009 at 10:23 AM
That sounds really good! Sign me up please! :)
Posted by: Mary | July 21, 2009 at 09:02 AM
me, me!
please!
Posted by: Kathleen | July 21, 2009 at 07:54 AM
All that on the jacket! Already sounds like a great story!
Posted by: Laura Beth Kerr Gilman | July 21, 2009 at 07:06 AM
That book sounds great. Right now I'm on my third bust of a book in a row. I must not be picking good ones lately! I'd love to read this book--I'm sure I would not put it down until I was finished!
Posted by: jessica | July 21, 2009 at 07:06 AM
Here's hoping that if I don't win, I can find a copy at a book store here in Australia. What a story!
Michelle
Posted by: Michelle | July 21, 2009 at 06:47 AM
This sounds amazing! Even if I don't win, thank you for sharing. It's now made my list of summer reads! :)
Posted by: dodi | July 21, 2009 at 04:58 AM
Mmm Hmmm. I think I'd like it.
Posted by: heather jane | July 21, 2009 at 01:06 AM
Sounds excellent. Count me in!
Posted by: Frogdancer | July 20, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Wow - sounds really intriguing! Count me in!
Posted by: Andrea | July 20, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Yes, please.
Posted by: Amy | July 20, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Me!
Posted by: Maiz | July 20, 2009 at 09:46 PM