Failure: An Autobiography

With an eye-catching title and an introductory chapter in which academic and freelance writer Gidding (The Old Girl) promises "a case study, written by the case itself" in failure, this seems at first to be something more than a typical autobiography. But what Gidding actually delivers is an unrelentingly depressing account of his many self-proclaimed failures, each given its own excruciatingly detailed chapter, beginning with "The Failure of My Childhood," in which he bemoans his failure "to have an 'authentic childhood' " growing up in "privileged" Pacific Palisades, Calif. His other self-flagellations include admitting shame at not being admitted into Harvard; arguing that he never published a second novel because the writing and selling was "all too easy"; and halfheartedly claiming that his current "academic mediocrity" is really the stance of an "anti-academic academic." The only bright light in his story is his loving wife, Diane, who puts up with Gidding even as she is dying of cancer. But Gidding's confessional turns from tedious to annoying after he admits to being a "virtual adulterer" during her illness by flirting with an old girlfriend through instant messages, and then blames his actions on the "sexual possibilities" of the Internet. (May)

Gidding (writing & literature, Dowling Coll.) has worked in the movie business as a story analyst. But more important, he has been a failure, which is what his second book is about: Joshua Gidding's failures in life, which he has conveniently categorized and arranged into 13 chapters. Gidding points out at the beginning that as Americans we are taught that winning and success are worthy of celebration and worship and that failure is to be avoided at all costs; it terrifies us. What follows is a relentless string of failures, both real and perceived, in the author's life, presented ad nauseam but with wit and humor. In some cases, the author truly has failed, as in his infidelity during his marriage or his relationship with his father. In other instances, he compulsively ruminates over what most people would consider gaining experience. Still, the stories contained here are insightful, raw, and at times tortured, forcing readers to contemplate what constitutes failure in their own lives. Recommended for all public and academic libraries.
—Mark Alan Williams