Herbert Gold’s brilliantly compelling “King of the Cleveland Beatniks” tells the story of Gold’s younger brother Sid, failed writer, failed man, but not failed brother, who wills Herb his novel — fifty years in the making and still incomplete — to his brother at his death. While reading bits and pieces of the book, Herb tells the story of Sid’s strange life and what he thinks it meant, or didn’t, which is also the story of a time long past.
And in “Imagining Robert,” Jay Neugeboren writes about his brother Robert, mentally ill but much loved, and the dangerous and scary life he leads and how Jay struggles to find a place in his life for his brother and a safe place in life in general for Robert. After yet another breakdown, Neugeboren muses:
- Though I could, as ever, talk about what I thought had caused Robert’s condition, long-term and short-term, the more important question, it seemed to me (or was I thinking this way in order to give myself heart, in order to find something good in a situation that was god-awful?), wasn’t what had caused this breakdown, or any of the others, but what, given his life, had enabled him to survive - to retain his generosity, his warmth, his intelligence, his pride, his humor, and his sense of self. This, it seemed to me, was, as ever, the true miracle and mystery.
There is also Steven Roberts’ essay on his twin brother, Dominick Dunne’s reminiscences, originally published in Vanity Fair on John Gregory Dunne’s death, and an hysterical and telling piece by David Sedaris on his youngest brother, the Rooster, which has also appeared in print before, but which both bear re-reading. And an essay by Philip Lopate on his arguably more famous brother Leonard, the radio personality, which contained perhaps my favorite revelatory few sentences:
- My greatest defect is that much of the time I need to regard myself as superior to those around me, and to position myself in such a way that they will feel it too. Regardless of knowing full well that there are many different kinds of intelligence or that we are all ultimately dust and atoms under the aspect of eternity, I persist in wanting to view myself as the most intelligent person in social situations. That lamentable self-regard undoubtedly colors my relationship with my brother, in less than helpful ways. I insist on holding the ‘wisdom’ and ‘maturity’ cards, or on considering myself a half-step ahead of him mentally. But he forgives me, perhaps because he is the wiser and more ample-spirited one.
Also in this wondrous collection are essays by Mikal Gilmore, brother to the infamous Gary, who goes on a journey to find his one remaining sibling, Frank, and in that trip, finds out more about himself than he might ever have thought possible. Gilmore, a writer of uncommon gifts, once again, makes us rethink the very notions of biology, heredity, family and what they all mean. As does David Kaczynski with his searing tale of his brother Ted, the man who terrorized us as the Unabomber, a man who began life as a little boy and a big brother. There are still more stories in this collection, still more secrets and lies collected here, unveiled here, in this very unusual, very revealing, very powerful book.
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