It's a Slippery Slope

Couple of days ago, I read Spalding Gray s book It s A Slippery Slope before work A lot of moments framed in nuerotic hilarity of a mind that dwells Can I just quote a couple of beautifully put sentences I remember her waking me in the middle of the night with the deepest sobs I have ever heard I had heard nothing like them, nor do I want to again And I say, To tell the truth, I don t know if I m having a good time or trying to kill myself He says, When you re in that place that s when you know [...]

Ol Spalding had me thinking after this one, about falling in love again with his new family and with skiing that he was gonna be okay RIP.

Slippery Slope is a narrative by the late Spalding Gray The work is meant to be read aloud in an auditorium during one of Gray s traveling tours As such, the print version lacks what an author reading would give to it.The story is about Gray s attempts to learn to ski coupled with the rocky time he is having as one end of a love triangle between a long time girlfriend and a mistress When the mistress becomes pregnant, the real world shenanigans ensue Gray was having health problems as he wrote t [...]

Ok here s the deal this book left me incredibly sad In fact, despite the humorous moments and interesting way of recounting his life in a monologue, I still was sad through most of the book I can appreciate dark humor with the best of em, but this just wasn t the time for me, I guess Last week, while boyczuk and I were driving home, we were stuck on one of the bridges here as the police, unsuccessfully, tried to talk a jumper down She survived the plunge, but is obviously undergoing some intensi [...]

I ve read everything Mr Gray released and I have to say, It s A Slippery Slope is perhaps the least funny and most honest of his monologues He perhaps lets himself off a bit easy for cheating on his girlfriend and hooking up with a new woman He addresses his fears of fatherhood head on even if he turns them into spots of humor that seem designed to promote reader sympathy The skiiing metaphor is overused Mr Gray pretty much bangs you over the head with this I suppose It s A Slippery Slope could [...]

emailed me saying You started reading It s a Slippery Slope 199 days ago Given that it s only 112 pages I figured I should announce I finished I think i finished 198 days ago The problem with writing a review is Spalding Gray isn t just another author He s really like a friend you only know through books and monologues You re either his friend or somethings wrong with you There are plenty of things wrong with Spalding, so there, you already have something in common I really like Spalding and tr [...]

Saw this monologue in 1997 and thought it was amazingfelt good to read it after stumbling on it at library He is a masterful mixer of the funny and pathetic raw The book was cool but no match for his live descriptions of the exhilaration of skiing and the awesome analogy of balancing oneself down the mountainfalling and recovering, losing it and finding it.So sad but not surprising that he could only keep his balance for four yearsThe story of going from 160 s to 195 s is among the best So glad [...]

I m actually not sure if I read this already, or if I m just remembering his performance of the piece at the Kennedy Center back in the 90s I felt a little voyeuristic at times, reading about Gray s self destructive tendencies and knowing how he ultimately met his end It was a quick and bittersweet read, made all the so by the fairly uplifting ending I have Impossible Vacation, but I think I ll put some time and maybe some lighthearted fiction in between that and this piece.

Spalding Gray s writing is equally as entertaining as his monologues In this book he learns to ski, gets a divorce and tries to talk his mistress into an abortion and he does it all in way that you still love him at the end of it The I really pay attention to his work the I see his inevitable path to suicide He references it often throughout his entire body of work His writing is digestable and strong Here lies one of the greatest story tellers of our time.

Read in one sitting on a plane, this book was It made me want to go skiing, or make a return to winter, so it must have been doing something right It also goes into my growing file of evidence that being an author, or even an artist, makes you kind of a dick Sad Gossip Note Did Spalding Gray used to be involved with Elizabeth LeCompte

I give this only three stars because it s so sad It probably deserves Spalding Gray commits suicide a decade later, and you can really see him coming undone in this monologue, which is hard to deal with.

like most of his, it has great parts about doing things alone when you re neurotic Also, some hillarious parts like the conversation w his dad and his voice and timing are really on It kind of goes all over the place but is way worth reading.

I ve always meant to check out Spaulding Gray, and now I have I will do so again.

I have a tough rating Spalding Gray I m addicted and re read and re read Sometimes, it feels like looking at a train wreck.

Ugh So disappointing since I ve loved Spalding Gray s monologue performances, but this was terrible Even at only 105 pages, it felt long Glad to be done with it.

What a tortured existance he lived

Scary book More creepily personal and suicide obsessed than anything else I ve read of his Had its shining moments of course, but I think I might ve been better off not knowing about this book.

Loved it but kinda depressing

Nobody ever accused Spauld of being a relationship expert Here, he wears his heart on his gut a bit than usual with no one the wiser.

Great autobiography, and an easy read Even though he pissed me off a lot Spalding is still quite intriguing.

Another great reminder of how thankful I am not to be Spalding Gray So neurotic it s hypnotic Unfettered honesty and frenetic worry Hilarious, laugh out loud funny And skiing