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The Man in the Gray Flannel Skirt Audiobook
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(2.14) - 120 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The vibrant, funny, and heartwarming story of an outcast who becomes an odd man in If you have ever felt like a misfit in school or been paralyzed by your family’s imposing expectations, if you have ever obsessed about your appearance or panicked about choosing a career path, if you have ever wondered if every single thing to which your body is exposed, from egg yolks to X-rays, might harm you, then you may be surprised to find a kindred spirit in The Man in the Gray Flannel Skirt. Growing up in sunny La Jolla, California, Jon-Jon Goulian was a hyperneurotic kid who felt out of place wherever he turned, and who, in his own words, was forever on the verge of “caving in beneath the pressures of modern life.” From his fear of competition to his fear of pimples, from his fear of sex to his fear of saturated fat, the range and depth of Jon-Jon’s phobias were seemingly boundless. With his two older brothers providing a sterling example he believed he could never live up to, and his stern grandfather, the political philosopher Sidney Hook, continually calling him to account for his intellectual failure, Jon-Jon, feeling pressed against the wall, wracked with despair, and dizzy with insecurity, instinctively resorted, for reasons that became clear to him only many years later, to a most ingenious scheme for keeping conventional expectations at bay: women’s clothing! Ingenious, perhaps, but woefully ineffective, as Jon-Jon discovers, again and again, that behind his skirt, leggings, halter top, and high heels, he’s still as wildly neurotic, and as wracked with anxiety, as he’s always been. In this hilarious and heartfelt memoir, Jon-Jon Goulian’s witty and exuberant voice shines through, as he comes to terms with what it means to truly be yourself.
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"I won this book from a giveaway and I entered it for no reason other than the title caught my eye. Not knowing what the book would be about I started it ready for anything, and what I got was nothing I was expecting. The Man in the Gray Flannel Skirt is a memoir, each chapter opening with something happening in his life, and then quickly shifting to something else from his past that relates to the theme of that chapter. While this did lead me to expecting what was coming next I really did like the way he wrote his story. In the beginning few chapters of the book I began to wonder why he wrote a memoir, what had he done? I realized then at the end that thats just it, he hadn't "done" anything, he just lived how he wanted and that led him to have one of the most interesting lives (with a somewhat exception of one chapter, which was a bit uncomfortable to read but still interesting!) I have ever read about. That is what I have taken from this story, live how you want and its never too late to change your life. I extremely enjoyed reading about his life, excellent book."
— Dylan (4 out of 5 stars)
The Man in the Gray Flannel Skirt Listener Reviews
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" This is an interesting memoir. It was a quick read for non-fiction. I did find parts of it too whiny, but it never lost my attention. "
— Cory, 2/17/2014 -
" This book was so enticing -- a great title, a super author photo on the rear cover, and a sassy introduction. Several chapters made me think of David Sedaris' wit and self-deprecating humor. I was even drawn in by a direct reference to my x-sister-in-law's-sister (confusing...). None of this, however, was strong enough to make me really excited about reading 200+ pages of why some 40-something man never got his shit together. "
— Gabrielle, 2/14/2014 -
" Well write review when publish date comes "
— Wendi, 2/4/2014 -
" Not for the anxiety-prone, but for those who are certainly going somewhere and uncertain of their direction. "
— Meredith, 1/26/2014 -
" This is Jon-Jon Goulian's first book. On some level we can all identify with the boy growing up and trying to fit in. This is a well written and fun book to read. I hope he continues to write. "
— Bonnie1750, 1/25/2014 -
" Great book! What a down-to-earth guy he is; more so, even, because of his raging insecurities...he's beyond grounded, he's downright catatonic. There is very little that is unusual about Jon-Jon apart from his name and how he chooses to dress himself. Life has been a struggle, a competition between what is expected of him and what he is capable of...the sad part is that he often takes himself out of the fight, for fear of failure, fear of not living up, or for the sake of fear itself. He's a germaphobe of the highest order and I can almost feel the bland food to which he grew accustomed. His relationship with his family is endearing, and I appreciate that he wasn't a malcontent for the sake of being one. He just spent a lot of his time being misunderstood, I think. Great book. "
— Bob, 1/20/2014 -
" I did not finish this book. I found it to be quite boring and lacking any insight into gender issues or life in general. Meh! "
— Keir, 1/16/2014 -
" Goulian is a very good writer and this book is entertaining in a kind of , but ultimately I didn't get too much out of it substance-wise. "
— Sarah, 12/19/2013 -
" No substance here. None. :( "
— Dana, 12/19/2013 -
" I enjoyed Goulian's wittiness and his prose, but in the end it was just TMI. "
— Laura, 12/18/2013 -
" ok, i'm biased. i am the 'woman in whose living room [jon-jon] lived behind a curtain on the lower east side. jon-jon is the most unique person i've ever met--also one o the most brilliant. and i thoroughly recommend you read his story, as you'll never read anything else quite like it. "
— Mia, 11/19/2013 -
" It's not required by law that people tangentially related to publishing in New York have to read this book. I just want to put that out there. "
— Ellen, 5/19/2012 -
" I found this was a very strange book. I would not recommend it to anyone. "
— Shannon, 3/27/2012 -
" Jon-Jon Goulian's conversational style is very enjoyable and his neuroses are very sympathetic. He writes about growing up as the third child in a high-achieving family, and how he didn't live up to his family's expectations. It was interesting to read about body dysmorphia from a male perspective. "
— Deborah, 3/9/2012 -
" Poor cyclical writing that never goes anywhere or says anything. Boring. Pathetic. "
— Manintheboat, 11/6/2011 -
" It's not required by law that people tangentially related to publishing in New York have to read this book. I just want to put that out there. "
— Ellen, 6/1/2011 -
" This is Jon-Jon Goulian's first book. On some level we can all identify with the boy growing up and trying to fit in. This is a well written and fun book to read. I hope he continues to write. "
— Bonnie1750, 4/11/2011 -
" Well write review when publish date comes "
— Wendi, 4/11/2011
About Rob Shapiro
Rob Shapiro is a musician, writer, voice actor, and Earphones Award–winning narrator. He performed several seasons of radio comedy on Minneapolis Public Radio and voiced the titular lion in Leo the Lion. He is a musician and composer with his critically acclaimed band Populuxe. He is also a business consultant and software system designer.