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bluestjuice's review
2.0
Meh. I thought it would be interesting to read about the personal struggle of someone with a hoarding, or at least a clutter problem. In truth this reads more like a memoir, chronicling both his efforts to clean up his flat over the course of two years and the psychological meanderings he goes through as he tries to unearth the root cause of his behavior. We learn a lot about his family, his foibles, his life choices and the things that eat at him. Unfortunately I didn't care very much. He sprinkles this narrative with research into famous hoarders and interviews with some of these, as well as scientists and organizational coaches who can offer their opinions on the behavior, but these are all included in a haphazard and disorganized fashion. Just not as compelling as I was hoping.
moviebuffkt's review against another edition
2.0
i made it through most of the book. funny, but also neurotic. not sure i would recommend it, the audio was sort of like listening to an exasperated cartoon.
dlberglund's review
3.0
Memoir/self help about an unemployed writer who has let his "2 out of 5 on the cluttterer scale" hoarding get away with him. Interesting but not fascinating.
losco's review
3.0
*I won this book in a Goodreads first reads giveaway*
Barry Yourgrau is a likable guy with a big problem; his apartment is a deal breaker for his girlfriend and he is given an ultimatum to clean it up and get his life on track. I wanted to read this to gain some insight into hoarding (my late husband was a hoarder). Unfortunately, I became annoyed with Yougrau instead of sympathetic and found myself saying out loud "oh come on and clean the crap up already". I think if you are a hoarder then this is a worthwhile read but I related more to his girlfriend (whose name changes oddly several times) than to this guy who agonizes over empty boxes.
I became impatient with the digressions into literary examples of hoarders and the psychological explanations and on and on. I like that Yourgrau is different and quirky and writes with humor and intelligence, but it was just too painful for me to picture him internet surfing while his girlfriend is begging him to get it together. I am amazed that their relationship survived the ordeal but am glad it did, as they seem like a good couple outside this issue. Upon finishing the book I felt a strong compulsion to clean a closet.
Barry Yourgrau is a likable guy with a big problem; his apartment is a deal breaker for his girlfriend and he is given an ultimatum to clean it up and get his life on track. I wanted to read this to gain some insight into hoarding (my late husband was a hoarder). Unfortunately, I became annoyed with Yougrau instead of sympathetic and found myself saying out loud "oh come on and clean the crap up already". I think if you are a hoarder then this is a worthwhile read but I related more to his girlfriend (whose name changes oddly several times) than to this guy who agonizes over empty boxes.
I became impatient with the digressions into literary examples of hoarders and the psychological explanations and on and on. I like that Yourgrau is different and quirky and writes with humor and intelligence, but it was just too painful for me to picture him internet surfing while his girlfriend is begging him to get it together. I am amazed that their relationship survived the ordeal but am glad it did, as they seem like a good couple outside this issue. Upon finishing the book I felt a strong compulsion to clean a closet.
sleeson's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.0
This book starts off tricking you into thinking you’re going to read about hoarding, how to deal with mess etc. The author starts off by procrastinating on cleaning out all of his stuff in his apartment by painfully going on and on about everything BUT the actual reason he suffers with letting go of his things.
tlsouthard's review
3.0
Both fascinating and infuriating in equal measure. Fascinating to see inside the head of someone who is at least a "clutterer" and perhaps a subclinical hoarder. Frustrating in that I am obviously a woman of little mercy (and that is entirely ON ME) because it drove me nuts that he always found a way to excuse himself and not do what needed to be done, even when it put his relationship with someone who obviously loved him in jeopardy. I understand that this is a mental/psychological issue for him - dealing with long ago, repressed feelings by accumulating stuff.
I really did like the way that he began to see how self-centered he had been, how everything had revolved around *his* feelings and takes on things. I actually laughed out loud at some of his little comments when he became more self-aware about his focus only on himself.
And I liked that he was finally able to let some stuff go, and even make peace with at least *some* of the memories of his father especially. And that he was able to see some of his mother's things with poignant sadness and not with the horror he felt over her last days.
I'm glad I read it, but I think in real life I would find him incredibly provoking. But I was glad he seemed to have found some peace and true happiness in sharing his life with someone!
I really did like the way that he began to see how self-centered he had been, how everything had revolved around *his* feelings and takes on things. I actually laughed out loud at some of his little comments when he became more self-aware about his focus only on himself.
And I liked that he was finally able to let some stuff go, and even make peace with at least *some* of the memories of his father especially. And that he was able to see some of his mother's things with poignant sadness and not with the horror he felt over her last days.
I'm glad I read it, but I think in real life I would find him incredibly provoking. But I was glad he seemed to have found some peace and true happiness in sharing his life with someone!
pdsak's review
2.0
I read it for professional reasons and totally understood the seemingly random writing and the "process" he lived through in trying to clear away his hoard. Yep, that's what it was. He made progress and it will be a lifelong process. I liked it and I didn't. I screwed my left-brained self looking for specifics and accomplishments he made in progress. That was fleeting. I'd recommend it to others with a professional interest. Not sure that I'd recommend it to my clients as a resource or reference.
erin_boyington's review
1.0
Ugh. Whiny, self-absorbed New Yorker sponges off of his girlfriend and procrastinates cleaning up his messy apartment. I admit I gave up on this one. I just didn't care about his thoughts and feelings, or about his clutter, or about his reliance on psychobabble over action.
curlybooks's review
1.0
What a whiny, annoying, navel gazing book (and author)! While some of the tid-bits that I gleaned about hoarding were interesting, the rest of this memoir was just boring and irritating. Barry was insufferable, came across as an ungrateful moocher, and was one of the most obnoxious people I've ever read about. I'm also not sure why this was made into a book, nothing revelatory, new, or interesting is really being said here, and it ended up feeling like all the interesting bits were from the sources that he gathered during his "research", which consisted of a lot of Googling. The subtitle of this memoir is also misleading "One Man's Struggle to Clean up His House and His Act". We barely get any of his process for cleaning up his cluttered apartment, and I'm not sure how much of the author's "act" was really altered. The subtitle also has an inspirational quality to it, that is not reflected throughout the book. In the end, I was left wondering what the point of this memoir even being written was, besides being narcissistic catharsis for the author.