Scattershot

Starred review from January 15, 2025
Chrysler recounts his life as a gay man from Minnesota who led an extraordinary and successful life. Born Lawrence Bernard Cohen in 1931 to a struggling Jewish family in the Midwest, the author was not primed for success. Still, he always felt that he was lucky, often finding opportunities falling into his path. He cites an encounter when he was 16 in Minneapolis in which a woman stopped him to say she saw two angels on his shoulders, calling to mind cartoons in which one shoulder might hold an angel and the other a devil; throughout the book, Chrysler attributes his luck to "his angels" when good things happen for him. The story of his life is extraordinary given the time period--he was witness to some of the most dramatic social and geopolitical changes of the 20th century. The author worked in various roles in the fashion industry, from selling to designing to teaching. From this vantage point, he was able to observe and integrate himself into the wealthy American upper-class, coming into contact with such celebrities as Donald Sutherland, Lauren Bacall, and his good friend Bobby Short. As a gay man living during the AIDS crisis, the tragedy touches on parts of his story, but Chrysler does not delve deeply into the subject, arguing that he has nothing new to add. Still, the topics he does choose to address are handled with tremendous compassion and insight. The memoir's title is apt, as the author takes a broad, slightly haphazard approach to his story, which reads like oral narration. In the author's note, Chrysler acknowledges this, confessing, "I've always been recognized among my friends as someone who loves to talk...If a particular topic sparks a memory from my past, I dive into a narrative filled with intricate details." In this book, the author reflects on over 90 years of life--the text can be sentimental and sometimes verges on saccharine, but it's never overwrought. Chrysler's storytelling style ultimately works perfectly to convey his fascinating perspective on the time period. A frank and touching look at being gay in America throughout the 20th century.

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