Sleeping Arrangements

Like another reader, I was drawn to the unusual cover of this book--a sweet lil' girl's face superimposed over a faded shot of two older men--in these pedophiliactic times of Michael Jackson and Catholic priests, I assumed it was yet another sad story of abuse. Wronnnngg! This is so outrageously funny that you can almost laugh through the sad passages, while still appreciating the depth of tragedy that befell Shaine's unusual childhood. Her uncles really did sound like a couple of Marx brothers, but the love this odd family shared always shines. I'd teach it in my high school classes, but a few passages here and there probably make it questionable--although the haunting description of her continuing search for her father would resonate with many kids. A great find that I stumbled on while hunting for something else at B and Noble.

Rosie Shaine, mother of Cunningham's alter-ego, Lily, insists her husband is still fighting overseas four years after World War II has ended. Uncle Len, tall and thin as Lincoln, wears a pith helmet as he cooks popcorn and tuna croquettes in his pressure cooker. Lily's grandmother, "Etka from Minsk," steals Lily's clothes and jewelry and stashes them under her mattress in their shared bedroom.What a cast of characters! Yet no matter how peculiar their appearance nor how inappropriate or predictable their behavior, each character in this book reflects a dignity and humanity that makes them larger than their foibles. All the more difficult to achieve when the family is her own, and their behaviors border on the bizarre.One of my favorite things about this book is its intimate look at the secret language that springs up in families. One day Lily comes home to find her grandmother in distress, pacing, refusing to say what's wrong, until finally "she begins to `oikah' (`oikah' is a verb in our home, applicable when someone, usually Etka, begins to repeat `oy-yoy-yoy' by the hour)."Laura Cunningham's gift -- and the charm of this book -- is her ability to transform the wild neuroses, annoying habits and predictability of her relatives into a portrait of abiding love and understanding. Under her deft hand, and with great helpings of hilarity, 1950's New York and this devoted family come alive.

SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS is an utterly irresistible and engaging memoir by Laura Shaine Cunningham, which describes her life growing up in the Bronx between the ages of 5 and 16. At the beginning of the book, she is taken care of by her mother and sole parent, Rosie. (It isn't until the end of the memoir that the reader has anything approaching a clear idea of what happened to her father, Larry. Even then, it stays fuzzy because Laura never finds out herself.) Soon, however, Rosie dies, apparently of cancer. Young Laura ("Lily") then comes under the care of her mother's eccentric brothers, 38 year old Gabe and 40 year old Len - two "O.B.s", i.e. "old bachelors". A bit later, the group is enlarged when Lily's senile maternal grandmother, Etka, moves in.Since I did my growing up as a little boy, it was enlightening to see a glimpse of how it was endured by the other half. It was also quite amazing to read what details Lily remembers of her earliest school experiences. I can barely remember at 5 going to the Hill & Dale Nursery School in Pacific Palisades, California, and that we were expected to take afternoon naps - perhaps for the mental relief of our minders, not ourselves. In any case, Laura relates the events of her childhood with humor and pathos. When her grandmother moves in, she expects the old lady to conform with her experience of her friends' grandmothers, i.e. to be a cookie maker. Yet, when left alone with her for the first time:"I look at her, expecting her to toss off her tailored jacket, tuck up her cuffs, and roll out the cookie dough. Instead, she purses her lips in an expression she learned as a child, and tilts her head in a practiced way: `Now, perhaps, you could fix me a little lunch?'. It isn't supposed to be this way, I think as I take her order: `toasted cheese sandwich and a sliced orange'".Later, when on a child's guilt trip reliving the sins of her young life, Lily remembers:"And last and worst, on the final night of my mother's life, when Gabe held the phone to my ear and said, `Say goodbye to your mother', I had made a joke of it, and said, `Goodbye', only it was ... forever."Today, when the repercussions of a broken home loom large in society's consciousness due to the well publicized meltdowns of a sick few, SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS serves as a gentle reminder that home, for a child, is where the love is - whether it comes from a father, mother, uncles, aunts, or grandparents.I liked this book a lot, and I think you will too.

Laura Cunningham's book starting with her early life with her mother is so infused with symbiotic love it will take your breath away. When her mother dies, she is only 8 years old with no visible support system and no father. Her two bachelor uncles, true eccentrics, take on her care lovingly if not clumsily. They are intelligent and gentle, not of this world. Their way of looking at people and life with break your heart. I could not put the book down and finished it within hours. I laughed out loud at her ability to tell her story, and yet often was so moved by her heartache I had tears in my eyes. I am now looking for everything that Laura Cunnhingham has written and have become a big fan. Do not miss this one!

why is Laura Cunningham not well known? This memoir reads like novel, and it's funny, knowing, honest and touching. Laura, or "Lily", lives with her young mother in the Bronx. All she knows of her father is that he's fighting in the war, even though it takes a while for her to realize that WWII is long over. Her mother is vastly relived when the Korean War begins so her story makes sense once more. When her mom dies young, Lily lives with her two eccentric uncles and her addled Russian grandmother. Their oddball family is hilarious, and begs the question of what really makes up a family.I can picture this as a terrific movie and wonder why no one has discovered it yet. Do yourself a favor and seek out this loving tribute. My sister-in-law lent it to me after a friend lent it to her. It's one of those pass-around novels.