The Hypocrisy of Disco: A Memoir

Wow. I read a lot of books, but this is the first one in a long time that I've read to the point of exhaustion (physical and emotional) and severe "pruniness" (bathtub is the only escape place with 3 young kids). I finished it last night and couldn't stop laughing at the New Year's party scene. Absurdity/truth at its finest. One of those scenes you MUST read aloud to someone else. And has anyone ever in the history of literature described a dog as polite and pleasant? Just so good. I am so hopeful that the author will continue her story. I can't imagine a straighter career than the armed forces. I would love to know how sweet Clanie finished out her childhood and even more so, if she ever found kindness and loving hands. Those hair washing scenes were heartbreaking. I've touched my kids more in the last two days than I usually do. I just squeeze them when they walk by me, remembering Clane's (and Haud's and Ki's) experiences. This book will live at my house and not go to half-price books with the rest of the stacks. It's one of the rare ones that needs to stay close by.

This book is brilliant, comic, heartbreaking, and always authentic. Clane Hayward is a gifted writer, and I highly recommend this book not only for the insights it gives to a unique time and place in our generation's history, but because it is such a compelling account of someone's personal journey.

I'm not a writer myself, but over the years many people have told me I should write a book about my hapless hippie upbringing. Well thank god, now I don't have to, because Clane Hayward has finally written the definitive hippie kid memoir, telling once and for all just what that experience was like. But beyond just capturing a particular time and place, Clane Hayward has, like Frank McCourt, conjured up an utterly authentic, haunting, and poetic childhood voice. Highly recommended.

But that doesn't mean I'm biased! This is an excellent and heartwrenching book. I always knew someone should write a book about our childhood, and I am so glad it was Clane - she is a brilliant writer with an honest voice.

A beautiful book; clear, vivid descriptions and such a compelling story. The amazing thing is how the author manages to recount her bizarre childhood without ever slipping into recriminations or judgements about her rather odd parents. She lets the facts speak for themselves and they do so perfectly. Hypocrisy of Disco really captures a time and place, as seen through the eyes of an intelligent and sensitive young girl. Great! Highly recommend!