Filthy Beasts by Kirkland Hamill is an astonishing memoir of the author's unconventional upbringing, as the middle child of a charismatic, emotionally abusive mother with working-class Bermuda roots and a hapless, ineffectual father born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Hamill and his two brothers began life in their father's rarefied world of New York privilege, a style of living that was not destined to last. They then spent the majority of their childhood in Bermuda, left to raise themselves with few resources while their mother, Wendy, struggled to rebuild her life after a bitter divorce.
In chapters that read like a captivating family drama, Hamill excavates his relationship with a once exuberant, attentive mother who became hollowed out by endless glasses of scotch. Hamill's tenderness toward her reveals a central conflict of his chaotic childhood: he sees his mother as a victim and doesn't hold her responsible for her abject parental neglect. He remembers who she was before, the comfort and security she once provided and the sad bravery with which she tried to reclaim her glamorous life. While Wendy slowly fades away into an alcoholic haze the brothers try to bring her back, "like kittens nuzzling on the corpse of their unresponsive mother."
The tragedy of Wendy's descent into alcoholism is matched by Hamill's deep confusion over his sexual identity. Readers will appreciate his dry wit and compassionate lens while admiring the survival instincts that led Hamill to proudly assert himself as a gay man deserving of romantic love. --Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer