Critical Praise

"THIS IS A SHARP BOOK, full of sad-funny feelings. Starting from the candy wrappers, toy parts, and over-loved stuffed animals scattered on childhood's floor, Gladstone traces a young man's journey to self-sensitivity, with hilarious and painful turns along the way."

——Mike Albo, Author, Hornito: My Lie Life

"A heartwarming tale about people who love each other so much they almost destroy one another...The Big Book of Misunderstanding also explores the role of authorship in understanding and recreating one's past."

——The Paris Voice

"A tender, bouncy narrative. . . . Refreshingly nostalgic and entertaining."

——Publishers Weekly

"George Orwell wrote, 'A child which appears reasonably happy may actually be suffering horrors which it cannot or will not reveal. It lives in a sort of alien underwater world which we can only penetrate by divination. Our chief clue is the fact that we were once children ourselves, and many people appear to forget the atmosphere of their own childhood almost entirely.' Jim Gladstone not only penetrates this underwater world that Orwell describes, he takes us deep below the surface and holds us there, caught between laughing and crying."

——Writing Aloud, WHYY Radio, Philadelphia

"Gladstone shows real skill. . . . The power of this novel lies in the fact that it deals with situations that touch us all. Many of the insights that Gladstone derives from his story are profound, if simply stated. What's more, it's a book whose ending is very much worth the wait."

——The Gay & Lesbian Review

"This is some of THE MOST EVOCATIVE WRITING ABOUT CHILDHOOD that I have come across. Gladstone's recall and rendering of that lost time is remarkable. He has an extraordinary memory for detail as well as the nuances of moments that we have all lived through, but have, for the most part, forgotten."

——Joseph Olshan, Author, Nightswimmer and Clara's Heart