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Searching for John Hughes
For all fans of John Hughes and his hit films such as National Lampoon’s Vacation , Sixteen Candles , and Home Alone , comes Jason Diamond’s hilarious memoir of growing up obsessed with the iconic filmmaker’s movies—a preoccupation that eventually convinces Diamond he should write Hughes’ biography and travel to New York City on a quest that is as funny as it is hopeless. For as long as Jason Diamond can remember, he’s been infatuated with John Hughes’ movies. From the outrageous, raunchy antics in National Lampoon’s Vacation to the teenage angst in The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink to the insanely clever and unforgettable Home Alone , Jason could not get enough of Hughes’ films. And so the seed was planted in his mind that it should fall to him to write a biography of his favorite filmmaker. It didn’t matter to Jason that he had no qualifications, training, background, platform, or direction. Thus went the years-long, delusional, earnest, and assiduous quest to reach his goal. But no book came out of these years, and no book will. What he did get was a story that fills the pages of this unconventional, hilarious memoir.
In Searching for John Hughes , Jason tells how a Jewish kid from a broken home in a Chicago suburb—sometimes homeless, always restless—found comfort and connection in the likewise broken lives in the suburban Chicago of John Hughes’ oeuvre. He moved to New York to become a writer. He started to write a book he had no business writing. In the meantime, he brewed coffee and guarded cupcake cafes. All the while, he watched John Hughes movies religiously.
Though his original biography of Hughes has long since been abandoned, Jason has discovered he is a writer through and through. And the adversity of going for broke has now been transformed into wisdom. Or, at least, a really, really good story.
In other words, this is a memoir of growing up. One part big dream, one part big failure, one part John Hughes movies, one part Chicago, and one part New York. It’s a story of what comes after the “Go for it!” part of the command to young creatives to pursue their dreams—no matter how absurd they might seem at first.
In Searching for John Hughes , Jason tells how a Jewish kid from a broken home in a Chicago suburb—sometimes homeless, always restless—found comfort and connection in the likewise broken lives in the suburban Chicago of John Hughes’ oeuvre. He moved to New York to become a writer. He started to write a book he had no business writing. In the meantime, he brewed coffee and guarded cupcake cafes. All the while, he watched John Hughes movies religiously.
Though his original biography of Hughes has long since been abandoned, Jason has discovered he is a writer through and through. And the adversity of going for broke has now been transformed into wisdom. Or, at least, a really, really good story.
In other words, this is a memoir of growing up. One part big dream, one part big failure, one part John Hughes movies, one part Chicago, and one part New York. It’s a story of what comes after the “Go for it!” part of the command to young creatives to pursue their dreams—no matter how absurd they might seem at first.
285 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2016
70 people are currently reading
2506 people want to read
About the author
Jason Diamond
15 books175 followersJason Diamond is a bestselling author, editor, speaker, and big eater. He was born in Skokie, Illinois just before Ronald Reagan took office, and remembers absolutely nothing about the Carter administration. He has lived in New York City for the bulk of his life and plans to die there, but he loves Chicago with all his heart. Jason has worked as a barista, server, fry cook, bookseller, and DJ. In 2008, he founded the site Vol. 1 Brooklyn and has curated hundreds of regular free literary events, including the popular 3-Minute Stories series.
He has written for The New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Outside, The Paris Review, The New Yorker, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, Eater, The Wall Street Journal, New Republic, Bookforum, Tablet, Pitchfork, McSweeny's, NPR, and many other fine outlets.
His memoir, Searching For John Hughes (William Morrow/HarperCollins), was released in November 2016. His second book is The Sprawl. It was released by Coffee House Press in August of 2020. He is the co-author (with Nicolas Heller) of New York Nico's Guide to NYC, and in 2025, his debut novel, Kaplan’s Plot, will be released by Flatiron.
He has written for The New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Outside, The Paris Review, The New Yorker, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, Eater, The Wall Street Journal, New Republic, Bookforum, Tablet, Pitchfork, McSweeny's, NPR, and many other fine outlets.
His memoir, Searching For John Hughes (William Morrow/HarperCollins), was released in November 2016. His second book is The Sprawl. It was released by Coffee House Press in August of 2020. He is the co-author (with Nicolas Heller) of New York Nico's Guide to NYC, and in 2025, his debut novel, Kaplan’s Plot, will be released by Flatiron.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
December 3, 2016
As I've remarked on countless occasions, I'm kind of obsessed with all things 1980s. That was the decade of middle school, high school, and part of college, so it represents some pretty significant times in my life, and the movies, television shows, music, celebrities, and other pop culture phenomena of that decade served as touch points, a soundtrack and backdrop along the way.
I'm also a huge movie buff, so I remember spending an immense amount of time at the movies in the 80s, or watching videos over and over again. John Hughes' movies—in particular, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful and Ferris Bueller's Day Off —still are among my favorites, and I can still recite lines from each of them at any time. (Scarily enough, I can even tell you who I was with when I saw these movies for the first time, and where we saw them. Egads.)
Needless to say, when I first heard about Jason Diamond's book, I couldn't wait to read it. Another Hughes fan, who actually was passionate enough about his movies to write a book about them?
"Hughes accomplished the almost impossible task of making me feel inspired. They made me feel as if I could get out and be better. I related to the teens in his movies, their happiness, their sadness, the anger, angst, and longing."
Searching for John Hughes is Diamond's account of his (immensely) troubled childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, his (incredibly) troubled relationships with his parents, his inability to do much in school except take drugs and zone out, and his struggle to make something of himself and be happy with himself as he grew older. Hughes' movies provided comfort, inspiration, a feeling of kinship, and it was finally the man behind the movies who became the focus of Diamond's obsession, his quest to write Hughes' biography.
I guess I never dug more into the description of this book than the title, because I really expected it to be a discussion of Hughes' movies and their significance to pop culture at the time they were released, and why so many of them continue to endure today, for kids who weren't alive in the 1980s and (shudder) 1990s. Instead, this was more of a memoir of a guy trying desperately to make it in spite of really difficult circumstances, of trying to find a purpose, and find confidence in his future.
Diamond is a really good writer, but his story is really, really harrowing, so much so it became difficult to read after a while. The fact that he found the strength to keep moving forward despite so much adversity, and finally has a career as a writer after spending years writing whatever came to mind is tremendously inspiring. I would love to read more of his writing, but this book just didn't click for me, especially because I was expecting something totally different.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
I'm also a huge movie buff, so I remember spending an immense amount of time at the movies in the 80s, or watching videos over and over again. John Hughes' movies—in particular, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful and Ferris Bueller's Day Off —still are among my favorites, and I can still recite lines from each of them at any time. (Scarily enough, I can even tell you who I was with when I saw these movies for the first time, and where we saw them. Egads.)
Needless to say, when I first heard about Jason Diamond's book, I couldn't wait to read it. Another Hughes fan, who actually was passionate enough about his movies to write a book about them?
"Hughes accomplished the almost impossible task of making me feel inspired. They made me feel as if I could get out and be better. I related to the teens in his movies, their happiness, their sadness, the anger, angst, and longing."
Searching for John Hughes is Diamond's account of his (immensely) troubled childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, his (incredibly) troubled relationships with his parents, his inability to do much in school except take drugs and zone out, and his struggle to make something of himself and be happy with himself as he grew older. Hughes' movies provided comfort, inspiration, a feeling of kinship, and it was finally the man behind the movies who became the focus of Diamond's obsession, his quest to write Hughes' biography.
I guess I never dug more into the description of this book than the title, because I really expected it to be a discussion of Hughes' movies and their significance to pop culture at the time they were released, and why so many of them continue to endure today, for kids who weren't alive in the 1980s and (shudder) 1990s. Instead, this was more of a memoir of a guy trying desperately to make it in spite of really difficult circumstances, of trying to find a purpose, and find confidence in his future.
Diamond is a really good writer, but his story is really, really harrowing, so much so it became difficult to read after a while. The fact that he found the strength to keep moving forward despite so much adversity, and finally has a career as a writer after spending years writing whatever came to mind is tremendously inspiring. I would love to read more of his writing, but this book just didn't click for me, especially because I was expecting something totally different.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
August 6, 2016
I guess I'm biased.
January 9, 2017
This title does not even come close to capturing the truth about this memoir. John Hughes and his films are definitely a recurring element to this book but they are pretty limited and they are just a few of the numerous pop culture references made throughout this book. What this book is really is a memoir of a young man with very deep and profound problems and difficulties. It's a tale of abusive parents, depression, abandonment and looking to get our life back on track. John Hughes and his films are simply references and examples of how Diamond thought his life would go or should go. Diamond sets out to write a biography of Hughes, but even from the beginning, that project seems doomed since much of what he plans to write about his pretty much speculation. At points, the author and his story become a bit overwhelming and sometimes, pompous. The author can definitely write well but the story wasn't what I thought I was getting.
September 23, 2023
I received an advance copy of this memoir from William Morrow and will be interviewing the author this month. The book won't be released until November, but mark your calendars now because it's a fantastic memoir about Jason Diamond's quest to write John Hughes's biography. Maybe that premise doesn't sound immediately interesting, but trust me, this is a great book. In general, I'm really picky when it comes to memoirs. I get annoyed easily by someone's rendition of their life if there is a hint of inauthenticity, but this memoir is pitch perfect. It's funny, poignant, and very compelling. I was sucked into Diamond's story about growing up and pursuing his dream. I think that premise is something pretty universally easy to relate to, but sometimes I felt this odd connection to the story, like his writing journey could be my story, too. It's been a long time since I read a book that made me feel understood, but that's exactly what happened when I read this one. I loved this book.
I interviewed Diamond for Chicago Review of Books and you can check it out here: https://chireviewofbooks.com/2016/11/...
I interviewed Diamond for Chicago Review of Books and you can check it out here: https://chireviewofbooks.com/2016/11/...
August 5, 2020
I feel like many of the low ratings for this book are because people wanted a different book than the one this is. This is a solid, heart-breaking memoir about an abused, abandoned kid who longs for the comfortable life portrayed in John Hughes movies. He gets the idea to write a book on Highes, spends years chasing that dream, then figures out that embracing real life is better than chasing after the imaginary one represented by Hughes. This is not a bio of Hughes or a deep dive into his films. Its Jason's tragic story with a happy ending, one with a lot less John Hughes than many readers seem to have wanted. Read it as a very good Gen X memoir with lots of Hughes info and related pop culture, and you'll get what you came for.
February 1, 2017
Poorly written, poorly edited.boring story came off very whinny and unbelievable. I really wanted to love this but couldn't find a single thing worth my time.
November 12, 2019
I always say that I don't miss being a kid because I actually got to be a kid, something I'm often very grateful to God for. I enjoyed being young, playing outside, arguing with my sisters, sharing a room with my younger sister, sleeping on bunk beds, making up games. Then, as I got older, it was going to the mall with friends, leaning against the second-floor railing to look for boys, calling my mom to pick us up on a payphone, watching She's All That, Bring It On, Save the Last Dance, and 10 Things I Hate About You on VHS, waiting for the "Top 9 at 9" to play on K104, so I could tape my favorite songs then listen to the cassette on my Walkman. Then, it was being in college, skipping class with my friends to walk to the bakery in town and talk about life, guys, school, and family. In my twenties, it was traveling to Europe with my sisters, volunteering at the local hospital, interning at a small publishing house, going out for drinks with friends, dancing (or in my case "dancing"), and working multiple part-time jobs while going to grad school.
In the midst of that, there were difficult times. A lot happened in my childhood that was not idyllic, and even though there are many things I loved about being a kid, there were hard times too. My parents fought a lot, and I had bad arguments with my sisters and got teased for being a "goody goody" and for having hairy arms (I'm Italian and Puerto Rican). I am a middle child, so I did feel that "syndrome" my older and younger sister say isn't real but definitely is. I was always quiet, and they even teased me sometimes for crying all the time. I was (and still am) very sensitive. What helped me through those parts of childhood were books. Books like Ann M. Martin's Babysitters Club series, Nancy Drew books, later The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Fantasy, contemporary, the classics. I also loved teen dramas on TV, especially One Tree Hill. That was my favorite--it premiered in 2003 when I was a junior in high school, basically the same age as the characters, and it ran until 2012, when I was just finishing up grad school, which seems pretty perfect.
What else helped me, and still helps me, is my own writing. That sounds arrogant, but writing helps me express myself. I used to keep journals and diaries, but I don't do that anymore. My characters teach me how I'm feeling, and I can use them to voice my thoughts and concerns. I can let them be sensitive for me. When I read back what I write, I'm surprised by how much of me is in my characters, even the ones who seem nothing like me. I started a series when I was 11, and I've been writing it since, changing it and improving it as the years go by. I've added characters and changed plot lines, I've written books from the children of my original characters' points of view and now contemplate writing about their children. My sister said my made-up town is my second home, and she's right. The fact that my heart swelled when she said that proves it even further. It's strange how much influence the various media have on our lives but also how much impact our own creations can have on our lives.
Now, I come to my review of this book that Jason Diamond wrote. It's really sad. I knew there would be hope at the end because it's a memoir, and I figured it wouldn't end with everything crashing down around Diamond, and fortunately, like the Hughes movies that shaped his childhood, Diamond's book ends with a lesson learned and optimism for the present. But the journey was tough to get through. I felt sorry for Diamond and what he experienced growing up. When he acts like a jerk or talks about his depression, I understand because of course what he went through would shape who he became. There were times I cringed at some of his words and actions, partially because they reminded me of stories my ex-boyfriend told me about his life, and he's an ex for a reason, but also because of my own morality. However, I always understood where Diamond was coming from and what led him to act the way he did and treat people the way he did.
I like this book because I like Diamond's voice. He's funny, he writes well, and he's not self-deprecating, exactly, but he definitely knows where he went wrong and when things happened through no fault of his own. I enjoyed the crafted version of his life he tells. The order in which he presents information works really well. I also enjoy the way he incorporates biographical information about John Hughes, the director whose movies shaped his childhood and gave him hope, with autobiographical information. It makes the book flow and gives it more impact and interest.
Overall, this book works for me even though I can't identify with most of what Diamond experienced or with the life he lived and does live because I can identify with the power pop culture has to shape our experiences. I can identify with your hometown being more than just a place you live but becoming a character in your own life (I was born in the town I still live in, and I love it--I even have an Instagram page dedicated to my town, for which I take photos of restaurants, landscape, historic buildings, etc). I can identify with Diamond's love for writing and need to write. Like Diamond, I've worked and worked on a project for years that I've had such high hopes for but that I've eventually had to accept might not be the great writing I thought it was or hoped it could become. But giving up on a project, accepting that it's not going to be published and praised, doesn't mean giving up on yourself, your writing, your dreams. It means being realistic, freeing yourself, so you can have hope for something attainable. And it wasn't a waste of time either because without those years of writing, editing, revising, deleting, tossing, you wouldn't be able to write the things that do get published and make an impact.
I recommend this book to Hughes fans, memoir fans, and people who love books that incorporate pop culture into stories of everyday life.
*Side note: My sister bought me this book because we enjoyed reading A Week in Paris together (a Dollar Store find that she loved and bought a copy of for me), and she wanted us to read another book at the same time. I came home from work last month and saw two copies of this book on the landing. My dad buys and sells used books, so I thought they were his, that he had bought them and was going to sell them. I got mad at him because, of course, the title caught my eye, and I wanted a copy. Then, I entered the living room and saw my older sister sitting on the couch. She came up from Florida for a surprise visit. I screamed and hugged her. Then, she told me the Hughes books were for us to read together, so I got to keep a copy, after all.
In the midst of that, there were difficult times. A lot happened in my childhood that was not idyllic, and even though there are many things I loved about being a kid, there were hard times too. My parents fought a lot, and I had bad arguments with my sisters and got teased for being a "goody goody" and for having hairy arms (I'm Italian and Puerto Rican). I am a middle child, so I did feel that "syndrome" my older and younger sister say isn't real but definitely is. I was always quiet, and they even teased me sometimes for crying all the time. I was (and still am) very sensitive. What helped me through those parts of childhood were books. Books like Ann M. Martin's Babysitters Club series, Nancy Drew books, later The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Fantasy, contemporary, the classics. I also loved teen dramas on TV, especially One Tree Hill. That was my favorite--it premiered in 2003 when I was a junior in high school, basically the same age as the characters, and it ran until 2012, when I was just finishing up grad school, which seems pretty perfect.
What else helped me, and still helps me, is my own writing. That sounds arrogant, but writing helps me express myself. I used to keep journals and diaries, but I don't do that anymore. My characters teach me how I'm feeling, and I can use them to voice my thoughts and concerns. I can let them be sensitive for me. When I read back what I write, I'm surprised by how much of me is in my characters, even the ones who seem nothing like me. I started a series when I was 11, and I've been writing it since, changing it and improving it as the years go by. I've added characters and changed plot lines, I've written books from the children of my original characters' points of view and now contemplate writing about their children. My sister said my made-up town is my second home, and she's right. The fact that my heart swelled when she said that proves it even further. It's strange how much influence the various media have on our lives but also how much impact our own creations can have on our lives.
Now, I come to my review of this book that Jason Diamond wrote. It's really sad. I knew there would be hope at the end because it's a memoir, and I figured it wouldn't end with everything crashing down around Diamond, and fortunately, like the Hughes movies that shaped his childhood, Diamond's book ends with a lesson learned and optimism for the present. But the journey was tough to get through. I felt sorry for Diamond and what he experienced growing up. When he acts like a jerk or talks about his depression, I understand because of course what he went through would shape who he became. There were times I cringed at some of his words and actions, partially because they reminded me of stories my ex-boyfriend told me about his life, and he's an ex for a reason, but also because of my own morality. However, I always understood where Diamond was coming from and what led him to act the way he did and treat people the way he did.
I like this book because I like Diamond's voice. He's funny, he writes well, and he's not self-deprecating, exactly, but he definitely knows where he went wrong and when things happened through no fault of his own. I enjoyed the crafted version of his life he tells. The order in which he presents information works really well. I also enjoy the way he incorporates biographical information about John Hughes, the director whose movies shaped his childhood and gave him hope, with autobiographical information. It makes the book flow and gives it more impact and interest.
Overall, this book works for me even though I can't identify with most of what Diamond experienced or with the life he lived and does live because I can identify with the power pop culture has to shape our experiences. I can identify with your hometown being more than just a place you live but becoming a character in your own life (I was born in the town I still live in, and I love it--I even have an Instagram page dedicated to my town, for which I take photos of restaurants, landscape, historic buildings, etc). I can identify with Diamond's love for writing and need to write. Like Diamond, I've worked and worked on a project for years that I've had such high hopes for but that I've eventually had to accept might not be the great writing I thought it was or hoped it could become. But giving up on a project, accepting that it's not going to be published and praised, doesn't mean giving up on yourself, your writing, your dreams. It means being realistic, freeing yourself, so you can have hope for something attainable. And it wasn't a waste of time either because without those years of writing, editing, revising, deleting, tossing, you wouldn't be able to write the things that do get published and make an impact.
I recommend this book to Hughes fans, memoir fans, and people who love books that incorporate pop culture into stories of everyday life.
*Side note: My sister bought me this book because we enjoyed reading A Week in Paris together (a Dollar Store find that she loved and bought a copy of for me), and she wanted us to read another book at the same time. I came home from work last month and saw two copies of this book on the landing. My dad buys and sells used books, so I thought they were his, that he had bought them and was going to sell them. I got mad at him because, of course, the title caught my eye, and I wanted a copy. Then, I entered the living room and saw my older sister sitting on the couch. She came up from Florida for a surprise visit. I screamed and hugged her. Then, she told me the Hughes books were for us to read together, so I got to keep a copy, after all.
January 4, 2017
Ugh. What a whiner. I expected more John Hughes, less Jason Diamond. While I appreciate that he incorporated his research on Hughes into the story, this is in effect, an autobiography that references John Hughes.
December 19, 2016
The author of this memoir once traveled to a tiny Pennsylvania town where he stayed at a rather crusty mom-and-pop-hotel – where the roof caved in during a storm as he slept – all in the name of tracking down the former actor who played 80s uber-hottie Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles.
That level of detail about 80s pop-culture obsession, and the author’s honesty about his obsession with interviewing teen-movie auteur John Hughes – and desire to “make it” as a successful author – were what made me really like this book. And while it’s hard to say the word “enjoy,” I turned the pages quickly and was engrossed in the sad, dark tales of his abuse-ridden childhood in suburban Chicago, (the same suburban landscape where Hughes filmed and based most of his happily-ever-after movies).
And on top of that, just like this writer, I had my own obsession with Hughes – and even greater obsession with “making it” as a writer-- throughout most of my teen and young-adult years.
So, in many ways, I loved this book and related to it, even (or especially) as I cringed. I nodded appreciatively at several of his darkly funny, self-deprecating lines.
But it also bothered me that the writer seemed to skip entirely over large questions that begged answering. What led him to eventually move out of his teacher’s house? How did he get to college? He does at least say the word “college” once, leading the reader to think he did go --which is an important feat, when you’re a more or less homeless teen living in other peoples’ basements.
Most importantly, there’s too much repetition about running into old jocks and frenemies. And after so much toiling away and feeling insecure about his writerly status – not to mention the shakiness of his actual livelihood – he abruptly cuts to “writing for a national magazine,” without ever giving us the glory of what it felt to finally land such a gig. It’s the same thing about finding a spouse; he goes from being hermetic, living in an almost-literal hole-in-the-wall in NYC, to suddenly being happily married.
Overall, I appreciated the heartfelt sincerity he shared about his struggles, even if the end felt less than redeeming.
That level of detail about 80s pop-culture obsession, and the author’s honesty about his obsession with interviewing teen-movie auteur John Hughes – and desire to “make it” as a successful author – were what made me really like this book. And while it’s hard to say the word “enjoy,” I turned the pages quickly and was engrossed in the sad, dark tales of his abuse-ridden childhood in suburban Chicago, (the same suburban landscape where Hughes filmed and based most of his happily-ever-after movies).
And on top of that, just like this writer, I had my own obsession with Hughes – and even greater obsession with “making it” as a writer-- throughout most of my teen and young-adult years.
So, in many ways, I loved this book and related to it, even (or especially) as I cringed. I nodded appreciatively at several of his darkly funny, self-deprecating lines.
But it also bothered me that the writer seemed to skip entirely over large questions that begged answering. What led him to eventually move out of his teacher’s house? How did he get to college? He does at least say the word “college” once, leading the reader to think he did go --which is an important feat, when you’re a more or less homeless teen living in other peoples’ basements.
Most importantly, there’s too much repetition about running into old jocks and frenemies. And after so much toiling away and feeling insecure about his writerly status – not to mention the shakiness of his actual livelihood – he abruptly cuts to “writing for a national magazine,” without ever giving us the glory of what it felt to finally land such a gig. It’s the same thing about finding a spouse; he goes from being hermetic, living in an almost-literal hole-in-the-wall in NYC, to suddenly being happily married.
Overall, I appreciated the heartfelt sincerity he shared about his struggles, even if the end felt less than redeeming.
February 10, 2017
This could have been called "Searching For Jason Diamond" as it's mostly a coming-of-age memoir about the author's own broken homelife and the many moments he self-sabotages his life until the subject of his fascination (John Hughes) dies just days before he's finally about to meet him. After all these struggles--many of them heartbreaking, some of them with a nice chunk of humor--Jason realizes that he's missed some valuable lessons and the chance to say goodbye to some important people in his life. I'm glad that my mental rooting-on of Jason pays off and he ends up happy. The book is a little bit of a tease when it comes to the John Hughes angle--a book about the director that Jason works on for years is eventually deleted from his computer. I wished to see more thoughts and stories from all that work. Still, this is a really fun book and a pleasing look at a working class writer (Jason) learning about life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2017
A book about writing a book. What begins as a quest to research and record the life of John Hughes takes on a life of its own.
Jason Diamond's unflinching account of his struggle with inner demons and becoming a functioning member of society is, at times, dreadfully depressing. His childhood was far from pleasant. The only child of a physically and emotionally abusive father and a mother, who, at best, was inconceivably neglectful, Jason spent the majority of his teen years couch surfing at the homes of friends and one kind-hearted teacher. Obviously bright and well-read, he nonetheless frittered away much of his time and talent with drugs and alcohol in an attempt to squash the pain he felt. Throughout it all, his obsessive devotion to the films of John Hughes gave him a focus.
Having grown up in Skokie, Illinois, near the site of many of Hughes most famous films, Jason wanted to feel a connection to the teens he saw on the big screen. Although his own life was nothing like those reflected in the cult classics, he chased after such a life with the notion he would write an unforgettable biography of the man whom he so admired. Of course, life rarely works out the way we envision it and he spares no expense to detail the long, slow journey from broken Illinois teen to working writer in the Big Apple.
In all honesty, I was expecting to like this much more than I actually did. But it often felt as though I was slogging through mud. The multiple instances of self-sabotage were hard to witness and his borderline disturbing obsession with the famed director was frustrating. However, I commend him for his brutal honesty and boy, did he nail the ending!
Jason Diamond's unflinching account of his struggle with inner demons and becoming a functioning member of society is, at times, dreadfully depressing. His childhood was far from pleasant. The only child of a physically and emotionally abusive father and a mother, who, at best, was inconceivably neglectful, Jason spent the majority of his teen years couch surfing at the homes of friends and one kind-hearted teacher. Obviously bright and well-read, he nonetheless frittered away much of his time and talent with drugs and alcohol in an attempt to squash the pain he felt. Throughout it all, his obsessive devotion to the films of John Hughes gave him a focus.
Having grown up in Skokie, Illinois, near the site of many of Hughes most famous films, Jason wanted to feel a connection to the teens he saw on the big screen. Although his own life was nothing like those reflected in the cult classics, he chased after such a life with the notion he would write an unforgettable biography of the man whom he so admired. Of course, life rarely works out the way we envision it and he spares no expense to detail the long, slow journey from broken Illinois teen to working writer in the Big Apple.
In all honesty, I was expecting to like this much more than I actually did. But it often felt as though I was slogging through mud. The multiple instances of self-sabotage were hard to witness and his borderline disturbing obsession with the famed director was frustrating. However, I commend him for his brutal honesty and boy, did he nail the ending!
February 7, 2017
Not what I expected.
March 4, 2017
Not at all what i hoped for, and quite boring sadly its the first book reading in 2017 that i could not bring myself to finish as i did not enjoy reading it.
February 6, 2017
Between the title and the aggressively pink cover, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this book is some kind of light, frothy confection, but it's not. Jason Diamond was once a kid with a laundry list of psychiatric diagnoses whose father beat him and mother abandoned him. Somehow he made it to adulthood, partly by imagining that he could have a life like the kids in John Hughes movies, kids like Ferris Bueller or any of the characters Molly Ringwald played. When he decided he wanted to become a writer, naturally he focused on John Hughes and decided to write a book about him.
This is not that book. Instead, this is the story of all the changes Diamond went through while trying to write that book. He's very candid about his struggles with angst and depression. As he lurches back and forth between Chicago and New York, just hoping to find someone that will care about him and give him a reason to settle down, one can't help but feel that he is his own worst enemy and that things are never really as bad as he imagines them to be. Along the way, he learns a lot about John Hughes and a lot more about himself.
Although Diamond eventually jettisoned the monstrosity of a book to which he devoted five years of his life, I can't help feeling that he did accomplish his goal. While this isn't a scholarly biography of John Hughes, he peppers the text with loads of information he picked up along the way. I went into this book thinking I knew nothing of the famous director, but by the time I was finished, I knew quite a lot. Jason Diamond did write a book about John Hughes, but he wrote an even better one about himself.
(Note: I received my copy of the book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.)
This is not that book. Instead, this is the story of all the changes Diamond went through while trying to write that book. He's very candid about his struggles with angst and depression. As he lurches back and forth between Chicago and New York, just hoping to find someone that will care about him and give him a reason to settle down, one can't help but feel that he is his own worst enemy and that things are never really as bad as he imagines them to be. Along the way, he learns a lot about John Hughes and a lot more about himself.
Although Diamond eventually jettisoned the monstrosity of a book to which he devoted five years of his life, I can't help feeling that he did accomplish his goal. While this isn't a scholarly biography of John Hughes, he peppers the text with loads of information he picked up along the way. I went into this book thinking I knew nothing of the famous director, but by the time I was finished, I knew quite a lot. Jason Diamond did write a book about John Hughes, but he wrote an even better one about himself.
(Note: I received my copy of the book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.)
March 20, 2018
I don’t mind a project that starts off with the author exploring one subject and ends up talking about himself instead. I’ve seen Sherman's March.
On page 88, someone asks the author, “Why don’t you just write a book about John Hughes?” And on page 123 he decides, “I would write the John Hughes biography that nobody else had ever attempted.”
And maybe it’s because I’d actually want to read that book that it bothered me so much he never got around to it. I don’t mind that he started with himself. Jason Diamond grew up in the Chicago that John Hughes immortalized in his movies. What’s it like when your childhood is shown back to you on a giant screen? But the version you see there doesn’t reflect the realities you face? Because Diamond’s life was hard. Someone should have reported his circumstances to Child Services. But John Hughes’ movies aren’t the perfect cookie cutter teen movie either. They show broken homes and abused kids. And Diamond does talk about this stuff. But I wanted a deeper dive where all I got was passing mentions.
About half way through the book, he still hasn’t started it. He’s moved out of Chicago and now I really have no interest in what is happening on the page. I started skimming and I know where the book is headed. To a sentence that goes, “I didn’t find John Hughes, but I found myself.”
On page 88, someone asks the author, “Why don’t you just write a book about John Hughes?” And on page 123 he decides, “I would write the John Hughes biography that nobody else had ever attempted.”
And maybe it’s because I’d actually want to read that book that it bothered me so much he never got around to it. I don’t mind that he started with himself. Jason Diamond grew up in the Chicago that John Hughes immortalized in his movies. What’s it like when your childhood is shown back to you on a giant screen? But the version you see there doesn’t reflect the realities you face? Because Diamond’s life was hard. Someone should have reported his circumstances to Child Services. But John Hughes’ movies aren’t the perfect cookie cutter teen movie either. They show broken homes and abused kids. And Diamond does talk about this stuff. But I wanted a deeper dive where all I got was passing mentions.
About half way through the book, he still hasn’t started it. He’s moved out of Chicago and now I really have no interest in what is happening on the page. I started skimming and I know where the book is headed. To a sentence that goes, “I didn’t find John Hughes, but I found myself.”
February 5, 2017
4.5
First, a warning. Don't pick this up expecting a light, nostalgic trip through Hughes' films. That's not what it is. Yes, the films are a big part of the story, but they're not THE story.
This is very much a memoir of Diamond's early years, living in the same area Hughes captured in his movies, but it is a story with a much darker undercurrent. Diamond shares the ugly side of those perfect looking suburbs that align with his experience of neglect and abuse.
It's not all darkness and despair, it's terribly funny at times as much as it's poignant and painful at others. Really, it's a memoir that effectively does what I usually look to fiction for - tells a story of trying to reconcile your current self with your former self while trying to simultaneously push yourself to be who you think you want to be.
It's a great read, especially for anyone who harbors their own ambitions of being a writer someday as it's ultimately about Diamond coming to terms with the story he was best suited to tell. In this case, his own.
First, a warning. Don't pick this up expecting a light, nostalgic trip through Hughes' films. That's not what it is. Yes, the films are a big part of the story, but they're not THE story.
This is very much a memoir of Diamond's early years, living in the same area Hughes captured in his movies, but it is a story with a much darker undercurrent. Diamond shares the ugly side of those perfect looking suburbs that align with his experience of neglect and abuse.
It's not all darkness and despair, it's terribly funny at times as much as it's poignant and painful at others. Really, it's a memoir that effectively does what I usually look to fiction for - tells a story of trying to reconcile your current self with your former self while trying to simultaneously push yourself to be who you think you want to be.
It's a great read, especially for anyone who harbors their own ambitions of being a writer someday as it's ultimately about Diamond coming to terms with the story he was best suited to tell. In this case, his own.
September 20, 2016
An impressively realized book about coming of age that heads into some incredibly dark places, had me eager to revisit a whole lot of John Hughes film, and–maybe most impressively of all–captures the gulf between the idea of creating something and the actual process of creating something.
May 13, 2017
4.5 stars. My only problem with the book is that it beleaguered at times and was a bit long. Seriously an enjoyable book if you're a fan of Hughes, or not. A serious dose of realism in this memoir I wasn't prepared for but deeply identified with.
November 1, 2016
Jason Diamond's debut memoir of growing up lost in the Midwest is sweet, sad, angry, hilarious and totally relatable. I couldn't put it down.
December 7, 2016
It's pretty impossible not to have been entertained, influenced or both by the movies of John Hughes if you fall into the Generation X world, or even if you are younger/older and don't immediately recognize the name, you are bound to recognize many of the titles from his teen films--Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Pretty in Pink to Mr. Mom, National Lampoon's Vacation and Christmas Vacation, Uncle Buck, the Home Alone series, Miracle on 34th Street, 101 Dalmatians, Planes, Trains and Automobiles... the list goes on and on. I walked into my local coffee house carrying this book and my favorite barista asked me what it was about and as I explained it was memoir of a writer who was trying to write a book about the filmmaker John Hughes, she wrinkled her (barely 21-year-old) nose and said, "I have no idea who that is!" It only took about three movie names for her to decide she loved John Hughes's movies. But, as much as I could go on and on with my fondness for Hughes and his films over the years and I start quoting good sections of them, this book is definitely not a Hughes biography--instead it's the coming-of-age story of writer/editor Jason Diamond in which his obsession with Hughes's movies and the man behind them shaped his life.
If you took time to read the Publisher's Blurb about the book, I want to object to the fact that they called this a "hilarious memoir." It has funny moments for sure but for me, Jason Diamond's story leans firmly to the poignant side rather than the funny. This guy had a pretty crappy childhood with two people who did not deserve to have children. His father was both physically and mentally abusive and although his mother did gain custody of him and stop the visits with his father, she was distant, refused to speak to him as punishment, and ended up moving away and leaving him virtually homeless and hanging out in diners all night or sleeping in friend's closets and on couches while he was in high school. Diamond used John Hughes movies as a way of escaping, relating to their suburban Chicago backdrops and tending to identify with the more quirky and misfit characters in the films. "I wanted to live in a John Hughes film. I wanted everything to turn out just right, and I wanted to feel as though no matter what, if my parents forgot my birthday or if a principal was trying to hold me back, that everything would be fine." Ultimately his English teacher gives him a place to live and helps give him a love of books, reading and writing. Later, Diamond leaves Chicago for New York, intending on becoming a writer and comes up with a plan to write a biography about Hughes, a process he spends years on that while not resulting in the book he planned, helps him sort and clarify his life and do some growing up.
Although I signed up for this tour mainly for the John Hughes angle and the humor, I found myself pulled in and often deeply touched by Diamond's story. There are enough quotes, stories, and facts about John Hughes, his films and the complicated man that he was to keep me entertained, along with firmly rooting for Diamond to stop writing what was sounding like the worst biography ever and find his way. Even when bogged down with depression and struggling to get by, Diamond preservers and there is a good message in that. A great book if you grew up in the '80s and '90s and are a fan of John Hughes work, but also just a good, touching (but with some humor) and relatable memoir overall.
You can see my review and a recipe for Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding on my Kahakai Kitchen blog post: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...
Note: A review copy of "Searching for John Hughes" was provided to me by the publisher, Harper Collins and TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you took time to read the Publisher's Blurb about the book, I want to object to the fact that they called this a "hilarious memoir." It has funny moments for sure but for me, Jason Diamond's story leans firmly to the poignant side rather than the funny. This guy had a pretty crappy childhood with two people who did not deserve to have children. His father was both physically and mentally abusive and although his mother did gain custody of him and stop the visits with his father, she was distant, refused to speak to him as punishment, and ended up moving away and leaving him virtually homeless and hanging out in diners all night or sleeping in friend's closets and on couches while he was in high school. Diamond used John Hughes movies as a way of escaping, relating to their suburban Chicago backdrops and tending to identify with the more quirky and misfit characters in the films. "I wanted to live in a John Hughes film. I wanted everything to turn out just right, and I wanted to feel as though no matter what, if my parents forgot my birthday or if a principal was trying to hold me back, that everything would be fine." Ultimately his English teacher gives him a place to live and helps give him a love of books, reading and writing. Later, Diamond leaves Chicago for New York, intending on becoming a writer and comes up with a plan to write a biography about Hughes, a process he spends years on that while not resulting in the book he planned, helps him sort and clarify his life and do some growing up.
Although I signed up for this tour mainly for the John Hughes angle and the humor, I found myself pulled in and often deeply touched by Diamond's story. There are enough quotes, stories, and facts about John Hughes, his films and the complicated man that he was to keep me entertained, along with firmly rooting for Diamond to stop writing what was sounding like the worst biography ever and find his way. Even when bogged down with depression and struggling to get by, Diamond preservers and there is a good message in that. A great book if you grew up in the '80s and '90s and are a fan of John Hughes work, but also just a good, touching (but with some humor) and relatable memoir overall.
You can see my review and a recipe for Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding on my Kahakai Kitchen blog post: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...
Note: A review copy of "Searching for John Hughes" was provided to me by the publisher, Harper Collins and TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.
December 12, 2016
Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from Watching '80s Movies by Jason Diamond is a very highly recommended coming-of-age memoir about growing up in Chicago and New York, and a poignant look at following your dreams.
After viewing his first Hughes movie, Jason Diamond was hooked. He felt as if the writer/director understood him and he knew through Hughes' oeuvre that, in the end, after all the angst and anxiety, everything would turn out okay. Growing up in Chicago, Diamond also closely knew the areas, homes, and life John Hughes portrayed as the writer and/or director for many of his classic '80's movies. Hughes movies include, in part: National Lampoon's Vacation ('83), Mr. Mom ('83), Sixteen Candles ('84), The Breakfast Club ('85), Weird Science ('85), Pretty in Pink ('86), Ferris Bueller's Day Off ('86), Some Kind of Wonderful ('87), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles ('87) She's Having a Baby ('88), Uncle Buck ('89) and the Home Alone movies ( '90, '92, '97)
In reality Diamond's life was anything but a Hughes movie. He was an abused kid from a broken home. As a teen, his mother left him in Chicago, alone and homeless, and he went through some horribly difficult trials. Through all of it, even in adulthood, Diamond could make sense of his life and the social castes in high school thanks to Hughes's movies. After high school, Diamond went to NYC where he worked various low-paying jobs, telling people that he was a writer. However, once he started claiming that he was writing the unauthorized biography of John Hughes, he devoted himself earnestly to that project for years. He may have been delusional and his methodology for writing the biography illogical, but he put his heart into it. Needless to say, no book resulted in his years of work.
This is a well-written, intelligent, heartbreaking memoir with an abundance of self-deprecating humor. Simultaneously, it is an exploration of how one man's movies influenced his life and choices. As I read, my heart went out to Diamond. I supported him, wished him well, and wanted him to succeed. Diamond proves within these pages that he is a writer. Perhaps he could have written the definitive biography of John Hughes, but what Jason Diamond truly succeeded at was showing how, while struggling through his 20's, he learned his craft, found a purpose for his life, let go of his tragic past, and grew up. I enjoyed this memoir immensely.
Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from HarperCollins.
After viewing his first Hughes movie, Jason Diamond was hooked. He felt as if the writer/director understood him and he knew through Hughes' oeuvre that, in the end, after all the angst and anxiety, everything would turn out okay. Growing up in Chicago, Diamond also closely knew the areas, homes, and life John Hughes portrayed as the writer and/or director for many of his classic '80's movies. Hughes movies include, in part: National Lampoon's Vacation ('83), Mr. Mom ('83), Sixteen Candles ('84), The Breakfast Club ('85), Weird Science ('85), Pretty in Pink ('86), Ferris Bueller's Day Off ('86), Some Kind of Wonderful ('87), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles ('87) She's Having a Baby ('88), Uncle Buck ('89) and the Home Alone movies ( '90, '92, '97)
In reality Diamond's life was anything but a Hughes movie. He was an abused kid from a broken home. As a teen, his mother left him in Chicago, alone and homeless, and he went through some horribly difficult trials. Through all of it, even in adulthood, Diamond could make sense of his life and the social castes in high school thanks to Hughes's movies. After high school, Diamond went to NYC where he worked various low-paying jobs, telling people that he was a writer. However, once he started claiming that he was writing the unauthorized biography of John Hughes, he devoted himself earnestly to that project for years. He may have been delusional and his methodology for writing the biography illogical, but he put his heart into it. Needless to say, no book resulted in his years of work.
This is a well-written, intelligent, heartbreaking memoir with an abundance of self-deprecating humor. Simultaneously, it is an exploration of how one man's movies influenced his life and choices. As I read, my heart went out to Diamond. I supported him, wished him well, and wanted him to succeed. Diamond proves within these pages that he is a writer. Perhaps he could have written the definitive biography of John Hughes, but what Jason Diamond truly succeeded at was showing how, while struggling through his 20's, he learned his craft, found a purpose for his life, let go of his tragic past, and grew up. I enjoyed this memoir immensely.
Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from HarperCollins.
March 6, 2021
I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways.
Reading through Jason Diamond's Searching for John Hughes my mantra became a bastardized version of Amy Poehler's quote on women's thoughts for each other. "Great for him, not for me." Over the course of 280 pages, Diamond brings the reader along on his meandering and often troubled life from New York City to Chicago and back and forth some more, all somehow united by the works of John Hughes. Aside from the book being a giveaway prize, I am not all that familiar with Hughes work and no where near the obsessed level Diamond presents.
Many of the blurbs or praise for this book seems focused on its bittersweetness or humor, neither of which did I find much in evidence. Instead it was a slog. Diamond as the narrator relates his experience, while at first sympathetic due to the collapse of his parents marriage and subsequent abuse. Then he falls into the malaise of the 20 something year old in New York struggling to make it!! And Diamond certainly struggles. He constantly changes apartments and employers, mostly working as a barista or other food service. His main focus for 5+ years is a John Hughes biography, that when he finally would have had the chance to pursue it professionally he decided he had finished with it. While that is great he has grown beyond his obsession, I was left, quite often, wondering what to take away from this book. Being a writer is hard? I did not need Diamond's struggle to know that. You can overcome a troubled childhood to succeed? Again, Diamond's work does not present all that compelling a case. He overcame the struggles, this book should be part proof of that. If anything it ended to soon, as his acknowledgements and coda seem to hint that finding the woman who is now his wife has helped stabilize his life significantly.
Hopefully others will find more enjoyment in this work than I did. I alternated between wanting to just read the biography he was struggling with and give up entirely.
Reading through Jason Diamond's Searching for John Hughes my mantra became a bastardized version of Amy Poehler's quote on women's thoughts for each other. "Great for him, not for me." Over the course of 280 pages, Diamond brings the reader along on his meandering and often troubled life from New York City to Chicago and back and forth some more, all somehow united by the works of John Hughes. Aside from the book being a giveaway prize, I am not all that familiar with Hughes work and no where near the obsessed level Diamond presents.
Many of the blurbs or praise for this book seems focused on its bittersweetness or humor, neither of which did I find much in evidence. Instead it was a slog. Diamond as the narrator relates his experience, while at first sympathetic due to the collapse of his parents marriage and subsequent abuse. Then he falls into the malaise of the 20 something year old in New York struggling to make it!! And Diamond certainly struggles. He constantly changes apartments and employers, mostly working as a barista or other food service. His main focus for 5+ years is a John Hughes biography, that when he finally would have had the chance to pursue it professionally he decided he had finished with it. While that is great he has grown beyond his obsession, I was left, quite often, wondering what to take away from this book. Being a writer is hard? I did not need Diamond's struggle to know that. You can overcome a troubled childhood to succeed? Again, Diamond's work does not present all that compelling a case. He overcame the struggles, this book should be part proof of that. If anything it ended to soon, as his acknowledgements and coda seem to hint that finding the woman who is now his wife has helped stabilize his life significantly.
Hopefully others will find more enjoyment in this work than I did. I alternated between wanting to just read the biography he was struggling with and give up entirely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2017
when will goodreads finally allow 1/2 star ratings? 3 1/2 stars. I enjoyed this book but I found Jason a bit frustrating in his handling of John Hughes. The thing that frustrated me most were all the different opportunities to actually delve into his subject... he could have learned about a more "real" 3- dimensional version of John Hughes but he chose to keep him as his movies and interviews, never taking that step further. In reality, it appeared to me his biography was mostly conjecture derived from the plots of the movies and then creating a persona around Hughes because of that. I very much enjoyed Jason's coming of age and it made sense to me he held this piece of the equation at arms-length giving it as much of himself as he was able to but, in the end, shielding himself from the unknown realities of his subject. I'm satisfied, in the end, he realized it was all about him (Jason) and John Hughes was merely the vehicle to discovery.
March 9, 2017
A really interesting memoir about Diamond, coming of age in the Northshore area of Chicagoland. Much like Diamond I enjoyed many of Hughes's movies and have seen many of them multiple times. Even growing up in Utah, Hughes movies shaped my vision of what american life was like. Years later I find myself living in the North Shore area of Chicago. Diamond gives an honest portrayal of his life, his broken home, his attempts to be good writer and look successful into early adulthood. He describes many sad moments and small victories, and a growing sense of self that begins to depart from the vision that Diamond had growing up on Hughes movies. I'm a fan.
August 13, 2019
Dnf around p. 130, but was sure to skim & skip about further in to see if I could pick up a thread of something interesting. Nothing stuck, & soon enough I just jumped to the end. Nothing there either. Thus the abandonment. The following reviews sum up my experience.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
i-give-up
March 18, 2017made to pg 62 and realized this isn't what I was expecting. I wanted an book that focused more on John Hughes and his movies, but this is a memoir of a guy who just really likes those movies. It was good but not what I was looking for, so maybe another time.
March 10, 2017
Meh.
Wasn't what I thought it would be - or as good as I was told it would be. Maybe somebody else will like it - it was too boring and self absorbed for me.
Wasn't what I thought it would be - or as good as I was told it would be. Maybe somebody else will like it - it was too boring and self absorbed for me.
August 18, 2017
Alternate title: Searching For a Book That Doesn't Suck
September 16, 2017
Couldn't even finish it
May 16, 2022
People of a certain age will likely understand what I mean when I say that John Hughes’s movies were a touchstone for adolescents. I know that 16 Candles is definitely problematic now – I mean hunky Jake Ryan hands over his drunken girlfriend to the Geek – but back in 1984 it spoke our language.
Jason Diamond grew up in the Chicago suburbs made famous in many of Hughes’s films (Home Alone, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful to name but a few). His memoir Searching For John Hughes traces his childhood with deeply unhappy parents who eventually divorce and then, by the time he is a teenager, all but abandon him. (Just as well: they sound awful.) He literally couch surfs his way through high school until a kind teacher offers him a more permanent place to stay.
Diamond is an outlier for most of his adolescence. He’s not smart enough or athletic enough or good-looking enough; he doesn’t fit in anywhere or have any particular talents. He does love John Hughes movies, though. Molly Ringwald is the first girl Diamond ever loves “before [he] even liked girls, when they were still “gross” to [him].”
…watching Pretty in Pink made me feel good. It made me happy…and we’re led to believe everybody will live happily ever after.
Although I was familiar with the concept, this idea that you could one day be happy and have what you wanted, it seemed so foreign. It was usually the kind of thing I’d read about in fairy tales, something about some prince or princess, people I couldn’t really relate to; they were cartoons or made up stories. But here, right before my eyes, were these kids only a few years older than me, things turning out right for them after all, and they seemed real to me. As if I could be them some day.
After high school, Diamond moves to NYC. The only thing he wants to do, the only thing he’s good at, is writing. He decides that he’s going to write the definitive biography of his idol, John Hughes. It’s not that easy, of course, and the book we eventually get is less biography and more memoir about how Diamond muddles through his 20s, making lattes or waiting tables and selling the odd music review to pay the bills. I actually lived in New York when I was in my 20s, so in some respects I could relate to Diamond’s angst, but I have to say that his recollections of this time are relentlessly grim.
Although Hughes does play a role in the book – after all, Diamond tells everyone he is writing it – this is more a book about someone who is desperately lost trying to figure it out. That’s likely a story many people can relate to. The nods to Hughes and his movies will be meaningless to people who aren’t fans — that was the reason I bought the book — but even if you don’t even know who Hughes is, it’s likely you’ll find something to relate to in Diamond’s quest to grow up and make something of his life.
Jason Diamond grew up in the Chicago suburbs made famous in many of Hughes’s films (Home Alone, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful to name but a few). His memoir Searching For John Hughes traces his childhood with deeply unhappy parents who eventually divorce and then, by the time he is a teenager, all but abandon him. (Just as well: they sound awful.) He literally couch surfs his way through high school until a kind teacher offers him a more permanent place to stay.
Diamond is an outlier for most of his adolescence. He’s not smart enough or athletic enough or good-looking enough; he doesn’t fit in anywhere or have any particular talents. He does love John Hughes movies, though. Molly Ringwald is the first girl Diamond ever loves “before [he] even liked girls, when they were still “gross” to [him].”
…watching Pretty in Pink made me feel good. It made me happy…and we’re led to believe everybody will live happily ever after.
Although I was familiar with the concept, this idea that you could one day be happy and have what you wanted, it seemed so foreign. It was usually the kind of thing I’d read about in fairy tales, something about some prince or princess, people I couldn’t really relate to; they were cartoons or made up stories. But here, right before my eyes, were these kids only a few years older than me, things turning out right for them after all, and they seemed real to me. As if I could be them some day.
After high school, Diamond moves to NYC. The only thing he wants to do, the only thing he’s good at, is writing. He decides that he’s going to write the definitive biography of his idol, John Hughes. It’s not that easy, of course, and the book we eventually get is less biography and more memoir about how Diamond muddles through his 20s, making lattes or waiting tables and selling the odd music review to pay the bills. I actually lived in New York when I was in my 20s, so in some respects I could relate to Diamond’s angst, but I have to say that his recollections of this time are relentlessly grim.
Although Hughes does play a role in the book – after all, Diamond tells everyone he is writing it – this is more a book about someone who is desperately lost trying to figure it out. That’s likely a story many people can relate to. The nods to Hughes and his movies will be meaningless to people who aren’t fans — that was the reason I bought the book — but even if you don’t even know who Hughes is, it’s likely you’ll find something to relate to in Diamond’s quest to grow up and make something of his life.
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