Andie’s Book Club: ‘The Friday Afternoon Club’ by Griffin Dunne
Dunne has a way of delivering gut punches and belly laughs in the same breath. I laughed and cried right along with him.
There’s something about Hollywood. It is a town brimming with stories - some sweet, though most salacious - but few of the stories you may have heard are as heartbreakingly honest, terrifyingly twisted, and fanatically funny as the Dunne family. Griffin is the oldest of the Dunne children, and his family memoir will leave you wondering how one family could live a thousand lives.
Who Is Griffin Dunne?
Griffin Dunne is best known as an actor ('After Hours', 'An American Werewolf in London', 'This Is Us', 'Billions') and director. His Tinseltown upbringing and eccentric family put him front and center to witness some of the most outrageous events in Hollywood - most of which happened to his own family.
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From his father Dominick Dunne, to the famed writer and socialite turned crime reporter, and his aunt Joan Didion, and all the parties, relationships, and heartbreaks in between, this name-dropping memoir is more than a who’s who in Hollywood (Robin Williams, Carrie Fisher, Sean Connery, and more!). It is his coming-of-age story layered with deep emotional complexity. Dunne has a way of delivering gut punches and belly laughs in the same breath.
The Friday Afternoon Club Audiobook
I love when a memoir is narrated by the author, so I opted for the audio version of 'The Friday Afternoon Club' and I found myself having a hard time getting on with my own life. Griffin Dunne's family stories will blow your mind.
I started this journey with a vague familiarity of the Dunne Family. Because of the way Dunne easily tells the story, I was more than engrossed while listening and quickly found myself a fly on the wall of some of Hollywood’s biggest and most glamorous parties. I wept when Griffin’s little sister Dominique was murdered. I plotted revenge every time the judge in her killer’s trial turned his nose up at their (our) grieving family. I laughed out loud when relatives rehashed stories of kidnapping Robin Williams.
Someone wisely told Griffin Dunne he had a story to tell, but I do not think they had any idea how riveting this story would be. Thank you, Griffin Dunne, for your candor. I will recommend 'The Friday Afternoon Club' to everyone I know and already plan to read it again.
