Duke of Deception: Memories of My Father

Reading this book during the summer of 2020, I am amazed and somewhat ashamed (as a white person) of what it tells us about white privilege. Don't imagine for a nanosecond that a Black or Hispanic boy could have drunk, lied and cheated his way into -- and out of -- Choate and Princeton. Or that that boy's father could have gotten even a job as a mail room clerk in the kinds of high-tech high-wage places where Arthur Wolff worked. While the rascally trickster is a familiar and beloved American trope, it's only a white trope.Beyond that, beyond the outrageousness of the tale, is somewhat stuffy writing, filled with proper nouns that are meaningless to me -- names of cars, tailors, high-rent residential districts, authors etc. I read (a couple times) This Boy's Life, Tobias Wolff's memoir, and expected Geoffrey's to be more sophisticated and insightful; but alas, it is not. Geoffrey was the more damaged of the two boys, I think, b/c he bought his father's BS and lies to some extent. Toby never pretended to love his stepfather, and seemed to have a pretty good understanding of his mother, and so was freer to think, and write, his way out of that morass.

As a fan of Tobias Wolff and his work, "This Boy's Life" who writes about his boyhood struggles with his single mother, I was equally curious and impressed by brother Geoffrey Wolff writing of his boyhood struggles with his dad. It definitely gives the reader a comprehensive view of how this family survived being torn apart by divorce and loyalties. Mr. Wolff's writing is a little "high handed" but understanding his educational background and struggles to compensate for his father's shortcomings, makes the intellectual writing style understandable and appreciated.

What a terrific book! I first read it years ago when it was first published, and I recently re-read it. It is sad, amusing, revelatory, and tells you a lot about the human condition. The author's father was a man who lived by his wits--although he never had any money he was able to trick everyone into thinking he was a wealthy man. He is a loveable crook. Toward the end, the author himself (as a young man) seems to be drifting into a life of deception, and you wonder about who the duke really is. It is a marvelous book (as is his brother Tobias Wolfe's book about his take on this crazy family (A Boy's Life). Take this book with you on your summer vacation--you will love it.

This book grabbed me from page one and kept me. Having grown up with a very careful and frugal father who lived through the Depression and taught my siblings and me the necessity and advantages of saving, working and earning our keep, it was hard for me to imagine a father like Geoffrey Wolff had, who so flouted the rules and laws of society - and for many years got away with it. I mean this guy, Arthur Wolff, was like the Great Imposter and the Wizard of Oz. He knew how to work the system and lived the good life - at least part of the time. It took his older son a while to figure out what his father was, but even when he finally had, he couldn't completely hate him. There is such a see-saw of emotions and material circumstances and living conditions displayed here that, frankly, I can't understand how the author survived his childhood and became a respected writer and teacher. But he did, and I salute him. I'd read a few of his little brother's books, but this is the first book by Geoffrey Wolff I had read. I will have to look for his other books now. This is simply darn good writing. I was sorry to see the story end, and particularly sad at how it ended. Wolff's father may have lived large, but he died alone and unnoticed. And in spite of everything, Geoffrey Wolff still thinks of his dad - and misses him. Good book. - Tim Bazzett, author of SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA

Geoffrey Wolfe's father was the type who could persuade an automobile dealer whom he had just met to accept a personal check for a new car after the bank was closed, and who could launch a successful career as an aeronautical engineer without relevant education, experience, or knowledge. His sons similarly reinvented themselves, one going so far as to submit forged credentials to win acceptance in an exclusive prep school. After the parents split up, Geoffrey lived an interesting if peripatetic life with his father, while his brother Tobias stayed with his mother, suffering poverty and abusive stepfathers. Since the father had the more interesting and eccentric personality, Geoffrey's book is perhaps the more adventurous, although less well written, than his brother's, This Boy's Life: A Memoir, but both make fascinating reading.

In interesting story about the complexities of family and challenges of growing up with a parent that was a sociopath.

excellent product & service

I don't know how I initially ran into this book, but my son was assigned This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff in prep school - twice. This is a memoir by Tobias' brother, Geoffrey Wolff, of life with their father - a Jew who went to extreme measures to pass as not Jewish. The real story though is not the fathers' life, but the author's incredible insight into a father/son relationship. I bought this copy to give to my son's prep school - I thought it made, at least in excerpt, critical reading if they were going to thoughtlessly keep assigning This Boy's Life. Brilliant writing. It would be a shame for this to be the lost "twin" as it's so rare to get two angles on a life, so well fitted for adolescent dialog in school.

HISTOIRE INTERRESSANTE Un homme qui essaie de mieux comprendre son père raconte des evenements incroyable de jusq'à quel point on peut aller pour arriver à nos buts dans la vie