Macaulay Culkin’s new novel titled Junior

The out-of-work, former Home Alone star tries his hand at writing. But critics are already panning Junior.

BY A CORRESPONDENT

11 March 2006
MUMBAI, INDIA

Macaulay Culkin's semi-autobiographical, stream of consciousness, Junior, is ready for release this month. He recently signed a deal with Miramax. In the past few years, no acting roles have come the way of Macaulay Culkin a successful child star. Says Culkin in an interview with Time magazine “I don’t know what people want from me. I’m the most out-of-work actor I know." Culkin describes the book as one that focuses on his troubled relationship with his father.

When asked about parts of the book being odd and if people would think he's crazy, he says "I've led a very isolated life since I was six years old. It's kind of been me and my mind. I hope people don't think I'm crazy because I'm not. I might be feeding into it."

The response to Junior has not been very good with critics already panning the book. One review says, "The book is essentially comprised of a couple hundred pages of semi-coherent diary entries coupled with a handful of scrawled drawings. The story, insofar as one exists, concerns a child star named Monkey-Monkey Boy and a guy, Junior, with no end of father issues.” 

Says another more complimentary review, "a dizzying kaleidoscope of words and images. Culkin takes readers on a twisted tour of the darkest corners of his fertile imagination. Part memoir, part rant, part comedic tour de force, Junior is full of the hard-won wisdom of Culkin's quest to come to terms with the awesome pressures of childhood mega-stardom and family dysfunction." Hard-won wisdom from a 26-year old? Hardly!