My Life in Orange - Reception

Reception

My Life in Orange received generally positive reviews in book trade publications and in the media. The New Yorker critic John Lahr characterized My Life in Orange as "one of the best autobiographies of the decade". The Daily Telegraph placed the book in its "Top 20 non-fiction" list of "the year's best biographies, histories and memoirs" for 2004, and The Independent highlighted the book among its "50 Best Books for the Beach". A review in Reference & Research Book News commented that participants in the Rajneesh movement created "adults like Guest who are marked by the neglect suffered in a childhood among the completely self-absorbed". Kirkus Reviews described the book as "a rightly disturbing record of malignant child neglect by people who sought a heaven, but made a hell". My Life in Orange was highlighted among Kirkus Reviews "Best books for reading groups". In his review of the book for M2 Best Books, Peter Haswell concluded: "A thoroughly enjoyable read and a fascinating insight into the workings of a commune along with the people, their beliefs and their attitudes. Both amusing and sad. Pretty much something for everyone."

"Guest writes with a reporter's sense of economy and restraint, letting absurd, even shocking details speak for themselves."

The book received a favorable review in New Statesman, and William Leith wrote: "This is an excellent study of what happens when a charismatic leader comes into contact with a group of rudderless, dispirited people. They follow him blindly. They let him get away with anything." Montagu Curzon of The Spectator wrote that "Guest makes an astonishingly mature debut (he is 27) and has the rare ability to describe childhood as a small child lives it; accepting, helpless, curious." Lois Kendall gave the book a positive review in Cultic Studies Review, and wrote: "The book is deep, yet light and readable, both for those who have had similar life experiences and who, I am sure, will find solace in this book, and for those with no such personal experience, who will find the narrative fascinating." Publishers Weekly characterized My Life in Orange as "Honest and vivid, this is an absorbing book about survival and good intentions gone awry." Gillian Engberg of Booklist called the book a "stirring memoir", and wrote: "Guest writes with a reporter's sense of economy and restraint, letting absurd, even shocking details speak for themselves." Christopher Hart gave the book a positive review in The Sunday Times, and wrote: "Tim Guest’s extraordinary account of his childhood in the communes of Bhagwan, the notorious Indian guru, is a survivor’s tale, poignant, funny and wise."

A review in The Daily Telegraph commented that "the main failure of Guest's otherwise excellent book is the absence of character: even his mother comes across rather as a history than a personality." "My Life in Orange, though slightly patchwork in its construction, is an absorbing piece of writing, all the more compelling for begging as many questions as it answers and for the author's refusal to ask for pity," wrote Geraldine Bedell in a review of the book in The Observer. Director of the Cheltenham Festival of Literature, Christopher Cook, characterized My Life in Orange as "the most extraordinary account of his childhood and the bravest writing I've read in ages". Sudipta Datta of the Indian Express described the book as "a postcard from the past that the Osho ashram may not rave about." Datta noted though that after having been angry with his mother and Rajneesh, Guest had reconciled with his family, reclaimed his childhood and come to see Rajneesh as "a loveable rogue who got away with doing his own thing". Catherine A. Powers of The Boston Globe characterized the book as a "moving, superbly written account of growing up in the midst of ... cruel madness". Michael E. Young of The Dallas Morning News gave the book a favorable review, and wrote: "The book offers a glimpse into the thoughts of the followers, and examines the fine line between spirituality and insanity, between religion and cult." Shane Hegarty of The Irish Times characterized the book as "an intriguing and often humorous mix of straightforward 1980s nostalgia and cult delusion".