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Griffin Dunne1 book reviewed
The Friday Afternoon Club
A Family Memoir
by Griffin Dunne
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for: Readers who want Hollywood-insider storytelling anchored in genuine literary lineage and real stakes — admirers of Joan Didion and Dominick Dunne, and readers of true-crime-adjacent memoirs who want the trial material to be substantial rather than incidental.
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- Is it worth reading?
- Yes, with one clear caveat. The book was an instant New York Times bestseller and a Best Book of the Year pick from TIME, NPR, People, Town & Country, and Air Mail, and critics praised Dunne's self-aware, honest, humorous narration for keeping the celebrity material from reading as a Rolodex. The candor about the family's darkest chapter — Dominique Dunne's murder and a trial the family experienced as a miscarriage of justice — is what the praise centers on. The caveat: readers drawn in by the rollicking Hollywood first half must be ready for genuinely painful territory in the second.
- Similar books
- Readers who connect with Dunne's blend of show-business memoir and family grief should look at Jennifer Grey's Out of the Corner and Al Pacino's Sonny Boy, both insider Hollywood memoirs with real personal stakes. Paul Newman's The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man offers the same candid, self-aware star memoir, while Carol Burnett's This Time Together leans warmer and lighter. And since Joan Didion is Dunne's aunt, her The Year of Magical Thinking is the essential companion on grief within this very family.
- Who should read this?
- It suits readers who like their Hollywood insider stories grounded in real literary lineage and real stakes — admirers of Joan Didion and Dominick Dunne will find the family dynamics alone worth the price of admission, including the estrangement and late reconciliation of brothers Dominick and John Gregory Dunne. It also works for readers of true-crime-adjacent memoirs, since the trial material is substantial rather than incidental. Readers who prefer celebrity memoirs lightly seasoned with names may find the density of famous faces more than they bargained for.
- Is this a good book club pick?
- Yes — it is genuinely discussion-worthy. The book pairs a glittering cast (Truman Capote at his parents' anniversary party, Elizabeth Montgomery as babysitter, Carrie Fisher as best friend) with serious material: the murder of Dominique Dunne, a verdict the family experienced as a miscarriage of justice, and forgiveness as a recurring theme. The tonal shift between the two parts and the question of how to tell a family tragedy honestly give clubs plenty to argue about.
- Does it cover his directing career?
- No — the scope is deliberately bounded, ending at age 34 with the birth of Dunne's first child. The memoir traces his privileged upbringing in Hollywood and Manhattan and his entry into acting, but his later directing career falls outside its pages. Readers hoping for a cradle-to-present autobiography should know that going in.
- Who narrates the audiobook?
- Griffin Dunne narrates the audiobook himself, which suits a memoir critics praised for its self-aware, honest, humorous narration — his own voice delivering material that runs from wicked humor to family tragedy. For a book this personal, author narration is a real asset.
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Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
4 content notes · who it suits
Content to know about
Best for: Adults — the memoir centers on a violent killing, a criminal trial, and an extended aftermath of family grief
Skip if you're after a purely rollicking show-business memoir — the rollicking first half gives way to harrowing trial and grief material in the second
Editorial Review
Griffin Dunne's memoir of growing up among Hollywood and Manhattan royalty — son of Dominick Dunne, nephew of Joan Didion — is anchored by the murder of his sister Dominique and the trial that followed. An instant New York Times bestseller praised as "warm and perceptive" by the NYT, it turns celebrity sparkle into a genuinely moving family reckoning.
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