Cool fall author: Alan Cumming
Not My Father's Son: A Memoir
By Alan Cumming
Dey St., non-fiction
The book
What it's about: A personal account of unraveling two family secrets: that of his father, a Scottish forester who was physically and emotional abusive and unrepentant till his death in 2010, and that of his maternal grandfather, a decorated World War II veteran who died mysteriously in a shooting in Malaysia in 1951.
Why it's cool: Provides a different side of Cumming, who's known for his comedy, singing and acting in roles that range from the emcee in the Broadway musical Cabaret to Eli Gold, the scheming, uptight political operative in CBS' The Good Wife.
A taste: "I had lost a father but found a grandfather. One of them had never sought the truth and lived a life based on a lie; the other's truth was hidden from us because society deemed it unsuitable."
On sale: Oct. 7
The author
Quick bio: Cumming, 49, a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, has appeared on Broadway, in movies (Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and The Anniversary Party, which he co-directed) and on TV (Sex and the City, Web Therapy and as host of PBS' Masterpiece Mystery). Divorced from actress Hilary Lyon, he lives in New York with his husband, Grant Shaffer, a graphic artist.
Why he wrote the book: "I just had to. I had to expunge the stories (about his father and grandfather) in some way. I just couldn't stop thinking and talking about it. And I thought it may be helpful to others who have been in similar situations."
Fun fact:Time magazine crowned Cumming "one of the most fun people in show business," to which he says, "I agree. But it's not a competition."
About his photo on his book cover: "I like that it suggests I'm thinking 'What's wrong? Something's not right.' That's in tune with the book."
Favorite memoir he has read:Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood, who wrote Goodbye to Berlin, the 1939 novel that inspired Cabaret. "It's like peeling an onion — so many layers."
What's next for Eli Gold on The Good Wife: "He wants Alicia Florrick (the governor's wife, played by Julianna Margolies) to run for state's attorney, and if she does, I'm sure he can't keep his hands out of her campaign."
His next book: A collection of photographs he has taken, "along with the stories that go with them."
Fall reading: "I want to finally read Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Neil is a friend, and his fantasy is a bit like my non-fiction. It starts out in a world that's normal then goes elsewhere."