Before ‘Annie Hall,’ there was a troubled sibling named Randy Hall
“Brother & Sister” is Diane Keaton’s second memoir following 2011’s “Then Again.” Both books focus heavily on Ms. Keaton’s mother’s journal entries. “Then Again” was based on Ms. Keaton’s relationship with her mother as told by her mother’s 85 journals the actress referenced while writing her book. “Brother & Sister” fits a very similar format, but this time the reader also goes on a journey through Hall family photo albums and the captions Dorothy Hall wrote under each photo.
The Hall family consisted of parents Jack and Dorothy and four children: Diane, Randy, Dorrie and Robin. They grew up in Santa Ana, Calif., with Jack working as a real estate broker and civil engineer. Dorothy was a homemaker and amateur photographer as well as a former Mrs. Los Angeles in the homemaker category. Dorrie went on to be a wife and mother and Robin went on to become a nurse.
As previously noted, the book is a journey through Dorothy Hall’s photo albums with her captions and her journals. These captions revolve around son Randy who is the most troubled of the four Hall children. Diane’s interpretations of these memories is what fuels the narrative of “Brother & Sister.” The fact Ms. Keaton has trouble remembering some of the memories is quite telling. At times Dorothy Hall would write the captions in the voice of her children. An example would be 3-year-old Randy saying: “This is the little frog I’m holding at the Arroyo Seco stream in Pasadena.” “Here I am digging for worms on our way to Green Lakes.” Ms. Keaton writes, “I don’t remember a little frog at Arroyo. I don’t remember Green Lake. Is there a Green Lake in Southern California?” Trying to remember is a common theme for Ms. Keaton throughout the book.
Because “Brother & Sister” mainly focuses on Randy Hall and his life, we do get to learn about the weekly ritual he developed with Diane while he was staying at the Belmont Village Senior Living Facility of going to Foster’s Freeze to get a soft-serve vanilla cone with nuts on top. We learn a great deal about how Randy’s alcoholism and depression affected those around him, as well as himself.
At one point, Randy Hall needed a liver transplant due to his excessive drinking. However, the drinking never stopped and was compounded by his diagnosis of dementia. Randy’s relationship with their parents is a focal point of his story, but is also a way for Ms. Keaton to try to understand her brother. Diane Keaton remembers in the book how their father would constantly criticize Randy by saying, “Pick up your junk.” “What are you doing? That’s not the way to mow the lawn. At least finish the damn job, son!!!” She also recalls the moments of their father trying to help Randy with his homework: “For God’s sake, think it through.” “I just told you four times six is twenty-four.
Got it? Add six four times and memorize the damn thing.”
Needless to say, Randy Hall’s memories of his father throughout “Brother & Sister” aren’t pleasant. In fact, according to a phone call Randy had with Diane he doesn’t have a pleasant memory of his father. “I was afraid of him the whole time. He would pounce on me for the weirdest reasons. Like with math. He didn’t have patience for my awkwardness.” This conversation helped Ms. Keaton understand how different their relationships were with their father. As the eldest daughter, she never had to live up to any expectations her father set for her to be like him. As the only son, Randy was expected to follow in their precision driven, money motivated father’s footsteps.
When it came to the relationships the two of them had with their mother, it is evident that Diane and her sisters had a sense of resentment that Dorothy Hall would cater to Randy so much. Dorothy was such a positive and optimistic woman when it came to her son, so anytime something happened, she instantly sounded the alarm. When he was doing well in school or his poetry was being recognized, Dorothy Hall would say: “Randy’s work will be accepted by many publications.” “I’m on the right track with Randy. His poems are getting acclaimed.” “Randy is making headway with his poetry — and even more will be coming.” Randy Hall remembers his mother with more fondness than his father, “Mom was a sweetheart. She’d just gotten in with a weird guy. She did have her moods, though. People bored Mom.”
“Brother & Sister” is a book about reflection, love, family and understanding. As the youngest of three siblings who lost his older sister who was 8½ years older, I can personally relate to some of the elements in this book. My sister was 27 when she died, and I was 18 going on 19. I knew my sister, but in some ways, I didn’t know her. I knew the moments we shared and the love we shared, but she had another life that didn’t include me. “Brother & Sister” reopened those photo albums for me to revisit my memories with my sister, and it may do the same for other readers.