Acres and Pains [Paperback]

Simon J. Perelman (Author), Hank Blaustein (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 1998

Perelman's hilarious testament to the joys of owning country property, as he transforms from city lazybones to country squire at the family farm, Rising Gorge. Line drawings.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perelman's wickedly funny account of his experience buying property in rural Pennsylvania was first published in 1943.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Many of the humorous episodes collected in this 1947 volume originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. In his own inimitable style, Perelman makes observations on the trials city boys face when moving to the country. The New York Times found that "Perelman's fabulous virtuosity in embroidering a theme never showed up to better advantage than in this volume." This edition is illustrated by Hank Blaustein.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Burford Books; 2 edition (November 3, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580800165
• ISBN-13: 978-1580800167
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,115,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book - it's worth its weight in gold., November 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Acres and Pains (Paperback)

As S.J. Perelman himself put it: "Before they made me, they broke the mold." One-of-a-kind, lapidary, laugh-outloud prose. Buy this book and become addicted, like the rest of us.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great author, funny, eloquent, sophisticated material, April 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Acres and Pains (Paperback)

Why do so few people know SJ Perelman's work today? Is it because of the strange way his last name is spelled and thereby eluding the casual library/bookstore searcher typing in something like: "Pearlman"? Or perhaps he has simply become overshadowed by his more famous and equally witty contemporaries, Robert Benchley and Groucho Marx. (Perelman did indeed help write a few Marx Bros. movies - and he writes hilariously about those experiences). Check out Mr. Perelman's work. Sadly, this short book is just about the only collection of his material available on the market, and that's a great pity. It's not really his finest work... but at the least, it's a start. One must let S.J. take them out for a whirl.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perelman Is Truly a Humor Writer's Writer, February 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Acres and Pains (Paperback)

I scribble the occasional humor book myself (most recently, Scratching The 'Net: Web Sites for Cats) but I can only dream of one day reaching the classy comedic heights of Mr. Perelman. He had an amazing command of language, yet wrote in a style so amazingly easy to read that it goes down like a fine wine. Acres and Pains is a decent sample of his work, telling tales of his travails in Bucks County, PA, where so many of the New York literati used to maintain country homes. His run-ins with the locals, relatives and the house itself (which he named "Rising Gorge") provide one hilarious situation after another. When it comes to 20th century humor writers, Perelman is a refined cut above.