Acting Stupid [Mass Market Paperback]

Kevin Sheehan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

Jimmy Dean has problems, aside from explaining to everyone that he is not related to the dead rebel. He's divorced. He drinks and smokes too much. The insane uncle left in his care has been arrested. With very little guidance from his friends and business partners, Fred and Declan, he stumbles through the rebuilding of his life.

There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel. Her name is Sandra, his best friend and cousin of his ex-wife. The more he relies on her for help, the more he realizes he may be falling in love with her. Naturally, there's a catch. Her boyfriend is the size of a house and hates Jimmy. Her entire family is angry at them for remaining friends after Jimmy's divorce. Jimmy doesn't want to end up on the Jerry Springer show, so he tips the bottle even more and considers going on the road as a jazz musician just to get away from the mess he's made.

Over the next year, Jimmy will spend his time drinking shots, getting shot and being shot down by every woman he meets. It's a coming of age for thirty-year-old Jimmy, though just what age he's coming into is unclear.

"Acting Stupid" is Jimmy's journey, not to mention his mantra. A comic romp through the streets of a working class New York suburb, get ready to watch Jimmy lead the life you've never wanted and please, feel free to laugh.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kevin Sheehan lives in a diminutive area of his apartment allowed to him by his wife and two daughters in New York. Within these cramped, sometimes rowdy quarters, he has managed to write and publish numerous short stories and articles. When he isn't changing diapers or watching the New York Mets, he can be found typing away on his keyboard either writing his next opus or playing solitaire.

Acting Stupid is his first novel.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Authorhouse (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158500667X
• ISBN-13: 978-1585006670
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,171,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, April 17, 2000

By 

angela lemieux (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting Stupid (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is well worth reading, it takes us into the world of a twenty something guy trying to make sense of his life, career and as with any 20 something, his love life....with twists and turns not expected, you'll find you can't put this book down until you know how everything ends up......I highly recommend it!

5.0 out of 5 stars THE LIGHT UNDER THE BUSHEL, December 3, 2003

By 

J. squires (Bakersfield, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting Stupid (Mass Market Paperback)

As soon as word gets out about which bushel Kevin Sheehan has been hiding the light of his creative gifts under, readers and writers, galore, will be rushing there in droves. He is that good! Case in point: "Acting Stupid."

I came upon this book at time when I was in need of some mental and emotional refreshment. Nothing too heavy, mind you, but something that could engage my emotions without insulting my intellect. That's what I was looking for, anyway. Well, let me just say that Mr. Sheehan's fare hit me like a sock of Tequila at the back of the throat. The style was fresh and breezy, a little sassy -- hey, a lot sassy! And the breeze of his "breezy" has the power to bowl you over, at times, with its hurricane force. Simply put, this guy flat knows how to write! Deceptively strung together in an easy, flowing prose style, you'd swear he tossed off the first chapter before breakfast and the final chapter over a mug of beer and a stogie, just before bedtime.

But, lest you be deceived, between breakfast and that stogie, Mr. Sheehan packs a whale of a lot of living between the pages of "Acting Stupid." And, without having to run to the dictionary every twenty minutes, you're going to encounter characters -- like the protagonist, James Dean -- who will make you laugh at his antics, cringe at his occasional social blunders, and cry with him and for him -- cry because, as in the Beatles' Walrus, "he is we and we are he and we are all together." (And if those aren't the lyrics, they well should be.)

So, if you, too, find yourself hankering for a little mental and emotional nourishment, and you want something not too heavy, a little breezy, a little sassy... Ha! read "Acting Stupid." Go ahead, I dare you! Then, afterwards, join me in latching onto his next book, "Should Old Acquaintance Be Rubbed Out." A title like that proves there's still magic glowing under the bushel.

4.0 out of 5 stars JIMMY DEAN!!not the sausage guy nor the dead actor!, February 21, 2001

By 

christopher b. banks (Yonkers, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting Stupid (Mass Market Paperback)

Sheehan has the potential to be a great fiction writer. He takes time to bring life to his characters with a slow easy character development process that will open up the reader's imagination. He is an inspiration to future fiction writers........His main character Jimmy Dean, is a funny woeful person, who you will shed a tear or feel unsympathetic towards. Please read this book!!!!!!!!