Bowl of Cherries (Mcsweeneys) [Hardcover]

Millard Kaufman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007 | Series: Mcsweeneys

Kicked out of Yale at age 14, Judd Breslau falls in with Phillips Chatterton, a bathrobe-wearing Egyptologist working out of a dilapidated home laboratory. There, young Valerie Chatterton quickly leads Breslau away from his research and into, in order: the attic, a Colorado equestrian ranch, a porn studio beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, and a jail cell in southern Iraq, where we find him awaiting his own execution while the war rages on in the north. Written by a 90-year-old debut novelist, ex-Marine, two-time Oscar nominee, and co-creator of Mr. Magoo, Bowl of Cherries rivals the liveliest comic novels for sheer gleeful inventiveness. This is a book of astounding breadth and sharp consequence, containing all the joy, derangement, terror, and doubt of adolescence and modern times.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Nonagenarian Kaufman-twice nominated for screenwriting Oscars in the 1950s and a cocreator of Mr. Magoo-makes his fiction debut with this irresistible comic novel, a bawdy, original coming-of-age tale. Kaufman brings bright, resourceful Judd Breslau to vivid life, giving him a striving nature that always leads to trouble. After dropping out of Yale at 14, Judd moves into the crumbling mansion of nut-job Egyptologist Phillips Chatterton, where he joins a phalanx of oddball thinkers working on a quixotic project to redesign human society. A fringe benefit is Chatterton's daughter, Valerie, over whom Judd goes ga-ga. Both Judd and Valerie end up in New York, where Judd interviews with a shady corporation seeking a revolting economic opportunity in war-torn Iraq. So it's off to the hilariously backwards Coproliabad, where Judd runs afoul of the new sheikh, who wants Valerie for his queen. In fact, Judd, awaiting execution, narrates the whole book from a fetid jail cell. Kaufman's screwball sensibility, relish for language, gleeful vulgarism and deep sympathy for his characters make this novel an unprecedented joyride. Whether it's due to his being alive for 90 years or not, Kaufman's book is shot through with worldly wit and a keen sense of the humor in human foibles. (Oct.)
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Review

“[Kaufman] is a wildly imaginative and funny writer…an ageless author who is ripe for a new audience.” —Los Angeles Times

“Equal parts Catcher in the Rye and Die Hard.” —The New Yorker

“Kaufman’s screwball sensibility, relish for language, gleeful vulgarism, and deep sympathy for his characters make this novel an unprecedented joyride.” —Publishers Weekly

“A smart, zany comedy . . . That weird incongruity between highbrow/lowbrow humor is only part of what makes Bowl of Cherries so irresistible. Kaufman's comic imagination, his ability to mix things scatological and historical, political and philosophical, reminds one of those young'uns Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller. The ridiculous slapstick in Assama is straight from Woody Allen's Don't Drink the Water, and a cameo appearance by a goofy President Bush will take you back to Dr. Strangelove. But Kaufman seems to have more heart than those '60s satirists; his precocious young hero pulls on our sympathies even as he trudges on through absurdity.” —Ron Charles, Washington Post

“Kaufman doesn't disappoint, and his narrative is infused with . . . wisdom and whimsy . . . Kaufman exudes a vitality that novelists half his age would envy.” —Baltimore Magazine

“The ninety year old’s inquisitiveness and tenacity shine brightly within the novel, in which he weaves words more impressively than a spider spins a web.” —Rocky Mountain Chronicle

“Bowl of Cherries reads like a picaresque Kurt Vonnegut farce narrated by Augie March . . . The descriptions of Judd's troubled upbringing and the world of higher education are as gorgeously blooming as his carnal adventures are funny . . . a knowing satire of the American lust for recognition at any cost.” —Baltimore City Paper

“A freewheeling comedy that careens from a Colorado horse ranch to an Iraqi prison to a porn studio underneath the Brooklyn Bridge . . . Bowl of Cherries is the work of a writer unshackled, finally able to use vocabulary and structure verboten in Hollywood.” —Rolling Stone

“When you read Bowl of Cherries, you will know that this writer is a reader . . . the modus operandi of this book is to find a way to laugh at anything . . . I haven’t had this kind of fun in a long time.” —Michael Silverblatt, KCRW Bookworm

“Make no mistake, Bowl of Cherries is crass, offensive and overblown, but its portrait of a world driven mad by greed and hucksterism, miracle cures and imperialist agendas stumbles smack into its share of worthy targets.” —Jewish Daily Forward

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: McSweeney's; First edition. edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932416838
• ISBN-13: 978-1932416831
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,114,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A slight disappointment., September 13, 2007

By 

T. rick (MKE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bowl of Cherries (Mcsweeneys) (Hardcover)

I had high hopes for this book, as I loved the book McSweeneys pushed hard this time last year, "The Children's Hospital" (Chris Adrian). They gave "Bowl of Cherries" the same sort of push at Book Expo America that "The Children's Hospital" received, even giving out thirty-odd page excerpts, which is how I first learned of the book. And if the McSeeneys folks are excited, I'm excited.

While "Bowl of Cherries" starts out strong and enjoyable, almost gleeful, at the half-way point it changes direction and really loses something. The likeable and interesting characters (our narrator, Judd, and his increasingly less believable love interest, Valerie) at the beginning of the story don't seem to grow, and the ending seems kind of false and needlessly drawn out.

That's not to say, though, that it's not a worthwhile read. Though not as prevalent through the second half, there are plenty of excellent turns of phrase and little insights and incidents throughout that'll make you smile.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars in the tradition of Voltaire, September 16, 2007

By 

Mary Carde - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bowl of Cherries (Mcsweeneys) (Hardcover)

Social satire in the grand tradition of Voltaire. Written with a vocabulary that has the precision of a surgeon's knife. A book for the cerebrating person.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like Vonnegut you will enjoy Bowl of Cherries, September 25, 2007

By 

Sean M. Mcveigh (Germantown, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bowl of Cherries (Mcsweeneys) (Hardcover)

I don't think it's any coincedence that a 90-year old reminds me of Vonnegut, but this is a terrific book that a lot of my friends are getting from me for the holidays.

Very funny, very satiric, very good.