Dan Gets a Minivan: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad [Hardcover]

Dan Zevin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 22, 2012

A coming-of-middle-age tale told with warmth and wit, Dan Gets a Minivan provides the one thing every parent really needs: comic relief. Whether you’re a dude, a dad, or someone who’s married to either, fasten your seat belt and prepare to crack up.

The least hip citizen of Brooklyn, Dan Zevin has a working wife, two small children, a mother who visits each week to “help,” and an obese Labrador mutt who prefers to be driven rather than walked. How he got to this point is a bit of a blur. There was a wedding, and then there was a puppy. A home was purchased in New England. A wife was promoted and transferred to New York. A town house. A new baby boy. A new baby girl. A stay-at-home dad was born. A prescription for Xanax was filled. Gray hairs appeared; gray hairs fell out. Six years passed in six seconds. And then came the minivan.

Dan Zevin, master of “Seinfeld-ian nothingness” (Time), is trying his best to make the transition from couplehood to familyhood. Acclimating to the adult-oriented lifestyle has never been his strong suit, and this slice-of-midlife story chronicles the whole hilarious journey—from instituting date night to joining Costco; from touring Disneyland to recovering from knee surgery; from losing ambition to gaining perspective. Where it’s all heading is anyone’s guess, but, for Dan, suburbia’s calling—and his minivan has GPS.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

For those who haven’t yet sampled Zevin’s brand of comic memoir, try this: he’s Dave Barry but without the punchlines. He’s very funny, but he doesn’t just go for the jokes; his writing is more laid-back, letting the humor come from the people and situations. Zevin takes us through his transformation from cool dude—OK, he wasn’t that cool or that much of a dude—to a guy with two kids, a dog, a wife with a full-time career, and the most splendid, awe-inspiring, get-down-on-your-knees-and-worship-it minivan ever. It’s a book about a regular guy taking his first tentative, sometimes scary steps toward being a fully formed adult, and it is always funny and sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious. Misadventures include Zevin’s courtroom battle to get a bogus ticket thrown out; his being hired, inexplicably, to deliver a commencement address at a nearby college; and his and his wife’s borderline-frantic search for a new nanny. Highly recommended to fans of Barry, Roy Blount, and Bill Geist. --David Pitt

Review

“This is the funniest book about parenting I've read in a long, long time. Dan Zevin is a major talent. I want to kill him." —Dave Barry

“Dave Barry has made a career of writing about Dave Barry. P.J. O'Rourke writes about P.J. O'Rourke. And David Sedaris writes about David Sedaris and the strange Sedaris clan into which he was born. You could throw Zevin in with any of them and he would hold his own. He might even float to the top.” (USA Today)

“Dan Zevin yanks the car seats and the sippy cups out of that minivan and sticks a blow Hemi dragster engine back there—I mean in his prose style. In his lifestyle it's, um . . . a different matter.” —P.J. O’Rourke

"It’s a book about a regular guy taking his first tentative, sometimes scary steps toward being a fully formed adult, and it is always funny and sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious.... Highly recommended to fans of Barry, Roy Blount, and Bill Geist." —Booklist

"Zevin is a poster boy for egalitarian — even feminist — fatherhood. But at the same time, he presents himself as a loving goof-off: a guy who’s picked the most enjoyable option — parenting — over working a high-powered, full-time job…With nods to Woody Allen and Larry David, Zevin has forged a persona of half-dorky (yet all-devoted) Jewish dad that’s endearing.” (Forward)

"Zevin, in the grand tradition of humorists, has made the most of his failures...What elevates his work above mere irreverence is the quality of insight he brings to relatively familiar terrain." (Boston Globe)

“Zevin is one hilarious house-husband—like Seinfeld for the stay-at-home-dad set. Raise a sippy cup and cheer him on.” (People)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1st Edition, 1st Printing edition (May 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 145160646X
• ISBN-13: 978-1451606461
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dan Zevin's latest book is Dan Gets a Minivan: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad (Scribner). A finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, Dan has followed his readers through each phase of life, from post-college coping (Entry-Level Life) to tying the knot (The Nearly-wed Handbook) to developing a disturbing new interest in lawn care and wine tastings (The Day I Turned Uncool: Confessions of a Reluctant Grownup).

Dan has been a comic correspondent for National Public Radio's WBUR, the humor columnist for Boston Magazine and the Boston Phoenix, and a contributor to national publications including Rolling Stone, Details, The NewYorker.com, Real Simple, and Parents. His last two books, Dan Gets a Minivan and The Day I Turned Uncool, have been optioned by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions,

Dan lives with his wife, kids, and pet rabbit in the suburbs of New York, where he has become an active member of his local Costco.

Visit his personal site, at danzevin.com, or his Facebook fan page, at facebook.com/pages/Dan-Zevin/160838183983243

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, wistful, kind of perfect June 1, 2012

By uke strummer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a few years younger than the author, no kids yet, one energetic dog. Just bought a '97 Accord instead of a minivan after not owning a car since 2006. A lot of my friends have recently had kids, though, and I've been feeling a little unhinged by the whole enterprise--does this mean we're all grown up?

Imagine my relief to find Mr. Zevin's book, which I felt like I could not put down after opening it. It's my new manual for how to relate to my friends who have kids. But what's great, too, is that I don't have to have kids to relate to the author, because he is so funny, so disarming, and really insightful about what it's like to go through some changes in life without a blueprint attached. Apparently it's easier to go through these changes while sitting in a Captain's Chair, the official name for the driver's seat in a minivan. Love it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny with more than a bit of nostalgia! June 24, 2012

By D_shrink VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A humorous account of life the way it was and how the author would have liked it to be, but funny in that the author seems to appreciate his life for what it actually is.

To me the funniest chapter was chapter 4 entitled BIG NOSE ON CAMPUS, in which he is hired to give the commencement speech at a small Catholic College. He is certain they made a mistake due to his religious affiliation. But he wants the speaking fee, so tries to put the college dean, Sister Kathleen, at ease by repeatedly mentioning his wife's name, MEGAN, who is neither Catholic nor Irish, but her name would indicate she might be and he feels that the mere mention of her name will help him in getting the speaking gig. The whole chapter was really funny in his description of the event. This chapter was then followed by the next entitled NANNY IN A HAYSTACK, which was my second most favorite, in which he tries to hire a nanny. Any parent who has had that experience will appreciate the humor and pathos of such an endeavor.

The entire book is written as separate vignettes of life's various experiences told in a humorous self-deprecating manner, but still drifting back to the idea that the author wouldn't have traded it for any other way.

It is a lighthearted summer read that can be read on several level of enjoyment and understanding of life's various journeys.

Just plain fun!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius June 12, 2012

By Fightin' Poet

Format:Hardcover

I think this book is a work of genius. I purchased it last week and read it all in two sittings. I can't count the number of times I put it down because I was laughing too hard to concentrate on the words. But it's not a set of one-liners or one-off jokes. Rather, it is a series of autobiographical comic sketches about the author and his struggles to be a good father, and at the same time a responsible citizen, husband and son. What emerges is a nuanced but hilarious portrait of modern real life, especially the real life of a suburban stay-at-home dad. I think any father would love this book. And if he actually knows the names and birthdates of his children, so much the better.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, touching June 8, 2012

By Donald L. Berman

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Laugh out loud funny and consistently readable from start to finish. How often do you begin reading a memoir and it loses steam halfway through? This refreshing collection of essays on juggling a career, fatherhood, working spouse, and shifting family relations joyfully cruises to the last page. And you might be tempted to start it again. Zevin tells it like he sees it. Anyone who is a new parent, knows a new parent, or has a parent will like that.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't judge a book by the cover June 21, 2012

By Christie g

Format:Hardcover

As a stay at home mom I wasn't sure I would be able to relate to the male perspective of a stay at home dad. Was I proven wrong page after page! Dan presents the often times tedious nature of what the primary caretaker is faced with and he does it with honesty and wittiness. I didn't want it to end! An absolutely hilarious book. Thank you!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dan nails fatherhood, and life in suburbia. June 21, 2012

By Kenny

Format:Hardcover

The easiest thing to say about "Dan Gets a Minivan - Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad" is that it's funny. Because it is. Relentlessly so.
But, just as importantly, it is intelligent, sensitive and amazingly perceptive. A parent who has had their lives in any way transformed after creating little haywire facsimiles of themselves will not help but recognize their own journey at some point in this book.
Where most parent-humorists (especially men) clamber to portray themselves as incapable klutzes; Dan demonstrates a stay-at-home dad can be as hysterical and smart as he is competent.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, irreverent and totally awesome July 19, 2012

By surfergirl

Format:Hardcover

When life is on fast-forward from singledom to coupledom to parentdom with a crash course in survivaldom, you have to roll with the punches. In Dan Zevin's case, he rolls his way into the ultimate "collapsible-seating, DVD-playing, GPS-touting, satellite radio-jamming" driving machine. And life as he knows it is about to go from driveway to highway.

"When life deals you a minivan, you might as well enjoy the ride."

Chock full of laugh out loud moments and completely irreverent humor, this social commentary of a life/dog/children/job juggling dad will have you in stitches. As if growing up isn't bad enough, growing up while being a responsible adult is a whole different ball game. Zevin's hilarious account of life after marriage and children won't let you go once you turn the first page. Not only does he tackle the inevitable poop in the bathtub (soup ladle solution, who knew?), he doesn't shy away from the Statistical Analysis of Child-Rearing versus Sh!t-Giving (diagrammed) or filling out a Lower Extremity Rehabilitation Journal while on Percocet (journaled). Zevin lays it all out in pure, unadulterated comedy that is so close to the truth, it hurts. Laughing, that is.

On this haphazard journey, Dan figures out how to be the semi-cool rocker dad and how to play a mean game of tennis, all the while being a blogger, writer, husband, speaker, father, son, chauffeur, dog-walker and soul-mate. It's all in a day's ride in the "maxivan." DAN GETS A MINIVAN is a definite must-read for your summer reading list, and one that will be enjoyed by dudes, chicks, couples, parents and parents-to-be, future suburbanites, and especially, all the aloof hipster dads at the playground.

Read more of this review and my interview with the author, Dan Zevin, in TheLoopNY.