Customer Reviews

Dave Barry Turns 40

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One could say I was having a Midlife Crisis when I read this book- but,then, I read it when I was nine, so that would put my life span at about 18. All right, I was a downright precocious child, but it sure did give me a few more reasons to laugh at my parents. I laughed, and cried. Laughed hysterically at all the jokes (even the ones I didn't get) and cried when my mother took the book away after I asked, "What's a sex life?".

"Somebody has to be the grownups, and now it's our turn," writes Dave Barry in "Dave Barry Turns 40." Indeed, and this guide will provide some assistance as well as make you laugh. Barry provides a helpful quiz for Baby Boomers who, "defined hip. We set all kinds of world hipness records and we were sure they'd never be broken." Alas, growing older means becoming less cool, at least in the eyes of the younger generation. It also means dealing with "Your Disintegrating Body." Barry also takes a look at "Midlife (Yawn) Marriage," "Planning Your Male Midlife Crisis," "Sex After 40" and "Sports for the Over 40 Person (Or God Had a Reason For Creating the Barcalounger)", among other topics. He also provides quizzes like the "Standardized Psychological Maturity Scale," and charts like "Male Lifestyle Phases," and on a more serious note, dealing with your own aging parents. Lastly, he describes "How to Geeze," hint for men "wear Bermuda shorts, black knee socks, and wing-tipped shoes. Very amusing.

This was my first Dave Barry book, picked up for $1 on remainders at the Strand Bookstore in NYC while on my lunch hour. I was exhausted from working 2 jobs, and really needed a laugh. On the subway home that night, I started the book, and laughed so hard you'd think I was being wrung out like a washcloth.

Apparently this did not go unnoticed by other commuters. When I left the train at the end of the line, a man chased after me and stopped me to ask, "I've gotta know -- what was the name of that book you were reading?" When I showed him, he said, "I've got to get a copy -- I could *use* a laugh like that!"

This is for the times when you could really *use* a laugh like that. When you would swear that nothing could make you even smile, and you need a megadose of medicinal laughter. It was therapeutic.

The coolest thing is, unlike many others on this subject, Barry's humor is NEVER nasty, nihilistic, or misogynistic. It's wholesome, insidious, irreverent, and irresistible. The book should come with a warning: In case of asphyxia, close book and pause until you catch your breath.

I knew I had to buy the book when, while standing in the bookstore, casually picking up books and reading a few pages, I picked up this Dave Barry gem, read a few lines, and burst out laughing. He is an unusually gifted author who is able to transform the mundane everyday things that we all take for granted, and find pearls of humor in them. Dave is the kind of guy that all guys would like for a beer drinking bud. High raves for Dave Barry

This was published back in 1990 and Barry has subsequently released Dave Barry Turns 50 (2000) and no doubt will do a turning 60 novel in 2010. What Barry achieves with these releases is not so much a look at everyone turning 40, 50 etc (although there are some hilarious observations everyone doing this can relate to) but more of a look at how his generation, the baby boomers (which could be your own generation, your kids or your parents depending on how you are) coped with the realisation they no longer were the revolution changing element of society, setting the bar of what is cool but instead are looked at in the same way they looked at their parents, ie "uncool" by the next generation/s. Reflections on the reality of what his generation (and the world) turned out to be today compared to the paths they thought their lives would follow. This book is very funny, a bit dated in parts if you are comparing it to someone turning 40 today but an excellent insight into understanding your parents generation or if you are from that generation to laugh at the humour of how your generation has turned out.

Barry tackles topics such as your disintegrating body, beauty tips, coping with midlife crisis, bedroom action after 40, ageing parents, sports and a lot of other topics. Barry also gives the reader a number of hilarious exams throughout so the reader will know if they are grown up yet and determining how bad their marriage is. He also provides tips on how to geeze covering topics such as fashion, dealing with your children and grandchildren, driving and announcing your intimate medical problems.

Barry has written a substantial amount of humorous non fiction observation type books. If you love this genre also check out John O'Farrell and Wil Anderson. Barry has also written a few hilarious works of fiction (in the style of Carl Hiaasen, Bill Fitzhugh etc) the best being his masterpiece Tricky Business.

Maybe it was just that I'm very nearly at the age Dave was when he wrote this book. Maybe it's just that my son is currently the same age that his son was then. Maybe the book just "spoke" to me. Maybe it just "resonated". Maybe I'm just rambling.

But then again, maybe the book is just hysterically funny, and WAY, WAY, too true.

In any case, it's definitely a must-read.

Dave Barry's comic bona fides will take too long to list here. If you know anyone who's teetering on the brink of middle age, this book is just the ticket. In these pages are key lessons to managing the changes a young man's body goes through during middle age - the shifting hair growth, the sagging, the desire to drive a fast car, etc. But these changes have never been explored so hilariously - if nothing else, Barry reminds us not to take the aging process so seriously.

While written from a guy's perspective, Barry does offer the occasional tidbit for the woman looking at turning 35 for the fifth time. While these suggestions and observations make perfect sense to me, my female friends were not quite as impressed with Barry's male-influenced perspective.

I give this book five stars for one reason - Barry's sudden shift of tone to serious and tender when he writes about his mom's experience with life's sudden changes. This section reminds the reader that a) Dave Barry can flat-out write, and b) that turning 40 isn't that big a deal.

This book can easily be finished in a couple of days. Be careful where you read it, though, as you may explode into laughter at times not appropriate for all social occasions.

This is competent work, Barry riffing ably and amusingly on his life stage. I don't feel at all ripped off, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Greatest Hits - I think Barry is best in the column format, having the freedom to rove widely, and to occasionally go a bit surreal. It good, and occasionally laugh out loud good, but perhaps I'm a bit spoiled having read a few of his books now. He comes off better when I compare him to others rather than to himself.

There is also a surprising couple of serious pages - the only ones I've read of his - a sort of an easter egg/DVD extra.

Easily the most enjyable Barry book I have read. Coincidentally, it was my first as well.

Barry is a master at comedy, and this only proves it further.

Highly recommended!

This book is no exception. His wit never fails to keep you rolling with laughter. My friends start to get mad at me when I laugh out loud on car trips. I own almost all of his books, and this is on of his best.