Early Bird: A Memoir of Premature Retirement [Hardcover]

Rodney Rothman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2005

In this hilarious and insightful memoir twenty-five-year-old Rodney Rothman, burned out from his big-city life, decides to get a jumpstart on the golden years...four decades before his time. He retires and moves to South Florida and finds an elderly roommate, Leslie, a former piano teacher with cats. Rodney throws himself into the easy life, but soon finds that all the softball, shuffleboard, bingo, gambling cruises, canasta and tennis is, well, exhausting. After his newfound friends get over the oddity of a twenty-something retiree, he becomes one of them, though not without difficulty. He plays in a senior softball league and finds that most seventy-year-olds are far better athletes than he is. He plans a return to the stage for a reluctant ninety-two-year-old comedian. He finds himself the unwelcome muse and romantic interest of a seventy-seven-year-old femme fatale. And he becomes the last great hope of his shuffleboard team. But early retirement - the dream of so many - is not quite what he expected. "Early Bird" takes readers on a humorous, and often bittersweet, journey through the people and culture of retirement. With a deft comedic touch that evokes Bill Bryson or David Sedaris, Rodney Rothman takes you to where you're going after you get the golden watch.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What happens when an able-bodied 28-year-old decides to "retire" in a Florida senior community? It may seem like the setup for a Carl Hiaasen novel, but it's actually the project Rothman thinks up after losing his television job. Following through with his plan, Rothman comically probes Boca Raton's Century Village. He infiltrates the social hierarchy of the "pool group," eats dinner at the local early-bird specials and joins a shuffleboard club. He captures these experiences in short, humorous chapters, consistently detailing his own physical and mental failings compared to the seniors he meets. The book's laconic and self-deprecating tone brings to mind Rothman's former boss, David Letterman, but unfortunately, Rothman doesn't balance the two traits as well as Letterman. During a Thanksgiving dinner in the community, when Rothman competes with his neighbor Sylvie's son for Sylvie's attention and says, "I'm committing Grand Theft Mother, directly in front of him. I don't feel bad about it. Why should I?" his humor can feel uncomfortably callous. Much of Rothman's angst stems from his idleness, but it's hard to muster sympathy when that situation is self-imposed. This undermines what is otherwise a funny and engaging memoir of a quarter-life crisis. Agent, David McCormick. (May)
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Review

"[EARLY BIRD] is a hilarious reminder that everyone was young once...everyone except Rodney." -- Jon Stewart

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1ST edition (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743242173
• ISBN-13: 978-0743242172
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,231,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny yet touching June 12, 2005

By Eileen Rieback

Format:Hardcover

Since I live in South Florida, the mecca for East Coast senior retirees, and work in an office building directly across the street from a huge Century Village senior citizen complex, I have always wondered what it would be like to live the South Florida retirement lifestyle. Rodney Rothman, who prematurely retired at the ripe old age of 28 after losing his job as a television show writer, moved into a Boca Raton Century Village retirement condo, determined to try out retirement forty years early.

We meet Rothman's roommate, a shy retired piano teacher whose only companions are her condo-prohibited pets. We learn about his new friend Amy, a raunchy 93-year-old former stand-up comedian. We watch him play bad golf with Artie, a former heroin dealer who is uncertain about what to do with the rest of his life. Then add anecdotes about his shuffleboard, club, and pool buddies, and Rothman paints a fascinating picture of what it's like to grow old. He also throws in details about his own personal concerns, such as finding a Nice Jewish Girl, convincing his family and friends that he's not crazy for what he's doing, and deciding how and when he will reenter the work force.

Rothman did his homework, having read up on the physical, mental, and social concerns of the elderly. As he compares the differences and similarities between the lives of the young and old, he provides an interesting interpretive twist from the refreshingly witty point of view of a twenty-something. In many ways, he claims, the elderly are a lot like their teenage counterparts. They form the same cliques and have the same concerns about fitting in. Old men, who left their immature behavior behind when they married, regain it at this stage of their lives and have primarily women on their minds. Old women are still the giggly, gossipy girls they were in high school. Although I expected this book to be exaggeratedly funny a la Laurie Notaro, instead I found a lower-key, yet still hilarious, memoir that demonstrates a surprising amount of compassion for the elderly. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it as a laugh-out-loud yet moving account of the golden years, South Florida style.

Eileen Rieback

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars funny but so so May 29, 2005

By Harvey Nightingale

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book should not be taken too seriously. It is laugh out loud funny at times, but mostly it seems pretty depressing. Not so much at the author's portrayal of the seniors, but at his lack of ability to successfully get the elderly to talk about meaningful things. He claims that they do not offer him any great wisdom of life, but whenever he does find himself in moments of seriousness, such as when he finally finds out how his roommate's spouse passed away, he is too uncomfortable to pursue them further. Alas, the lack of depth he finds in seniors is not a reflection of those whom he meets, but of himself. But then again, what would you expect from a comedy writer who must constantly attempt to discover the absurd? It is a shame that Mr. Rothman did not have the courage to set aside his silliness at times; it would have given this work a whole new dimension.

31 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read April 30, 2005

By Jim M.

Format:Hardcover

EARLY BIRDS is a great read.

Rothman, an ex-Letterman head writer and writer for the late great TV series UNDECLARED decides that, after his TV show is cancelled, he will move to Florida and try retirment for a while. He moves into a retirement community as a roommate to a piano teacher with two cats and a parrot. Wackiness ensues.

The book follows Rothman's adventures learning to get up early, joining the various clubs in the village, going on gambling cruises, meeting all sorts of interesting characters (from an ex-stand up comic, a "sultry" divorcee, and an ex heroin dealer turned real estate agent), and finally, trying to find people his own age.

It is very entertaining, you won't want to put it down.