Family Man [Paperback]

Calvin Trillin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1999

Calvin Trillin begins his wise and charming ruminations on family by stating the sum total of his child-rearing advice: "Try to get one that doesn't spit up. Otherwise, you're on your own." Suspicious of any child-rearing theories beyond "Your children are either the center of your life or they're not," Trillin has clearly reveled in the role of family man. Acknowledging the special perils to the privacy of people living with a writer who occasionally remarks, "I hope you're not under the impression that what you just said was off the record," Trillin deals with the subject of family in a way that is loving, honest, and wildly funny.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Handing out advice on family matters is not my game," begins Calvin Trillin in Family Man, and indeed, those in search of practical child-rearing tips would be advised to look elsewhere. What Trillin does have to offer is a series of witty meditations on the art--not the science--of parenthood. Nobody else has written quite so accurately about the debunking genius of small children. And while Trillin conveys the joys and sorrows of family life with his customary drollness, what really gets him going is the high anxiety of being in loco parentis. When, for example, a study reveals that most of our synapses are formed during infancy, the author is nonplused by the scientific breakthrough. He's quick, though, to latch on to this new opportunity for self-flagellation:

This business about the synapses struck me as the sort of finding that could have been designed to add to the concerns of those older parents who already spend some uncomfortable time, while trying to fall asleep at night, thinking of ways that they may have shortchanged their children. Here is an entirely new subject, pushing aside old chestnuts like whether that really was the right summer camp or whether the purchase of the guitar might have been to blame for everything that followed. Now, as they toss and turn, they can envision their children trying to compete in a global economy with reduced brainpower.

This beleaguered dad does, it should be said, touch upon a handful of more general topics, including the wacky world of contemporary wedding ceremonies. At the heart of his book, though, is the alternately exasperating and endearing pageant of family life, chez Trillin, which features not only the author's smart-aleck daughters but also his wife and perennial straight (wo)man, Alice. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

For readers whose nerves are being shattered by all the feuds that are occurring in the human zoo in which we live and are willing to admit frankly that they'd like a little escapist reading, this book should be welcome. Those familiar with Trillin's (Messages from My Father, LJ 5/1/96) columns for Time and his poems in the Nation needn't be told that he can write with ease and spirit upon almost any subject. In this collection of 16 essays, he demonstrates once again that he thoroughly understands the difficult technique of clever light writing and that he can make a silk purse out of such routine merchandise as zipping and unzipping a snowsuit, changing diapers, celebrating Halloween, and eating Thanksgiving dinner?the plain things and everyday events of domestic life. Witty, spontaneously humorous at times, deliciously whimsical at others, and always kindly, Trillin's talk-fest offers a wonderful distraction. Recommended.?A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (June 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374525838
• ISBN-13: 978-0374525835
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #921,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and relevant to a mom with two NY teenagers, August 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Man (Paperback)

This a light and wonderful read - especially if you have experienced any significant part of the world about which Trillin writes - be it the mysteries, nuances, surprises and joys of being a connected parent - or the delightful pleasures of real New York City neighborhood living - and, even if you have missed those things, Trillin wings you lightly along on his entertaining personal flight - great literature, no - highly enjoyable, yes.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, heartwarming, human tale of urban family life., July 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Man (Hardcover)

This book is a must for New Yorkers past and present to smell and taste again the reasons you can't ever really leave the big apple. Non- New Yorkers might better understand the sometimes inexplicable loyalty that some of us have to life in the big city. Calvin Trillin is the warm and self-effacing eccentric at the head of this charming urban family group and his folksy style will win your heart in no time. When asked for advice on parenting, his best wisdom is "Try to get one that doesn't spit up." He is the father who gets hooked on every family ritual that they invent or stumble upon and carries the torch for them long after the kids have grown up and left home. He also becomes the repository for the unique Trillin family language and it's colorful history. You'll want to sign up for the next Trillin family gathering and you'll never want to go home. This is a truly lovely read and the perfect antidote to Kenneth Starr and other icons of cynicism! .

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable humor; relaxing entertainmnet, June 29, 1999

By 

Nicholas Good (Topeka, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Man (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book at lot. Lots of amusing stories about family life, New York life, ex-Midwestern life.

Living 60 miles from Trillum's Kansas City home town related to some of his Midwest episodes. The "Chigger" secton was very funny, even though I was scratching my own bites while reading.

I especially liked the stories about the Halloween parades, and taking the kid to the local community musical productions.

Lots of funny lines; I kept reading aloud from it to my wife -- she ended up reading the book to.