Customer Reviews

Gutted: Down to the Studs in My House, My Marriage, My Life

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I was in the book store looking for helpful advice on my own two phase home construction project when I saw this book. I was looking for more than just Bob Villa-style advice so I picked it up hoping for some insight on the human side of home improvement. It was fantastic - helpful in many ways. I'm surprised it didn't get more attention because it is such a good book!!! This is the perfect gift for anyone who is doing construction on their home because it will make them feel less alone in all of the the crazy challenges that will undoubtably confront them. Get this book! You will not be disappointed.

When humorist Lawrence LaRose, author of "The Code", fell in love and bought a decrepit house in Sag Harbor, then lost his job - he was to embark on a renovation journey which was to challenge his new marriage, his bank account, and his own skills set. So what can an unemployed new homeowner with a broken-down house do? Why, bluff your way into a construction crew to learn basic renovation techniques, of course! Gutted: Down To The Studs In My House, My Marriage, My Entire Life is hilarious and eye-opening all at once, from its advice to singles to its encounters with subcontractor mysteries.

I'm a subscriber to This Old House magazine, and this was one of the books they recommended to their readers. I purchased this book on the heels of finishing my own remodeling project and figured I would enjoy hearing someone else's experience.

The author's writing and first person perspective made this book very enjoyable. I spent more time laughing and telling people about this book than actually reading it. I'm not sure if it was my own personal experience or just his writing skills, but I can say I enjoyed this book and hope he writes more in the future.

Back cover says this guy is as funny as Dave Barry. I read the book and there were about four times when the corners of my mouth briefly rose. But four small twinkles in 400 pages is not enough.

So he's not funny as advertised.

Also the covers seem to sugegst this is a book about a house remodeling. Not quite. The book spends surprisingly little time or detail on the house renovation. We learn very little about the house other than they paid $250K for it and it was in lousy shape. Most of the book is about very tangential things. So anybody looking for an informative book about remodeling will be disappointed.

So he's not funny. And not helpful re remodeling. Worse yet, he's quite stupid.

The book is mostly whining about subcontractors that show up erratically or do shoddy work. What a surprise. Ironically, he gets a job as a remodeler, having close to zero experience. How can somebody be so clueless as to whine about how HIS subcontractors are shoddy, when he's one of those himself?

Then he complains about how long it's taking to remodel the house. But he's taken on a full-time job remodeling other people's houses. One might think things would go faster and better and cheaper at HIS house if he had applied himself to reemodeling IT.

Then there's the cluelessness about money and class. He has a lowly house, and he spends his time remodeling $9 million dollar mansions, yet I don't recall even a sentence comparing, contrasting the two extremes.
This guy is just clueless.