Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood [Hardcover]

Michael Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2009

A book that explores the difference between the idea of fatherhood and a man’s actual experience of it.

When he became a father, Michael Lewis found himself expected to feel things that he didn’t feel, and to do things that he couldn’t see the point of doing. At first this made him feel guilty, until he realized that all around him fathers were pretending to do one thing, to feel one way, when in fact they felt and did all sorts of things, then engaged in what amounted to an extended cover-up.

Lewis decided to keep a written record of what actually happened immediately after the birth of each of his three children. This book is that record. But it is also something else: maybe the funniest, most unsparing account of ordinary daily household life ever recorded from the point of view of the man inside. The remarkable thing about this story isn’t that Lewis is so unusual. It’s that he is so typical. The only wonder is that his wife has allowed him to publish it. 3 photos

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After the birth of his first child, bestselling writer Lewis (Moneyball) felt he was a stranger in a strange land, puzzled at the gap between what he thought he should be feeling and what he actually felt. While he expected to be overcome by joy, he often felt puzzled; expecting to feel worried over a child's illness or behavior, he often felt indifferent. Lewis attempts to capture the triumphs, failures, humor, frustration and exhilaration of being a new father during the first year of each of his three children's lives. In one especially hilarious moment, Lewis is in a hotel pool in Bermuda distantly observing his children. When some older boys start teasing his oldest daughter, the youngest daughter, three years old at the time, lets fly a string of profanities at the top of her lungs. The boys retreat and then regroup for a second attack; when they return, she lets fly another string and tells them that she has peed in the pool, causing the boys to go away. All the while, Lewis watches from afar, too embarrassed to claim this youngster as his own but also proud that she has handled herself so smartly. Although Lewis is correct that his fatherhood moments might be more interesting to him than to anyone else, his reflections capture both the unease and the excitement that fatherhood brings. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Home Game, which was adapted from a series of Slate essays and is an accordingly zippy read, is hilarious but painfully candid, one man’s uneasy reckoning with the potentially devastating consequences of parenting. It’s unsparing, but Lewis is as honest with himself as he’s been with his subjects. Grade: A-. (The Onion AV Club )

Lewis's style is funny, frank, and engaging, and he gets a lot of comic mileage telling tales at his own expense....it's refreshing to hear a dad describe so vividly the uglier aspects of the job. (Christopher Noxon - The Los Angeles Times )

It’s an engaging journal that selectively details how Dad grew up as well....Brief, clever and frank—a good gift for Father’s Day. (Kirkus Reviews )

Lewis writes memorable, insightful, yet simple and brisk sentences as easily as the rest of us breathe. (Marc Tracy - The New York Times Book Review )

Unabashedly frank, hilarious and sweetly sentimental....a somewhat daring and in many ways groundbreaking book about what it’s like to be a father in modern America....intensely honest. (Amy Scribner - BookPage )

Lewis is an insouciant raconteur who can spin out even standard dad stories (about, say, sending a kid to school dressed outlandishly) without making them sound stale. (Ann Hulbert - Slate )

He captures serious issues with a warmth that shows he's a pretty good dad after all. (Kyle Smith - People Magazine )

His reflections capture both the unease and the excitement that fatherhood brings. (Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition edition (May 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039306901X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393069013
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Fatherhood

More About the Author

Michael Lewis, the author of Boomerang, Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, Moneyball, The Blind Side, Panic, Home Game and The Big Short, among other works, lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, Tabitha Soren, and their three children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're a dad, read this book., May 18, 2009

By 

Jeffrey T. Vogel "JT" (San Diego) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood (Hardcover)

I have often said that being a father is both the best thing and the hardest thing I've ever done. This book parlays much of this ideal in a humorous way that should appeal to both new and old father's alike. The introduction had me laughing uncontrollably to which my wife asked what got my goat and so I read to her the highlights. However, as I continued to read I began to realize that women, or at least my wife, should avoid this book because it does delve into the male mindset enough to make me hide my copy for fear that my she might begin to see some of the absurdities of fatherhood. With that, every dad should read this book because it takes a very funny approach for many of the steps within early fatherhood (births, hospitals, children's minds, vasectomies, the woman who really runs the show, and so forth). As the father of three young children I keep thinking that one day I'll truly be appreciated by my wife and kids, but as Michael Lewis demonstrates, we are mere bystanders in our own lives. With this knowledge, I think the author points out with the birth of his son (Walker) that we get what we invest in our relationships and even though we are mentally and physically exhausted each day, we must find humor and strength for the fleeting time that is fatherhood.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious - worth the quick read, June 10, 2009

By 

B. Johnson "Johnson" (Hermosa Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood (Hardcover)

First of all, I'm a huge fan of Michael Lewis. So be warned that I might be a little bit biased. I've read just about everything he's written - Moneyball, The Blind Side, Liar's Poker, Next, The New New Thing, his articles in Portfolio, etc. I really enjoy his style, humor, and the way he brings the human element into the stories he tells.

This is one of the funniest books I've read. It's a short book (I read it on a cross-country flight with plenty of time to spare) but it's hilarious. I was literally laughing out loud and had tears from laughing so hard a few times. Was it as interesting as the stories about football or baseball from The Blind Side or Moneyball? Probably not. Was it as entertaining or more? Absolutely.

Some of the other reviewers are put off because Lewis has a nanny or has had a very successful career. Does that bother me? No. Others think he whines. I disagree. He's telling funny stories. If you want to read some funny stories and can deal with (or enjoy) some sarcasm and wit along the way, you'll enjoy this book. If you will be upset because he has a nanny, then don't read the book.

This book is entertaining. It's funny. It's not a how to guide for parenting. I don't think he wrote it to gain sympathy for the challenges he's faced. He obviously enjoys writing, enjoys the income it provides for him and his family, enjoys sharing this with others, and enjoys entertaining. If you want to be entertained by some stories about his family, you'll enjoy it. If you are looking for an author to relate to and sympathize with, maybe this isn't for you.

Highly recommended for the entertainment and humor.

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars EVEN FUNNIER BECAUSE IT'S TRUE, June 2, 2009

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood (Audio CD)

Since reading the first chapter of Liar's Poker I've been a fan of the writings of Michael Lewis. Certainly I admired his skill at capturing the contemporary business scene but little did I know he would some day also describe the home front with pinpoint accuracy and huge doses of his much appreciated humor.

When parenthood was soon to be come a reality in the life of Lewis and his wife, Tabitha, they felt the need for one more go at being carefree and adventurous. So, before they were really settled in they decided to move to Paris for a while. That was an adventure in itself, but becoming a father was also an adventure for Lewis, a totally unexpected one. His thoughts anticipating the birth of their first child are expressed as follows, "Parenthood loomed. There was a time when I suspected this wouldn't have much effect on me. I figured that the chemical rush that attended new motherhood might get me off the hook--that Tabitha would happily embrace all the new unpleasant chores and I'd stop in from time to time to offer advice. She'd do the play-by-play; I'd do the color commentary. Five months into the pregnancy that illusion had been pretty well shattered by the anecdotal evidence. One friend with a truly amazing gift for getting out of things he did not want to do wrote to describe his own experience of fatherhood. "Remember that life you thought you had?" he wrote. "Guess what. It's not yours anymore."

How true those cautionary words turned out to be. Lew is no longer, as he put it, the breadwinner, a well known author, he is a "go-fer," third in command as it were, directly behind mother and child.

Fortunately for us he decided to chronicle the immediate happenings following the birth of each of the couple's three children - most laugh-provoking, all true. And, how are these triple adventures concluded? With a vasectomy, of course.

"Home Game" is given a splendid reading by Dan John Miller, named as a "Best Voice" by AudioFile magazine. An American actor and musician he perfectly captures the stunned surprise of a pushing stroller Dad who recognizes the looks he receives from women as both warm and condescending. After all, they know exactly who's in charge.

Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke