Life with Father (Comic Classics) [Paperback]

Clarence Day (Author)

Book Description

Series: Comic Classics | Publication Date: February 2003

Clarence Day's comic stories of his father, Clarence "Clare" Day Senior are taken from the "New Yorker" magazine. They portray a rambunctious, overburdened Wall Street broker who demands that everything from his family should be just so. When it isn't, all hell breaks loose and an amusing sight it is too from a safe enough distance. Clare is intolerant, tyrannical and plain obnoxious in his constant battle to harness the world to his way of thinking. He rages against his staff, his cook, his wife, his horse, salesmen, the need for holidays, the need to be ill and, of course, the inability of his children to live up to his impossible standards. Yet, the more he rails, the more comic a figure he cuts and the more he blusters, the more lovable this makes him to his own beleaguered family.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Set in 1890s New York, Clarence Day’s tales of his father, Clarence “Clare” Day, Sr., portray a willful, rambunctious, short–fused Wall Street broker who demands perfection. Intolerant and tyrannical in his determined battle to harness the world to his way of thinking, Clarence blusters at his wife, his cook, his horse, shopkeepers, servants, and, of course, his children and their inability to live up to his preposterous standards. Yet, the more he rants, the more comical he becomes—and the more he seems to endear himself to his beleaguered and bemused family. First published in 1935, and serialized in THE NEW YORKER, Life with Father was adapted for the stage in 1939, brought to the screen in 1947, and went on to become a much–loved television series in the 1950s.

Product Details

• Paperback: 261 pages
• Publisher: Ebury Press (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0091885655
• ISBN-13: 978-0091885656
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,158,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable memoir, September 23, 2002

By 

Gwen Kramer "gwenhwyvar" (Sunny and not-so-sunny California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life with Father (Hardcover)

I just got this book and I am having a wonderful time reading the anecdotes of life in Victorian New York with an eccentric father. The humor is gentle and quiet, if you want outlandsih jokes the this is not the book for you.

Of course, some of the customs and actions of the characters may seem odd by modern standards but we must remember that everything changes with time and in 150 years, people may look back at our culture and wonder if we were crazy.

Still, in spite of its age, the humor of the book has held up remarkably well. Perhaps we all know a "father" type, an eccentric and bossy person who is somehow endearing nonetheless.

So, don't obsess over the un-politically correct attitudes of the time covered, just enjoy the quiet humor and learn about a time gone by.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life with Father (by Clarence Day), June 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Life With Father (Hardcover)

I loved this book as a preteen and I loved it, and the sequel "Life with Mother" too. Mr. Day paints an accurate picture of life in the early 1900's for a middle class family. Yes, his father is rude and a bit obnoxious, but watching him is very funny. He loved his wife and family and while he blustered and yelled, they loved him. I enjoyed this book and thought it was great.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very entertaining father, December 15, 2003

By 

L O'connor (richmond, surrey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life with Father (Comic Classics) (Paperback)

These are very amusing sketches of family life in New York in the 1880s and 90s. Clarence Day Seniuor is a larger-than-life character, autocratic, excitable, with strong likes and dislikes. I was a bit startled to read a previous review that spoke of his 'emotional abuse' of his children. There is no abuse , emotional or otherwise, in this book. Mr Day clearly adored his family. Another reviewer says that Day Snr 'disrespected his wife'. Again, I see no evidence of disrespect in this book, Mr Day obviously loves his slightly eccentric wife to distraction, and in their frequent clashes of temperament she almost always succeeds in getting the better of him. The chapter where she departs on a lengthy trip to Egypt, leaving him pining for her, is particularly touching. This is a charming book, much more amusing than the pleasant but rather bland film that was based on it.