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Mental [Paperback]

Eddie Sarfaty (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 30, 2009
Eddie Sarfaty's astute and acerbic stand-up effortlessly captures the everyday absurdities of life, blending self-deprecation and sarcasm with a razor-sharp instinct for the ridiculous. In Mental, he expands his hilarious insights into a collection of autobiographical essays that explore career lows, cheapskate exes, the wonder and hell of family, psychopathic felines, and so much more...

Whether recounting a family trip to Paris, where his ailing father shouts obscenities at the Mona Lisa, or discovering his mother surfing JewHunt.net in search of a mahjong à trois, Eddie excels at bitingly, but lovingly, mocking his family.

Spotlighting his own misadventures with equal relish, Eddie recounts his darkly funny experience stage managing an ill-fated Portuguese production of The Phantom of the Opera, reveals taking Ecstasy before lunch with Hillary Clinton, and recalls a one-night stand whose fondness for balloon animals would have animal activists up in arms.

Eddie Sarfaty is a natural storyteller, and his candid wit caustic, yet surprisingly poignant proves just as endearing and hilarious in print as it is onstage.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

A stand-up performer pens a comic memoir about the vicissitudes of modern gay life. Comedy-writing teacher Sarfaty opens with a piece about the process of coming out to his beloved Jewish grandmother and follows it with plenty of family humor with the addition of drag queens and sexy hustlers. Mom has wiseacre chutzpah, Dad has mute dementia and the author has a fraught love life coupled with the talent to write about it engagingly. His humorous set pieces cover the ill-fated adoption of a stinky, fat feline; a trip to Paris and London with the balking parents; and the necessary evils required to maintain a performer's life waiting tables, teaching aerobics, taking a gig as stage manager for a third-rate touring musical. His ersatz Phantom of the Opera company's stay in Portugal provides the setting for spectacular farce; his work behind the bar at the gentlemen's Eton Club affords a moving story about growing older. The character sketches often witty, at times catty depict hunky young studs, sad queens and acerbic ladies of both sexes. Sarfaty also chronicles plenty of manly bodies, the club scene, Internet manhunting and masturbation, as well as his relationship with lover Jeffrey. The author writes with the caustic touch of Austen Burroughs, creating a funny yet poignant portrait of his world.

A droll, writerly addition to the burgeoning shelf of gay lit. ----Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation (June 30, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0758222556
  • ISBN-13: 978-0758222558
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #918,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, July 11, 2009
This review is from: Mental (Paperback)
What can I say to express my absolute joy at reading this book? Each chapter is a roller coaster of bliss--laugh out loud funny, deeply moving, slyly insightful. The stories reveal many facets of the author; yet, reveal even more about the reader.

Mr Sarfaty has been blessed with a gift of language. He uses his words like Van Gogh uses paint--bold and subtle at the same time. Whether it is talking about his Dad "winning the neurological trifecta" of disease, or referring to a man's peculiar sexual obsession with balloons as "Balloonacy," he shows himself to be an absolute master of the English language.

I was most impressed with the complete lack of bitterness or bitchiness that can infect autobiographical tomes. We are shown a man struggling to understand his world and himself with great humor, humility, and insight. Mr Sarfaty's infectious love of Life shines from every page and left this reader happy, satiated, and enjoying life a bit more!

Thank you Mr Sarfaty!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely FUNNY!!, May 17, 2010
This review is from: Mental (Paperback)
This is an absolutely wonderful book. You will keep turning the pages to see what the author has to say next. His experiences with his parents and with others in his life keeps the reader interested and laughing in every chapter. I highly recommend you buy this book!! You won't regret it!!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Mental indeed... in the good way!, June 5, 2011
This review is from: Mental (Paperback)
Here are the recollections of a man who doesn't fail to notice the absurdities of life in the gay lane - or any lane for that matter. The insanities and inanities that we bring upon ourselves in our attempt to make connections with others - including the occasional psychotic cat - are here for us to laugh (and cringe) at. Whether it's the pursuit of Mr. Right (well, maybe Mr. Right Now) on the web or coming to terms with our family in every way imaginable (and a few we don't want to imagine), Eddie Sarfaty pretty much hits the nail on the head - and lives to laugh about it.

And after she completely ignored the fact that I was already reading it and making me fight her to get it back, my niece might be the first to tell you that being gay is not a prerequisite to getting the spot-on zaniness of Eddie's point of view. This book is definitely 'funny in the head' but also very big in heart. And I'm sorry... I'm with him, what the hell IS wrong with talking during sex??
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