Customer Reviews

My Little Dysfunctional Family Album

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You will find yourself laughing out loud relating to these photos and hilarious quotes that Sean has made come alive. I have ordered many copies for all my friends for the holidays knowing it is the BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT EVER!! The gift that keeps on giving. You will find this book to lighten your mood whenever you are down. Therefore it is good, cheap THERAPY!! Be sure to get a couple extra copies for your friends. They will LOVE you for it! It is a good size for your office work space or as a bathroom book.

This is great little book! An equal opportunity offender. Author Sean Maher has dared to say those things we're thinking when thumbing through Great Aunt Ethel's photo album. Laugh out loud funny and downright inappropriate. Overall, this is an extremely enjoyable read, mostly because the phrase " It's funny because it's true" comes to mind. Buy a couple of copies for friends, because you'll never get yours back!
Perfect as a coffee table book or a bathroom read. Can't wait for Sean's next book "The Origin of Feces".

What a fabulous book! It is perfect to give to friends and family (with a sense of humor) as a gift for all occasions. It's also perfect for having on your coffee table when guests come over! The pictures are wonderful. HILARIOUS!

DEADPAN and funny! If you like an irreverent somewhat dark(ok, not morbid)take on those things that people usually treat with kid gloves (just cause they think they're supposed to), you'll love this book. If you'd rather laugh then cry- even when you're sad, you'll love this book.

HOWEVER- If you think there are things that we should never ever ever laugh about- you may just find yourself on one of these pages and you won't be happy about that. You can probably infer that I think this will be a personal failing on your part. You are correct, but they say it takes all kinds. :)

It is rare to find humor that surprises shocks and really makes you laugh in written form the way this book does. Sean Maher's, observations coupled with his choice of odd historical photography do just that.

Sean Maher is a true artist of the humorist variety.

I found it entertaining, whimsical yet relevant with an underlying revisionist conceit which belies the books emotional attachment to the subject matter.
Period end.......

I recommend keeping a copy of Sean Maher's book on your desk at all times; you never know when you're going to need a good laugh. Mr. Maher's subversive wit has saved my sanity on many a trying morning. I've read this book several times... and soda still shoots out of nose each time. Lots of writers have tried theit hands at family photo humor; I don't know of any who have hit the nail as squarely on the head as Sean! Bravo!

"Free spirit is just a euphemism for slut." - from MY LITTLE DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY ALBUM

MY LITTLE DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY ALBUM (MLDFA) is a little, square book, about the size of an overly-thick CD case that will appeal to anyone with a slightly warped sense of humor. Maybe even considerably bent. I fall into that continuum somewhere; I'm a sicko.

MLDFA is comprised of sixty-two sepia-toned snaps - each with a caption supplied by the author, Sean Maher, on the facing page - all of individuals ostensibly culled from family picture albums. Appearances suggest a date range from, say, the 1860s to the 1950s. There's one photo "mounted" per page. The appearance of an actual album is enhanced by the virtual, triangular, sticky mounts "holding down" the four corners of each shot.

Since each photo is contextually mated to its caption, and most of the former are visually nuanced and therefore hard to describe, it would be difficult to do justice to most of the pairings in any review. A few of the more obvious ones are:

A glamour shot of the head of a pretty, young, curly-haired woman looking over her left shoulder, pearl necklace visible, perhaps early twentieth century - "Looks can only get you so far because eventually you'll have to put out."

A group shot of six formidable, serious-looking basketball players, perhaps early twentieth century - "Winners don't need to worry about things like sportsmanship."

A handsome young couple's wedding photograph, perhaps late nineteenth or early twentieth century - "Newlyweds don't even like you to joke about wife-swapping."

A decidedly overweight young girl, bowed ribbon in her hair, perhaps 6-7 years of age, perhaps early twentieth century - "My favorite egg substitute is more bacon."

A square-jawed, well-groomed young man in coat and tie staring off to his right with overly intense eyes, perhaps 1950s - "Medication not prescribed to you is the best kind."

What I consider the best photo/caption pairs, i.e. those which caused a guffaw, are so much a function of visual subtleties or are so politically incorrect that I wouldn't be able or dare (because of the review censors) to describe them here. Some of the captions attached to the former are (so use your imagination):

"Revenge is a special kind of promise that you make to yourself."

"I need a restraining order against my own demons."

"DNA should mind its own business."

"Let's face it. What does a restraining order mean to someone who loves you as much as I do?"

"I remember when stalking was considered romantic and cute."

MY LITTLE DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY ALBUM made me grin, chuckle, and laugh outright. I'm taking it to work to share with like-minded colleagues. In its genre, it rates five stars.

Another comic masterpiece from Mr. Maher. If you have read "Poison Kool-Aid For The Soul" (which you should), then you'll love this book as well. He nails it again with his witty humor. It's a great gift for just about anyone, at least anyone that knows how to laugh. He's not afraid to offend anyone, which makes it that much better.

This book is just perfect to go through when you are at a family gathering. Everybody needs a good laugh these days, and when you are laughing together with your close loved ones, their is nothing more special than that, and this book is a great compliment to doing so! Very clever witty comedy, and all good clean fun!