Customer Reviews

The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw

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This book is hilarious. We like to read it to the middle and high school kids. You can hear them laughing about the fur coat, etc. outside the building. It has sparked many a boy into getting Partick's other books and reading for themselves. As a library director I know how hard it is to get middle and high school kids to read for pleasure. Patrick McManus is sure a pleasure. When I read the Goombaw story, and I have numerous times I still can not get through it without tears running down my face.

If you've read anything by Pat and laughed and would like a book or another book, trust me when I say that you'll like this. It's just more of the same kind of thing, Rancid and Crazy Eddie and Pat running around scaring his friend's Grandma. You can't read it or rememeber it without laughing or smiling, unless you're dead in which case you have no business having the nerve of reading or remembering anything. Trust me, there's nobody better than Pat out of all the humorist authors. Even Daniel Steele. You'll love it if you love anything he's done.

It's sometimes hard to read, tears of laughter mean you have to stop in the middle of the story to recompose yourself. Absolutely Great. The best short story teller this century. Mark Twain has been replaced.

The book is a composite of stories of his childhood and adolescent years. He grew up in the boonies in an old run down shack. As a child he spent most of his time outside. He tells stories of tying his best friends brother up and locking him in the basement. He also gives pionters on taking fish hooks out of a buddys' ear. The book has a plot in every story; with 26 stories there are lots of plots to get burried in. The theme is pretty much the same throught out the book; Life is good if you have the right perception. I thought the book was hysterical. I actualy read the whole book. My parents almost got a divorce, because my dad would shake the room. He was laughing so hard. The book really reminded me of when I grew up; my friends and I were always outside raising cane. The way Patrick tells the story is like a joke, he lets your mind wonder before telling what happens. His choice of words really catch you, words like gunkholing or podner. I would definetly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Patrick really knows how to make people laugh.

I have been a closet Pat McManus fan since the 80's. His short stories always make me laugh out loud, no matter what mood that I am in before I start reading them. These stories are for everyone. You don't even have to fish or hunt and you'll still get it. Anyone who has ever spent any time outdoors will be able to relate to his adventures.

The names of the stories in this book are:
Sequences
The Dumbest Antelope
Out of Sync
Kid Brothers and Their Practical Application
The Fried Flies, Please, and Easy on the Garlic
At Loose Ends
Getting It in the Ear
Garage-Sale Hype
How to get Started in Bass Fishing
As the Worm Squirms
Scoring
A Road Less Traveled By
Gunkholing
Blips
The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw
Water Spirits
Letter to the Boss
Scritch's Creek
The Tin Horn
Cupidity, Draw Thy Bow
Whitewater Fever
Never Cry "Arp!"
Visions of Fish and Game
A Brief History of Boats and Marriage
Boating Disorders
Try Not to Annoy Me

Written as only Patrick McManuss can write. Very funny. If you love the outdoors, you will love this author and what he has to say and how he says it.

Like any of his other books, "The Night The Bear Ate Goombah" is a hoot to read. The picture his stories create are as clear as a DVD and are guaranteed to bring everything from a chuckle to a laugh out loud.

A book is a book, and appeals to individuals based on their preferences. I happen to enjoy the humor of Patrick McManus. The real reason for the review, however, is to acknowledge the seller, who was very curteous and quick to ship. If the opportunity presents itself again, I shall certainly look to do business with them.

First let me say I found the Patrick McManus stories funny each month as I got that magazine. Maybe it was Outdoor Life,,,,,
Then I read there that I could get books full of his stories.
WOW, I bought all of them.
I must say though that I like this one best.

BTW, If you ever read a story by Pat about being lost in the woods by all means believe him. I am way up here in NW lower Michigan.
A man I know who is a regular fisherman was fishing a local river. He was away from any road when he happened to find a man that had been fishing, but was asking how to get out of there back to a road. After he had told the guy to just follow the river that way for about two more miles the guy introduced himself,,, Guess who? Patrick McManus of course. 8>))

Irving does his typically WONDERFUL reading of McManus! However, FYI, this two-cassette set only contains seven of the book's 26 stories. Along with the book's Title story, the other six audio stories are: "Gunkholing", "Sequences", "Out of Sync", "Boating Disorders", "A Brief History of Boats and Marriage", and "Scritch's Creek." Irving's rendition of "Scritch's Creek" stands as my personal all-time favorite of all the McManus stories I have heard (from this and several other tapes).