Customer Reviews

Pessimisms: Famous (and not so famous) Observations, Quotations, Thoughts, and Ruminations on What to Expect When You're Expecting the Worst

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2 star:		(1)
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I am a fan of quotation books, and this is as good as any I have ever come across. Pessimisms is a great title for it. The quotations, though, could be collected under "realisms", I think.
It must be true about writers that they are at their best when their view is less sunny, not so cheerful. This collection is amusing, thoughtful, and makes a great gift. Marcus does a nice job of weaving in his personal story with the quotations. And, the book is nicely done for an inexpensive edition. A winner all the way around.

The author, Eric Marcus, has does a great service with this. I loved the selections, and I really enjoyed his stories about his Aunt Ethel. Despite the title, these are not really pessimistic quotes. Most all the authors get the message across that life may not be easy, but we move on and get through it. Optimism via faux pessimism? Could be. This is one I really enjoyed.

I was not extremely impressed with this text. For the price, I expected more reading. It was a book I could fit into my front pocket. I read it in its entirety in two settings. I thought it would be a little more humorous. I was expecting sarcasm but found it bordering cynanical.

A nice little collection of quotations, but the author seems to rushed through the book, or was hindered by a tight page count. He could have added so many additional quotations, or tightened things up and added more of higher quality. He seems to stretch for quotations in the latter categories. Nevertheless, it's a nice read.

Because you will buy the book.Which is good,unless you lose your glasses or get a sty and cant read it.Or you laugh so loud when you read it that you embarass yourself.Or you forget it on a seat somewhere and waste a lot of time searching for it.Oh ,the book. ... TOO SHORT.OFTEN FUNNY. PEARLS OF WISDOM.THE BEST OF ITS KIND I HAVE SEEN.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a little book with pessimistic quotations, but ultimately, you laugh and feel better about life based on the comparative doom in the cynicism. It's a great gift for any occasion, and with inspiration from his Grandma Ethel, may be a great Mother's Day present. Just make sure you tell her you TRULY love her.

Cynics and pessimists of the world, take note: if you've been hoping for an entertaining book (although, as pessimists, "hoping" may be too strong a word), you might want to check out Eric Marcus's "Pessimisms." A fast read (maybe a bit too fast), "Pessimisms" is a collection of witty and often downright bitingly sarcastic quotes from various people, "famous and not so famous," regarding the dark side of life... the side you definitely won't find in greeting cards or motivational books. Although this territory has been covered before, most notably in Jon Winokur's excellent book, "The Portable Curmudgeon," Marcus has done a great job with his selection of quotes, choosing one winner after another with a variety of subjects being addressed. However, a couple points which kept me from rating this book higher must be mentioned. In addition to the already-mentioned brevity of this book, many of the chapters last just a few pages. The introductions to many chapters often take longer to read than the actual chapters themselves. This brings me to my second point: the chapter introductions themselves are basically useless and serve mainly for Marcus to talk about his "Grandma Ethel." This "Grandma Ethel" is cited as the "inspiration" for the book, but the endless stories about her seem to take up more ink than the quotes themselves; at times, "Pessimisms" has the feel of a self-published gift to Marcus's family rather than a mass-market publication. And the odd part is, while Marcus clearly wants to honor her memory, she is continually portrayed as a neurotic, paranoid person, making the whole "tribute" aspect of the book even more questionable. However, despite these reservations, "Pessimisms" is an enjoyable book. My advice is to skip the introductions and simply enjoy the quotes. Though the "Pessimisms" glass may be half full, it's a refreshing treat nonetheless.