Customer Reviews

It Takes a Village Idiot : Complicating the Simple Life

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book in one afternoon. Like many others we too have had dreams of a fantasy "country house". Like the authors wife, we have made forays in Northern California to look for such a dreamplace. But luckily, everything here is either five hours away or costs three quarters of million dollars. So instead I read books like Jim Mullen's and feel smug about not having actually gonr and done the "fool" thing. This book actually has a great story, progresses beautifully, is very funny and is an all-around pleasure to read. If you like humourous books about suburban/urban life then you will love this book.

After the brief period of time it took to read this tale, I'm not surprised it found its way into my hands. This is not only a story I "get," (couple flees city for a life in the country) it's full of a self-deprecating and sarcastic wit I welcome when reading memoirs.

Jim Mullen, a humor columnist best known for his "Hot Sheet" in Entertainment Weekly, portrays Manhattan life as addiction. Addiction, for example, to non-stop action, Broadway plays, gallery openings, ethnic restaurants and The New York Times. The symptoms include immunity to noise and smells, and they lead to chain-smoking and excessive spending at The Sharper Image. He's hooked. It's his wife, Sue, who takes the lead and buys a farm three hours northwest of the city in the Catskills, and drags him along for what turn out to be rehabilitative weekends. As the weekends grow from two days to five and then finally full time, he gives up smoking, takes up bicycling and then learns about everything from growing giant pumpkins to the inner workings of a septic system. One realizes he has come full circle when he describes a dewy spider web as the prettiest thing he's ever seen and recognizes a "flatlander" in the garden store. While observing this newer version of the village idiot, he rolls his eyes and wonders if that's how he was when he first entered (the fictional town of) Walleye.

The writing is original and funny, informal without being glib, irreverent without being vulgar. For anyone who enjoys well-written memoirs--particularly those of the city-mouse, country mouse variety--put this on your list. Also recommend: "Fifty Acres and a Poodle."

Michele Cozzens, Author of A Line Between Friends and The Things I Wish I'd Said.

Jim Mullen (known for his ascerbic and clever "Hot Sheet" column in Entertainment Weekly magazine) has written a very, very funny account of his indoctrination into a rural community in upstate New York. Mullen and spouse experience the horrors and, ultimately, the joys of life outside the crowded, dirty, and crime-ridden Big Apple when they buy a weekend home. The culture clashes between uber-urbanite (Mullen) and the farming community makes "Green Acres" look like an O'Neill drama. I read it in one sitting and couldn't stop laughing. I hope there is a sequel.

I picked this book up after having read a few stinkers, and I felt so grateful because it's truly enjoyable. Jim Mullen is very funny, his observations and comments are so comical, and he often had me laughing out loud. He also handles some more serious, or sad, issues with a touching sensitivity that doesn't stray from the wry humor, but makes his heartfelt point (without beating us over the head, thank you). Despite the premise, this story is an original. Love his wife. Love his neighbors. Hope he is working on a follow-up as we speak.

I grabbed this book because the title made me think it would be witty and fun. What do you know - for once I was right! "It Takes A Village Idiot" hilariously describes the changes in the author's life after his wife decides to buy an old farmhouse in the Catskills so she'll be busy enough to quit smoking. And so begins the author's introduction to rural life, as this NYC couple embarks on the first of many weekend drives upstate.

Mr. Mullen describes his gradual transformation from city mouse to country mouse with laughs on every page, with subjects ranging from shopping at Home Depot to Flatlander "guest insensitivity". What makes it delightful is that he's able to do so without snobbery or ridicule. His approach remains good-natured throughout, and his descriptions are easy to visualize.

Wherever one lives, "Village Idiot" is likely to make the reader take a renewed look at the surroundings. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone.

This book just oozes sarcasm. No, wait, it GUSHES...Mullen is the writer of the "Hot Sheet" in Entertainment Weekly magazine. As you can imagine, this isn't exactly serious literature, but if you need a break from everything, this book is perfect. It's only about 200 easy-to-read pages, and there's a belly laugh awaiting you at about every third page (and several chuckles in between). Mullen, a die-hard Manhattanite, goes through a sea change in his life when his wife buys a farm in the Catskills "because she quit smoking and needed something to do with her hands."

As most people living in New York State will tell you, there are actually "two" New Yorks--the one everyone knows about (the city and its surrounding metro area) and that vast chunk of land east of the Hudson River known as Upstate New York. I grew up in the latter, and found Jim Mullen's memoir an extremely enjoyable satire of life in both rural Upstate New York and urban Manhattan. He pokes fun at both rural dwellers and closed-minded Manhattanites who are so sheltered they've never even been to Brooklyn. NYC and Upstate have always had a strange, if somewhat strained, relationship, and Mullen illustrates this perfectly through his humorous tale of the difficult transition between city life and country life.

And besides the humor, I was touched by the book's ode to simple country life. Underneath all the sarcasm lays a touching tribute to rural life, and a great appreciation for the farmers who work the land. I've always taken that sort of thing for granted, and now I have a renewed appreciation for my homeland. The book is both an entertaining and rewarding read.

Jim Mullen has written a truly wonderful book. Being a native of the Catskill Mountain area in which he writes, I felt he not only showed the humor of his experiences but did so in a way as not to downgrade those of us who have lived here our whole lives.

I love that he not only uses humor but also shows an appreciation for the beauty and quaintness of the area. I especially liked that it is written so anyone...no matter where they live can visualize the settings.

Thank you Mr. Mullen for an enjoyable read about the area in which I live.

I bought the book because there are two places I absolutely love... the south of France and Upstate New York. I have read all of Peter Mayle's books on Provence, so it only made sense for me to read Jim Mullen's book. Honestly, I wasn't expecting alot, but boy... this book is an absolute riot!!! My wife kept hearing me laugh out loud from the other room and thought I was losing my mind!!! If you laughed reading Mayle's books, you're going to experience severe stomach cramps from laughing so hard while reading Mullen's book. The best part for me was the point in the book when I figured out what town he was really in!!! I won't state the name of the town, but it ryhmes with Walleye. My parents have a vacation farm in the very same town and I spend MANY weekends there!!! I couldn't believe it and it made the book all the more hilarious. If you've moved to upstate New York, planning to or just want to spend a weekend to try it out, this book will split your sides... practically guaranteed.

Journalist Jim Mullen presents this delightfully droll look at the culture clash that ensues when a couple of longtime Manhattanites (the author and his wife) buy a rundown farmhouse in upstate New York. The opening chapters feature plenty of laughs as Mullen very self-consciously details his disdain for the country and its manifold flaws, all in good fun, of course. Speaking as a typical New Yorker, Mullen suggests that, "Upstate is to New York City what Canada is to the United States - a great, empty space to the north that most people are quite happy to know nothing about". But after his wife gives up smoking and decides she needs something to do with her hands, Mullen dutifully accompanies her to "a town that looks as if the Unabomber were the head of the planning board" and their new dream house in the country. Its dilapidated condition comes as quite a shock to its unwilling owner: "The bathroom combined all the worst features of Appalachian and European plumbing in one convenient spot. Why they brought this toilet indoors one can only guess. Keeping up with the Clampetts, no doubt". The friendly neighbors, the silent nights, the desultory dress code, the local shopping alternatives all hit our new homeowner like the smell of the fresh cow manure.

But Mullen's story is by no means one-sided: as his wife succeeds in dragging him off to the country on a more and more frequent basis, we see our narrator undergo a fascinating transformation. Having learned the sagacity of country customs, his barbs turn against the ignorant city-dwellers, who he now sees are just as provincial in their own way. The humorous highlight here is when some friends from the City come to visit for a weekend, providing the denoument to a running joke about turning the barn into a guest house. But the almost poetic passage where he favorably compares the view out his front window with a Monet canvas is truly enthralling, and assures us that the writer is indeed seeing the world through fresh eyes again. Lots of good-natured humor, light social commentary, and genuine Americana.