Too Soon to Tell [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Calvin Trillin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

A collection of topical essays revealing the acclaimed writer at his wittiest deals with matters of the family, educational issues, world affairs, and language in short takes that offer a humorous look at the quirks of society. 25,000 first printing. Tour.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Another collection of Trillin's short pieces has hit the streets, and he just gets better and better. A Midwesterner in his soul but a New Yorker in fact, Trillin's comic take on '90s life demonstrates his perfect pitch for the absurd again and again in these short and intelligent essays. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In this collection of some 90 syndicated columns written in the past four years, the reliably amusing Trillin mixes whimsical fluff with sly stilettos. In the whimsy department are essays on monkfish and high tides, courtesy of his Nova Scotia summers, as well as the "grandchildren gap" faced by parents of professionals and the prospect of the Queen being audited. Most of those essays go down easy enough, but Trillin also takes on bigger targets. The lip-synch shame of the Milli Vanilli duo, who were exposed as not having done the singing on their albums, prompts him to muse on the lack of scandal accorded celebrity authors whose books are ghostwritten. News that an East German spy waited tables at the West German Senate suggests spymasters confounded by Ronald Reagan's airy anecdotes, which they'd taped expecting to learn secret information. And, noting that some companies give campaign contributions to both political parties, he proposes a new question for a national high school civics exam: "Explain this practice without using the word 'bribery.'" This collection shows Trillin's ephemera to be delightfully durable.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 361 pages
• Publisher: Niagra Large Print; Lrg edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708958214
• ISBN-13: 978-0708958216
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,881,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty but never mean, February 10, 2004

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Too Soon to Tell (Hardcover)

Humorist Trillin's 1995 collection of the best of his "New Yorker" columns, maintains a consistent deadpan humor and amiable cynicism, whether the subject is bestselling writers who don't write their own books, teenagers' comprehension of rock lyrics, or the rehabilitation of Nixon.

Trillin is at his most caustic with politicians and icons of corporate culture. His wife and two daughters feature prominently, as always, allowing him to play the hapless, push-over curmudgeon. Wry and economical with words, Trillin takes on any aspect of American culture that strikes his fancy and gets to the nub of absurdity without ever resorting to sneers or viciousness. A delight, as Trillin's collections always are.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flashes of brilliance, November 6, 2002

By 

Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Too Soon to Tell (Paperback)

Calvin Trillin has two qualities that distinguish him as a writer. One is a great talent for deadpan wit, and the other is a true amateur's enthusiasm for everything he tries.

The latter serves him best when he's writing about food, or about travel, or about everyday life in New York, but less so when he writes about politics and world events. His perspective on his own countrymen is often narrow, provincial, and downright condescending. He can't bring himself to admit that someone could hold different views from his and still be a moral person.

But no matter. There's still a nice variety of wit and droll observation contained in this volume to make up for the pieces that fall flat.