Family Man (Paperback)

by Calvin Trillin (Author) "Handing out advice on family matters is not my game..." (more)
Key Phrases: spaghetti carbonara, roof rack, New York, Nova Scotia, Kansas City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
"Handing out advice on family matters is not my game," begins Calvin Trillin in Family Man, and indeed, those in search of practical child-rearing tips would be advised to look elsewhere. What Trillin does have to offer is a series of witty meditations on the art--not the science--of parenthood. Nobody else has written quite so accurately about the debunking genius of small children. And while Trillin conveys the joys and sorrows of family life with his customary drollness, what really gets him going is the high anxiety of being in loco parentis. When, for example, a study reveals that most of our synapses are formed during infancy, the author is nonplused by the scientific breakthrough. He's quick, though, to latch on to this new opportunity for self-flagellation:

This business about the synapses struck me as the sort of finding that could have been designed to add to the concerns of those older parents who already spend some uncomfortable time, while trying to fall asleep at night, thinking of ways that they may have shortchanged their children. Here is an entirely new subject, pushing aside old chestnuts like whether that really was the right summer camp or whether the purchase of the guitar might have been to blame for everything that followed. Now, as they toss and turn, they can envision their children trying to compete in a global economy with reduced brainpower.

This beleaguered dad does, it should be said, touch upon a handful of more general topics, including the wacky world of contemporary wedding ceremonies. At the heart of his book, though, is the alternately exasperating and endearing pageant of family life, chez Trillin, which features not only the author's smart-aleck daughters but also his wife and perennial straight (wo)man, Alice. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
For readers whose nerves are being shattered by all the feuds that are occurring in the human zoo in which we live and are willing to admit frankly that they'd like a little escapist reading, this book should be welcome. Those familiar with Trillin's (Messages from My Father, LJ 5/1/96) columns for Time and his poems in the Nation needn't be told that he can write with ease and spirit upon almost any subject. In this collection of 16 essays, he demonstrates once again that he thoroughly understands the difficult technique of clever light writing and that he can make a silk purse out of such routine merchandise as zipping and unzipping a snowsuit, changing diapers, celebrating Halloween, and eating Thanksgiving dinner?the plain things and everyday events of domestic life. Witty, spontaneously humorous at times, deliciously whimsical at others, and always kindly, Trillin's talk-fest offers a wonderful distraction. Recommended.?A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (June 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374525838
• ISBN-13: 978-0374525835
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #171,340 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and relevant to a mom with two NY teenagers, August 21, 1999

By A Customer

This a light and wonderful read - especially if you have experienced any significant part of the world about which Trillin writes - be it the mysteries, nuances, surprises and joys of being a connected parent - or the delightful pleasures of real New York City neighborhood living - and, even if you have missed those things, Trillin wings you lightly along on his entertaining personal flight - great literature, no - highly enjoyable, yes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Familiar Material, But Still Among The Best Writers Around, August 23, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Decatur, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Man (Hardcover)

I have long thought that Calvin Trillin was one of the best, and most verstile, writers around. Here, he is in the gentle but comic territory of Travels With Alice. Some of us wish that he would take on weightier stuff, as he did early on in An Education In Georgia and more recently in Remembering Denny. Nevertheless, a very good read, particularly for those of us with kids.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable humor; relaxing entertainmnet, June 29, 1999

By	Nicholas Good (Topeka, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoyed this book at lot. Lots of amusing stories about family life, New York life, ex-Midwestern life.

Living 60 miles from Trillum's Kansas City home town related to some of his Midwest episodes. The "Chigger" secton was very funny, even though I was scratching my own bites while reading.

I especially liked the stories about the Halloween parades, and taking the kid to the local community musical productions.

Lots of funny lines; I kept reading aloud from it to my wife -- she ended up reading the book to.