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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
This book was interesting. I loved how it took me to a time and place I knew very little about. I also enjoyed the characters of Father and Mother, although at times they both bothered me. I wish the whole book had had more of an arc. It felt very much like I was reading a personal journal, which I guess is what I was reading a little bit.
Something about the tone didn't click with me. . . I have a feeling it could be funnier if it did. All in all, I liked the characters but always felt like I was missing an "in" joke.
One thing that did get through to me: his dad certainly had two favorite expletives. PG rating, probably.
One thing that did get through to me: his dad certainly had two favorite expletives. PG rating, probably.
I always read with sick fascination those [true] stories of eccentric, overbearing fathers (The Mitford's Farve, Cheaper by the Dozen's Mr. Gilbreth). Clarence Day Sr. fits very well on that list, no question. Reading those books with "those fathers" always makes me thankful that my father is not so overwhelmingly obsessed with things being just so.
The main reason I read this is because I like the movie. While the book was just as amusing, it did lack one thing: William Powell. (Does this complaint sound familiar? That's because it's the same one I used after reading The Thin Man! I guess you could say I have a thing for him, yes. Strange, really since I don't tend to like mustached men. And actually, Life With Father was the movie that introduced me to him!)
The main reason I read this is because I like the movie. While the book was just as amusing, it did lack one thing: William Powell. (Does this complaint sound familiar? That's because it's the same one I used after reading The Thin Man! I guess you could say I have a thing for him, yes. Strange, really since I don't tend to like mustached men. And actually, Life With Father was the movie that introduced me to him!)
These stories, set beginning in the early 1880s but written in the 1920s and early 1930s, were first published in The New Yorker magazine and are credited partially with its early success. The tone of the stories certainly is characteristic of the gently satirical humour of, for example, The New Yorker comics. But while Day presents his autobiographical tales of his father with compassion and even affection, I’m not sure a modern reader can see past the almost abusive tyranny he exerts over his family, employees, and indeed as much of his world as he can. It’s an admirable achievement, then, for the author, that he has created such lastingly enjoyable tales despite — and it is despite, not because of — his subject. His protagonist, of course, is really the narrator, whose gentle affection and self-knowledge is what grounds the stories, carrying us through the loosely woven cycle to its conclusion.
This book is the companion to "Life with Mother" by the same author (or perhaps it's the other way around, I'm not exactly certain which was published first). Each chapter is an anecdote about the author's father, and the love is very evident.
I've always enjoyed the film Life With Father and wanted to read the original play.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No