csd17's review
4.0
My relationship with Eileen began when I became obsessed with Jack Lemmon and looked him up in the library system. He was in a little-known (and rightly so) musical of the same name of this book. Cutesy, but blah. But he was good. In the process of a few years I discovered Rosalind Russell and Brian Aherne. When they released the original My Sister Eileen with the two of them, I just had to watch it (that one is much better). So, one day, wanting to remember if the Jack Lemmon version was just as mediocre as I remembered I looked it up in the system (again!) and found. . .
THIS!
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
This book is hilarious!
I couldn't put it down. I was up and laughing at it at midnight last night.
To be sure she certainly doesn't tone down her language and various stories are better than others (my favorite being the Elocution lessons), but this book brought me right back to those days when I had first discovered [b:Cheaper by the Dozen|764903|Cheaper by the Dozen|Frank B. Gilbreth|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348220916s/764903.jpg|1925199]. So much fun to read. I highly recommend it! And, although I will never be able to enjoy the movie quite so much again (because it pales so in comparison), Thank you, Jack Lemmon.
THIS!
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
This book is hilarious!
I couldn't put it down. I was up and laughing at it at midnight last night.
To be sure she certainly doesn't tone down her language and various stories are better than others (my favorite being the Elocution lessons), but this book brought me right back to those days when I had first discovered [b:Cheaper by the Dozen|764903|Cheaper by the Dozen|Frank B. Gilbreth|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348220916s/764903.jpg|1925199]. So much fun to read. I highly recommend it! And, although I will never be able to enjoy the movie quite so much again (because it pales so in comparison), Thank you, Jack Lemmon.
trin's review
3.0
Oh, the danger of the pop culture reference in humor: it can make a book not just dated, but baffling. Reading this, there were times when I rejoiced in aspects of McKenney's dry wit, but also times when I knew I wasn't getting the joke because I didn't know a particular early-era cinema star who's now faded into obscurity, or the plot of a specific Noel Coward play. It's still quite charming in places, but unfortunately, large parts of this book have come to feel more of historical than literary interest.
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