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Summary: A True Classic Side-Splitter
Review: OF all the books of his period, James Thurber's "My Life and HArd Times" is a mirror into the mind of a true renaissance man, humorist extraordinaire, and story-teller. Ever since I was a teen reading this for the first time, I have kept a copy on my nighttable, for those evenings I needed a complete separation from reality. It has never failed me! Each story (which by now I have memorized) brings to mind the family quagmyres and dilemmas common to all, in a form only a genius like Thurber could do. His talent in a far simpler age lives well beyond him, and will forever.
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Summary: Do yourself and everyone else a favor and READ THIS BOOK.
Review: Other reviewers have said it before, but I feel the need to back them up even more: This book is a work of pure genius and originality. I was lucky enough to discover James Thurber while in the 8th grade, after flipping ahead in my English book and reading "The Car We Had To Push." A year later, I stumbled across copies of this book and "The Thurber Carnival" (an anthology of all his books) at a Harper Collins discount book sale. I consider this book to be the greatest deal of my life, since I purchased it for fifty cents and now feel that I would have done the same if it had been fifty dollars instead. My Life and Hard Times is only a quarter of an inch thick, disguising the awesome amount of humor it contains. When I packed for college, this was the first book to accompany me on my journey, and I still reread it once or twice a month. The stories can be enjoyed on their own, but when combined into a biography such as this, the realization that Thurber can take the most ordinary-seeming events in life and turn them into a riot of laughter. It almost makes *me* wish for a family as interesting as he makes his own out to be. The stories provide a good dose of nostalgia for those who remember life in the early twentieth century, but for the rest of us, it's a treat to hear the stories through the eyes of someone who lived through it. I'll stop gushing about how much I absolutely adore this title and leave you with the best advice I can give: BUY THIS BOOK, and treasure it.
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Summary: A Very Funny Book!
Review: This book is a collection of funny stories about the author's childhood. It takes place in Columbus, Ohio between 1894 and 1906. His stories are about his crazy family that is always making simple things difficult. Sometimes the mistakes lead to the whole town going crazy. My two favorites were "The Night the Bed Fell" and "The Day the Dam Broke." In "The Night the Bed Fell" a cot falls over on James, the author. Everyone goes into a panic that the bed in the attic fell on their father. Meanwhile James is under the cot asleep. His cousin thinks he is dying and that they are all raving about him. In the end they realize that the cot fell, the father is fine, the cousin isn't dying, and everyone is OK. "The Day the Dam Broke" begins with someone being late so he is running to wherever he is going. Soon everyone starts running and saying "The dam has broken." The police tried to stop them by saying "The dam has not broken" buteveryone thinks the said the dam has now broken so everyone starts running faster. A doctor even hears skates behind him so he says "it's got me it's got me." At the end the doctor realizes that they were only skates. Eventually everyone makes jokes about itexcept for the doctor who thinks the dam will break. I would recommend this book to kids and adults with a good sense of humor.
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Summary: My All Time Favorite-Period.
Review: This book, with whom I share a long and one-sided love-affair, is a perfect gem. I have read it during my life again and again, and I never have escaped without laughing--hard--out loud at all the Thurber family goings-on. Thurber has the rare gift of constructing a symphony of a story with the sparest but most meaningful instruments. His other books, The Thurber Carnival and the Thurber Album are also worth reading.
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Summary: Nothing was ever funnier.
Review: This has got to be the funniest book I have ever read and read and read. Simple stories of Thurber's early years will get you laughing out loud.
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Summary: Classic Hilarity from a Master Humorous
Review: This is a fantastic book: short, sweet, delightful, and heart-warming in its sheer simplicity and outrageousness. James Thurber is very straight-forward -- tells it how it was -- and that alone is potent enough to spark an eruption of laughter. However, "My Life and Hard Times" leaves nothing to be desired for personal want of the author's own cherry on top of his account. Thurber renders his childhood memories with such grace and elegance as to leave you spellbound upon completing it, and never tarnishes it with witty comments of spite or exaggeration. This will take you but an evening to complete, but it's definitely worth purchasing!
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Summary: Thurber Outdoes Thurber
Review: This is a wonderful book showing off Thurber's great sense of comic skill and stretching a minute experience into a sketch worthy of vaudeville comedy. Not an autobiograhpy that is a true representation of his life, but he makes those in his life, with all their eccentric behavior, seem like people you are related to...and not so bad after all. I highly recommend this book to those just beginning their voyage in discovering Thurber. Despite problems in his later life, Thurber is considered as one of the greatest American humorist since Mark Twain. After reading this book, you'll understand why.
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Summary: My Life and Hard Times
Review: This is my favorite book. After reading it six times, it is still laugh out loud funny. It is short and easy to read, but lets the reader have a look into the oddities of James Thurber's childhood. This is a book to read just for the fun of it.
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Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This was a very funny book, not crude at all, and absolutely the kind of writing that should have never gone "out of style." I have read many different kinds of books by the most varied group of writers, and this definitely is a book that must be read by any serious reader.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This was a very funny book, not crude at all, and absolutely the kind of writing that should have never gone "out of style." I have read many different kinds of books by the most varied group of writers, and this definitely is a book that must be read by any serious reader.
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