A Fistful of Fig Newtons

Rating:
Summary: Everybody likes Fig Newtons
Review: 12 hilarious stories about common catastrophes, humiliating experiences, picking on toddlers and tailgating on the Jersey Turnpike. A testimonial for virtually every teen growing up in America today.

Not as good as Shepherd's first two books, but entertaining nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: Everybody likes Fig Newtons
Review: 12 hilarious stories about common catastrophes, humiliating experiences, picking on toddlers and tailgating on the Jersey Turnpike. A testimonial for virtually every teen growing up in America today.

Not as good as Shepherd's first two books, but entertaining nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best, but still better than anybody else.
Review: Four stars out of five? By what standard? Well, anything by Shepherd is a five star read, but when judged against "In God We Trust" and "Wanda Hickey", "A Fistful of Fig Newtons" doesn't quite rise to his own very high standards. Still, don't let this turn you off to this fine little book. While the stories (some are really essays) are not as consistantly good as some of his earlier efforts, "Lost at C" is as good (and funny!) a short story as has ever been written. All of us can identify with the poor slobs stuck in the back row of the classroom, (the "alphabetical ghetto") struggling to comprehend algebra. "The Whole Fun Cataloge of 1929" is a brilliant essay which nails American culture better than any Harvard sociologist ever has. Jean illustrated this book with his own excellent and charming line drawings...another talent not many people knew Jean had. So, for dedicated Shep fans, by all means read "Fig Newtons", and for anyone interested in a funny book, you won't be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best, but still better than anybody else.
Review: Four stars out of five? By what standard? Well, anything by Shepherd is a five star read, but when judged against "In God We Trust" and "Wanda Hickey", "A Fistful of Fig Newtons" doesn't quite rise to his own very high standards. Still, don't let this turn you off to this fine little book. While the stories (some are really essays) are not as consistantly good as some of his earlier efforts, "Lost at C" is as good (and funny!) a short story as has ever been written. All of us can identify with the poor slobs stuck in the back row of the classroom, (the "alphabetical ghetto") struggling to comprehend algebra. "The Whole Fun Cataloge of 1929" is a brilliant essay which nails American culture better than any Harvard sociologist ever has. Jean illustrated this book with his own excellent and charming line drawings...another talent not many people knew Jean had. So, for dedicated Shep fans, by all means read "Fig Newtons", and for anyone interested in a funny book, you won't be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: HOME-SPUN AND HILARIOUS
Review: Like many people, my first exposure to Jean's works was through the classic film, "A christmas Story". My love of that film spurred me on to seek out Shepherds other works so I could read many of the stories that inspired the film.

The best thing about his work is the sense of nostalgia that you get from them. Even though I was not born until the 1960's, I feel like I've lived in the 30's, 40's and 50's through his works. They capture such a feel that you can almost smell the decade.

In this book, Shepherd writes about the common every day things of life but brings such humor to them that we can really believe all of our lives are so funny. Things like mom's meatloaf, the Army, summer camps, pizza, etc...things we all experienced.

His tale of the Great Ice Cream War, forinstance, of how Mr. Leggett finally beat out the competition, the upstart Happy Cow, by just for one night giving away ice cream cones, is a story of endurance, bravery and existential choice, written in the juicy vernacular that Jean Shepherd has made his own. So is the epic of Ernie, Shep's G.I. buddy, who gambled for mighty stakes one hot night on a troop train and lost. ''Is he out there yet,'' Shepherd wonders, ''a haggard wraith living on berries and dead frogs?''

Jean Shepherd is America. His writing is so ingrained in the core of what America is (or was) you cannot help but appreciate his love for the mundane.

Just great!

Rating:
Summary: Good bye, Indiana. Hello, New Jersey.
Review: Only the fertile mind of humorist Jean Shepherd could have thought of it. His Hoosier alter ego Ralph Parker reminisces on past events in his life once again, but this time against the backdrop of a rush-hour traffic jam in the famed Lincoln Tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey. In "A Fistful of Fig Newtons", Ralph's memories are not limited to any particular period in his life, as was the case with "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash" (childhood) and "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories: And Other Disasters" (adolescence). Rather, he spans a wider field including summer camp, his first day of high school, Army life, and college. The reader will also enjoy a "critique" of the legendary Johnson Smith novelty catalog plus an amusing look at New Jersey. While still very witty and entertaining so as to earn a 9, "A Fistful of Fig Newtons" is more caustic and saltier than Shepherd's previous two books, mainly when Ralph's adult life is profiled. This book holds its own well as a work by a master satirist. Coming soon, my review of the fourth and last installment in the "tetralogy" of Shepherd books: "The Ferrari in the Bedroom".