In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.00 You Save: $7.95 (53%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash
Book Review: Be careful of what you expect
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're like me, you are thinking about this book because you've seen "A Christmas Story" dozens of times and you want to read the source for that witty and fun Holiday classic. Well, you won't be disappointed.
Many of the stories found in the movie are right there in the pages, though the premise of the book is a little different than the movie and in some cases the descriptions in the pages of the book don't exactly match the images on the television screen.
I found it hard to read the book and not continually picture Peter Billingsley in all of the scenes, even though in the book, Ralph's stories are different ages than the approximated 10 year old "Ralphie" of Christmas story fame. Still, the book was an entertaining and heart-warming read.
Sure the movie added some stories that weren't in the book, like the "Fuuuudge" scene and the Peking Duck, but I guess Hollywood will always take its license ... and well, Jean Shepherd was there overseeing the movie production, so he would be the one to complain if anyone.
If you're looking for a trip down memory lane, or just want a fun read with a bit of social commentary on society, this is a great book.
Book Review: Lightening the Depression
Summary: 4 Stars
Humorous reminiscences of a childhood in Northern Indiana during the Depression (the one in the thirties) told from the perspective of the fifties. After the savage bite and originality of "Running with Scissors" this may seem too full of sweetness and light, but maybe you like sweetness and light. Some of it is genuinely funny, and I laughed out loud at times. The stories that made me laugh were "Wilbur Duckworth and His Magic Baton" and "Miss Bryfogel and the Frightening Case of the Speckle-throated Cuckold" (which is as close as the book comes to any mention of sex). Shepherd relies heavily on mock-heroics, an old-fashioned type of humor that uses fancy words to describe humble things, such as saying that a candy store owner "operated a mercantile establishment." He likes long-winded descriptions prefaced with phrases such as "for those who have never seen a fireworks stand a brief description would not be too far amiss." It may have gone over much better on radio, with the author reading it, than it does on the printed page. It could get repetitious at times.Book Review: Different from the movie
Summary: 4 Stars
I imagine that most people will come to this book like I did, from the movie A Christmas Story. First off, this book isn't primarily about Christmas - only the second chapter is. The movie takes several chapters of the book and sets them all at Christmastime. The book is much more bleak than the movie. There really isn't a story. Ralph, now a newspaperman in the 1960's, goes back to his hometown to write an article. The whole book takes place in an afternoon of telling stories with Flick, who now runs a local bar. In the book, everywhere is the reality of the Depression and the bleakness of the Midwest.I'm glad I read the book. I recommend it. But I have to say that this is one of the instances in which the movie is actually better. I was genuinely sad to find out the fate of poor Schwartz. To me, I will always think of this story in movie-form: of Chinese Turkey, of Flick's tongue stuck to the telephone poll, and Ralphie saying "FUDGE!!!" (Only he didn't say "fudge").
Book Review: Loving satire
Summary: 4 Stars
Jean Shepherd's deft, affectionate, daffy sendup of his depression era childhood is one of the most charming reads you'll ever stumble across. For those unfamiliar with Shepherd, his writing is a wonderfully relaxed, rambling sort of gentle satire. There's nothing especially laid back about reading it; you're going to laugh out loud at this book, and there's plenty of hypocrisy being skewered and all that. Shepherd just lacks the sort of bitterness you expect from some other "humorists." His overall tone is more amused self-deprecation than anything else.
In short, Jean Shepherd makes the perfect bedtime read for grownups. This particular book also happens to include the chapter or two on which the classic movie "A Christmas Story" was based, so it's been rereleased in a form that'll make a relatively cheap, great gift under the tree.
Book Review: Enjoyed the stories
Summary: 4 Stars
First off it is important to remember that these stories were not originally intended to be a book, but were actually intended for radio and were published together in book form some time later. Secondly, while this book inspired A Christmas Story, it is not A Christmas Story so if you are looking for that you are going to be disappointed. The premise of the book is that Ralph has returned home for a visit and winds at a local bar owned by his childhood friend Flick and the two of them reminisce about the old days. The Ralph and Flick dialogue sections were basically added to bridge between the stories and one could just skip those altogether. For my part I enjoyed the stories. I found them entertaining and an easy read. I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for some fairly light entertainment.