The Day I Turned Uncool: Confessions of a Reluctant Grown-up 
asked by 90210 on November 23, 2006 6:41 AM
Sooner or later, each of us must face the day we develop a disturbing new interest in lawn care; the day we order sauvignon blanc instead of Rolling Rock; the day we refuse to see any concert where we cannot sit down. Sooner or later, each of us must face the day we turn uncool.
Dan Zevin, who “was never exactly Fonz-like to begin with,” is having a hilariously hard time moving from his twenties to his thirties, and he confesses everything in these comic not-coming-of-age tales. As he shamefully employs his first cleaning lady, becomes abnormally attached to his dog, and commits flagrant acts of home improvement, Dan’s headed for an early midlife crisis—and a better-late-than-never revelation: Growing up is really nothing to be reluctant about. In fact, it’s very cool.
Dan Zevin, who “was never exactly Fonz-like to begin with,” is having a hilariously hard time moving from his twenties to his thirties, and he confesses everything in these comic not-coming-of-age tales. As he shamefully employs his first cleaning lady, becomes abnormally attached to his dog, and commits flagrant acts of home improvement, Dan’s headed for an early midlife crisis—and a better-late-than-never revelation: Growing up is really nothing to be reluctant about. In fact, it’s very cool.
Reviews
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I'm sorry, Zevin is just not funny AT ALL. He's nowhere near as good as Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs. What annoyed me the most was that you could tell that he thought he was really funny, and that just made me angry. Stay away from this book.
reviewed by macfan on November 29, 2006 1:07 AM
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I'm a bit younger than Zevin and he's already describing my life, so I got a glimpse at what is coming up. This book is a quick read--a series of short entries on topics from lawn care to home improvement to the breaking of those decades-old appliances from your college days to teaching students at a local college. Zevin is a master humorist who delivers his message quickly and with a punch.
The absolute highlight of the collection is Zevin's essay which alternates passages from his journal during his junior year abroad with his experiences fifteen years later visiting his younger brother in Spain. Junior year was THE MOST INTENSE experience, closing down bars, being "stoked," sleeping in train stations, and finding truth and beauty in music and literature. That travel journal is juxtaposed brilliantly against Zevin's demand for creature comfort and different pace at age 35. "Confession: The world is no longer my oyster."
Zevin could be called a male Sandra Tsing Loh, but he gets to his point a lot faster and isn't whiny. This is a fun book, a quick, digestible read, and a great gift item for anyone in their late twenties or mid-thirties.
The absolute highlight of the collection is Zevin's essay which alternates passages from his journal during his junior year abroad with his experiences fifteen years later visiting his younger brother in Spain. Junior year was THE MOST INTENSE experience, closing down bars, being "stoked," sleeping in train stations, and finding truth and beauty in music and literature. That travel journal is juxtaposed brilliantly against Zevin's demand for creature comfort and different pace at age 35. "Confession: The world is no longer my oyster."
Zevin could be called a male Sandra Tsing Loh, but he gets to his point a lot faster and isn't whiny. This is a fun book, a quick, digestible read, and a great gift item for anyone in their late twenties or mid-thirties.
reviewed by madfool on November 29, 2006 7:20 AM
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It is nice to know that is now cool to be uncool - and I can now laugh about it!
reviewed by ibook on November 29, 2006 3:49 PM
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As someone who is well into middle age and still grappling with the idea of growing up and being an adult, I loved reading Dan Zevin's startling confessions ("I went to a wine tasing", "I am a figure of authority", etc.). I still feel like an imposter when I do something grown up like spackling or buying insurance.
Some of Zevin's confessions have been done to death ("I take pride in my lawn", "I engage in home improvement projects"), but he's easy to take and makes even these stale subjects fun to read about.
Where he really gets funny though, is when he is ticked off. One of the funniest essays is about his participation, as a freelance journalist, in an etiquette class for eight- to twelve-year-olds. The teacher is prim and snooty and Zevin is outraged at the idea of a class where the kids are taught to suck up to the teacher and to be as uptight as she is. So he befriends the class slacker.
Another chapter that stands out is when Zevin and his wife visit Zevin's younger (by fifteen years) brother in Spain. His brother is spending a semester abroad, just like Zevin did so many years ago. He compares the diaries he kept as a twenty-year-old single dude in Denmark with his "adventures" as a thirty-five-year-old married guy who thinks he might be catching a cold.
Anyone who is funny is compared to Dave Barry, and Zevin is reminiscent of Barry sometimes, but I hope that he doesn't go stale like Barry and start to pull out the booger jokes whenever he's hard up for a laugh. No matter how much you are reluctant to grow up, there are some things that just aren't as funny coming out of a fifty-year-old.
Some of Zevin's confessions have been done to death ("I take pride in my lawn", "I engage in home improvement projects"), but he's easy to take and makes even these stale subjects fun to read about.
Where he really gets funny though, is when he is ticked off. One of the funniest essays is about his participation, as a freelance journalist, in an etiquette class for eight- to twelve-year-olds. The teacher is prim and snooty and Zevin is outraged at the idea of a class where the kids are taught to suck up to the teacher and to be as uptight as she is. So he befriends the class slacker.
Another chapter that stands out is when Zevin and his wife visit Zevin's younger (by fifteen years) brother in Spain. His brother is spending a semester abroad, just like Zevin did so many years ago. He compares the diaries he kept as a twenty-year-old single dude in Denmark with his "adventures" as a thirty-five-year-old married guy who thinks he might be catching a cold.
Anyone who is funny is compared to Dave Barry, and Zevin is reminiscent of Barry sometimes, but I hope that he doesn't go stale like Barry and start to pull out the booger jokes whenever he's hard up for a laugh. No matter how much you are reluctant to grow up, there are some things that just aren't as funny coming out of a fifty-year-old.
reviewed by noreason on November 29, 2006 4:37 PM
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I was hoping to find my next David Sedaris, but alas I did not. Reading these stories, the only thing that kept coming to mind was "this guy is trying way too hard to be funny." I myself am a late twenty something, struggling with many of the same things Zevin MENTIONS - but there is never a climax, never a conclusion, just rambling and unfunny rambling at that. He often speaks of not being able to fix anything around the house, in fact there is an entire chapter on that, however it has NOTHING to do with growing up, no realizations, and NO FUNNIES! I finished the book but simply felt annoyed for doing so.
reviewed by savvy on November 29, 2006 6:03 PM