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Loading... My Family and Other Hazards: A Memoir (edition 2014)by June Melby
Work InformationMy Family and Other Hazards: A Memoir by June Melby
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The title of this book suggests that it is going to be the memoir of a dysfunctional family. A "hazardous" family. But in fact, the hazards are confined to the mini golf course where the author and her family spent summers during her childhood, and this book describes probably the most functional family I've ever heard of. Each chapter (there are 18) identifies a quality or a philosophy, almost, about one of the holes on the course and its corresponding hazard (the thing, usually a structure, that makes it difficult), and then tells the story of a particular summer or situation that parallels the philosophy of the hole. It is a comforting and solid story structure that is not unlike the family itself. The entire narrative builds toward the time when the golf course, and therefore the author's childhood home, is to be sold, an event which causes her to reflect on her own life choices, including the failings that she feels prevented her from "saving" the golf course. And as a reader I found myself feeling very sad and wistful about the end of Tom Thumb mini golf, wishing I could have visited when I was in Wisconsin as a kid. ( ) Was really looking forward to reading this from the reviews. Quirky characters, some life lessons, stories about a tourist attraction in central WI. It sounded like something I would really enjoy. And I did enjoy it - just not as much as I thought I would. Especially the last 1/2 of the book had fewer stories, more introspection, not as fun reading. Numerous sentences I quoted to whomever was in the room with me though. Summer 2018 update: My family is vacationing in Waupaca this summer, so I read this again. According to Waupaca Chamber, Tom Thumb is still in business and I hope to play there during our vacation. Reading the book again, I really like how Melby discusses local history, the history of Tom Thumb, and her memories of growing up there. But I like that sort of thing :-) I also like how she tries to make each hazard a metaphor for an aspect of life. I don't think the stories she tells always necessarily relate to the metaphor of that chapter, and she runs out of stories during the last few chapters, but I still like the book and I did quote numerous sentences again. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Interesting topic but it gets a little boring describing all the details of the miniature golf course. And the repetitive things that happen.I liked it that it is about a real story. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I tried to like this book, I really did. Unfortunately, the poinency of the memoir style is drowned in the awkwardness of the book's wording, the slowness of the the pacing, and the general dullness of the content. The author made a valiant effort to draw the reader into the oddness and quirkiness of her familial situation, but it simply falls flat. Honestly, not a book I'd recommend that any of my friends spend precious time on reading. My Family and Other Hazards was a fun and quick read. The way June Melby intertwines the past and the present is presented in an easy way that does not make it difficult to follow. The history of the various hazards are told as if you are there. The interaction between family members reminded me of my own sisters and me. The eldest being the bossy one. Who doesn't have that family dynamic whether in New York City or the Chain of Lakes are in Wisconsin? I really did enjoy this book and I recommend it for anyone. no reviews | add a review
Biography & Autobiography.
Family & Relationships.
Nonfiction.
Humor (Nonfiction.)
HTML: A funny, heartwarming memoir about saying goodbye to your childhood home, in this case a quirky, one-of-a-kind, family-run miniature golf course in the woods of Wisconsin When June Melby was ten years old, her parents decided on a whim to buy the miniature golf course in the small Wisconsin town where they vacationed every summer. Without any business experience or outside employees, the family sets out to open Tom Thumb Miniature Golf to the public. Naturally, there are bumps along the way. In My Family and Other Hazards, Melby recreates all the squabbling, confusion, and ultimately triumph, of one family's quest to build something together, and brings to life the joys of one of America's favorite pastimes. In sharp, funny prose, we get the hazards that taunted players at each hole, and the dedication and hard work that went into each one's creation. All the familiar delights of summer are hereā??snowcones and popcorn and long days spent with people you love. Melby's relationship with the course is love-hate from the beginning, given the summer's freedom it robs her of, but when her parents decide to sell the course years later, her panicked reaction surprises even her. Now an adult living in Hollywood, having flown the Midwest long ago, she flies back to the course to help run it before the sale goes through, wondering if she should try to stop it. As the clock ticks, she reflects on what the course meant to her both as a child and an adult, the simpler era that it represents, and the particular pains of losing your childhood home, even years after you've left it. No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumJune Melby's book My Family and Other Hazards was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNone
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)796.352The arts Recreational and performing arts Athletic and outdoor sports and games Ball sports Ball and stick sports GolfLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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