Cannot get into this book - have picked it up again and again and it just doesn't capture me. ( )

Hilarious coming of age type novel and the only Irving I can stand. Full of really weird characters and bizzare situations, this is great farce. Fred 'Bogus' Trumper (aka Thump-Thump) goes from bad to worse in the attempt to get his shit together. His long-suffering wife Biggie, old friend Cuth and deranged boss Ralph Packer alternately make things better and worse. Then there is the mysterious Merrill Overturf - did he really exist? Was there really a pee-cup incident? And just how does his current girlfriend Tulpen find the strength to stick around when Ralph decides Bogus's failure of an existence would make a smashing film? Side trips through Bogus's translation of an epic poem in "Old Low Norse" make for really great counterpoints in the overall story. ( )

it was laugh-out-loud funny. and cause trumper is dealing with "the real world" in his own way i could definatly relate to him on so many levels. it was classic irving- all the normal themes: lust, infedelity, parental relationships, being a father, travel, sex... you get the idea. it would be cool if irving wrote from a woman's point of view... i wonder what he would have to say.... ( )