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Loading... Early Bird: A Memoir of Premature Retirementby Rodney Rothman
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. http://www.straycarrierpigeon.com/200... (  ) MichellePanik | Nov 3, 2009 |  This book starts off with a 28 year old Rothman losing his job as a television comedy writer and deciding to "retire early" to a senior community in Florida. The premise reads like the plot of a dumb sitcom and the cornball style of writing in the early going of this book almost made me put it down. Somewhere along the way the book changes its tone. First, Ro thman finds himself unable to leave after the joke has played out and second he begins to see the humanity of the elderly people living in retirement in South Florida and even makes some friends. He also makes some wry observations of the cliques and petty gossip in the community that should disabuse anyone of escaping these things with the wisdom of old age. Overall, its enjoyable book with some funny bits and some insightful bits that makes it just good enough to barely overcomes its weak start. (  ) Othemts | Aug 29, 2009 | Kind of a fun book. Lots of meaning for those of us who live in a retirement community. It reminds one of retired people shown in TV shows like: The Odd Couple and Seinfeld. Caricatured people, but pleasantly done. I read this book over and over.. at least the first part.. but I don't know if I'll ever finish it. Even though I like it, it loses me.. surely some fellow senior citizens can't be so rude.. or so dumb! (  ) JoeVaughan | Jun 15, 2009 | This was an interesting insight into the world of retirement and elderly people. Rothman spends more than six months in a retirement community to get a feel for what retirement is like. The book made me feel empathetic towards the elderly, allowing me to glimpse life from a new perspective. I liked getting to know the cliques within the community as well as the individuals who formed the cliques. Rothman's writing style is casual, allowing for a personal account of the time spent in the retirement community. It was an unexpectedly good read. ( ) lefty33 | Jun 11, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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Early Bird is an irreverent, hilarious, and ultimately warmhearted account of Rodney's journey deep into the heart of retirement. Rodney struggles for acceptance from the senior citizens he shares a swimming pool with and battles with cranky octogenarians who want him off their turf. Before long he observes, "I don't think Tuesdays with Morrie would have been quite so uplifting if that guy had to spend more than one day a week with Morrie."
In the spirit of retirement, Rodney fashions a busy schedule of suntanning, shuffleboard, and gambling cruises. As the months pass, his neighbors seem to forget that he is fifty years younger than they are. He finds himself the potential romantic interest of an aging femme fatale. He joins a senior softball club and is disturbed to learn that he is the worst player on the team.
Early Bird is a funny, insightful, and moving look at what happens to us when we retire, viewed from a remarkably premature perspective. Any reader who plans on becoming an old person will enjoy joining Rodney on his strange journey, as he reconsiders his notions of romance, family, friendship, and ultimately, whether he's ever going back to work.
(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:24:54 -0500)
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