Dave Barry Turns 40

Make no mistake -- this is not a book about turning 40. This is a book about Baby Boomers turning 40. The generation aspect is rife throughout the book, drowning out any reflections that might be more timeless. In fact, when Barry does attempt to find something that applies to all generations, it often is more typical of his generation than his age. I read this upon turning 40 myself, and I couldn't help but remark at how little really felt familiar.

One thing to be aware of -- the typical hyperbolic humor holds for 95% of the book, but a section of the penultimate chapter gets unexpectedly real, dealing with his mother's depression and suicide. It was out of place, but an utterly beautiful passage that is worth the price of the show more book.

Recommended for Boomers who want to remember the glory days of their forties, not for Gen X'ers or Millennials reaching that age. show less

This is the kind of book I would have found stupid and banal when I was in my 20s, 30s and even 40s. Now that I'm in my 60s, I enjoyed it quite a bit. As someone who is about the same age, and definitely the same generation as Mr. Barry, I can understand and relate to just about everything he's saying. I don't think a younger person would enjoy this book. While there are no guffaws here, there are plenty of chuckles, and it was a very fast read.

I lived in a three-story apartment building when I read this book. I cannot think of another book that literally made me laugh out loud so uproarously or for so long. I couldn't put it down so kept reading far into the night, cackling and screaming throughout the entire Saturday night. The neighbors above, below, and on each side thereafter looked at me dubiously, wondering, I could tell, just *what* had been going in my apartment that night.

or, he turned 40. about 20 years ago! jeesh, I didn’t realize it had been so long.

as usual, Dave Barry had me laughing out loud on and off the entire time, and yet.

I don’t read the paper anymore, and I hardly ever read Barry’s column online (though sometimes gems are sent my way), so it had been years since I'd read anything much of his. and I realized reading through it now that his humor works because he is, in his own words, his own description of his humor here, “irresponsible and vicious”. and it was funny but it was way too true sometimes to be really funny, you know? so I had mixed feelings all the way through.

Barry is not always just making jokes, and there is a short section of the book in which he is deadly serious, show more and makes a brutal point, and I’m glad he did that; what he said was important. but it lead me even further into this strange melancholy.

what a strange creature I am if I get depressed reading Dave Barry. I think it is a sign of how detached I’ve become from my “own” culture… show less

Hilarious send-up on aging with a surprisingly serious, bittersweet passage about his mother. A must read for anyone turning 40. -1997

This is funny, but not side-splitting stuff.

funny except on parents