Elated by Details

Author: Adam Freedman
Genre: Humor
Reviewed by Patricia Ferguson, PsyD

Adam Freedman’s book of short stories is an interesting look into humor from a man’s perspective, or at least Freedman’s perspective. I’m not sure if it is representative of humor of men in general, but I believe it may be. Men tell jokes, women never remember them. I know studies have been done on the differences in humor between the genders and that is what is found. But of course, I have read many humorous writings by men, such as Dave Barry, Woody Allen, and others, and I enjoyed them completely.

Perhaps this particular humor is the problem. Are puns really funny? Well, not to me. So it is not really a wonder that I found myself having difficulty relating to this book. However, I’ll bet money that a man would like it, or at least more men than women. Freedman’s premise throughout the book is playing on words, turning them inside out and backwards, and the joke is that the other person doesn’t get it. I got it, but didn’t see the humor in it. I tried reading it from the perspective of ignoring the bad humor and just getting into the stories, and that didn’t work for me either.

There are several stories about different topics, so I hoped that as the book went on I would come to like it more. For me, the characters weren’t developed enough, the story didn’t catch me and keep me interested, and thus I was a reader lost.

I think that certainly there is a market for books like this one, and that just because I didn’t care for it doesn’t mean someone else won’t. Obviously, we all have different tastes. What I can say to a reader interested in this book is that it is a book of humorous short stories, generally about coming of age or breaking out of the mold of everyday life. While the topics and characters change, it is clear that one voice is speaking throughout: Freedman’s.

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