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There is no God. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Feig fully admits his neuroses and total cluelessness, yet I categorically refuse to believe that one person could have suffered so many mishaps, indignities, bullying, and general embarrassment and lived to write about it. The contents of this book simply cannot be true -- but I don't care, 'cause it makes for great reading. Even though a number of the episodes are total cliches (the dodgeball game in which everyone gangs up on him, the horrific first gym group shower, the parents to cheap to get him a proper Christmas pageant costume, the horror of the CPR dummy, Little League ineptitude), Feig manages to make them funny all over again.
This is a great book for any guy who looks back at their youth with distress at their inability to charm the ladies. No one does it worse than Feig: Childhood crush wants to kiss you? Play coy until she gets bored. Crush on cute girl in homeroom? Give her a family heirloom as gift and watch the confusion on her face as she tries to work out who you are. Crush on classmate? Tell tasteless joke comparing teacher to simian and watch her report you. Somehow manage to score a date with a cute, fun-loving chick? Recoil all night in disgust from her beer breath and deliver the worst good-night kiss of all time. The book ends on a great note, as Feig takes his childhood playmate, the girl next door, to the prom and discovers something unexpected.
However, the best stories are the ones that don't fit into the usual categories. My favorite one where he writes about the forbidden childhood thrill of digging around in his WWII vet dad's closet and decides that hanging a Nazi flag in the front bay window is a good way to honor his father's service. Then there's his bizarre flirtation with cross-dressing, and his even more bizarre sexual awakening in the midst of gym rope climb. There's the terror of riding the school bus, and an ill advised stint as PA announced at the high school football game.
It's kind of an interesting read in the sense that Feig is so utterly clueless and harmless that you find yourself constantly rooting for him to get something right. But sometimes his own admitted issues, especially the germ phobia, make one unsympathetic to his plight. In any event, it's highly entertaining and likely to make almost every reader feel better about their own school days. Apparently he's written a sequel called Superstud, about his late teen and early adult years.
Paul was a quiet and fearful boy obsessed with germs, undressing in the boy's locker room, and dealing with girls. He alternately either tried to gain acceptance from, or avoided the attention of, the other kids... all of which, of course, made him the target of ridicule or worse. He describes every anxious moment in his childhood from his unusual homemade elf costume in his first grade class play to his misgivings about his date at the senior prom. I suffered along with him on horrendous school bus trips. I felt sympathy for him when his teacher mispronounced his last name, prompting his classmates to dub him with an unfortunate permanent nickname. I cringed at his Little League and football announcer fiascos. I rooted for him when he performed in the school talent show. I worried about his decision to dress in his Mom's clothing for Halloween. And above all else, I laughed.
These stories are not just funny, however. They are masterpieces of observation about the social interactions among kids, or between kids and their parents and teachers. The anecdotes are undoubtedly exaggerated for effect, yet they ring true because they describe every adolescent's fears of fitting in. I recommend this well written and highly entertaining book.
Eileen Rieback
Paul Feig tells of his geeky and embarrasing adventure throughout school. Never have I laughed so much from reading a book. From his showering in gym escapade to the first time he discovered, erm, self love.
This is a must read for anyone who ever felt left out or completely embarrased during their school days. In fact this should be part of the required reading for school kids so they can see it could always be worse.
All jocks and cheerleader should pass, as they'll probably laughing at instead of with.
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