Man of the House

Ad Hudler has skillfully written a wildly funny depiction of a stay-at-home dad in the throes of a mid-life identity crisis. With his obsessive personality, Linc Menner is meticulously perfect in his homemaking and parenting responsibilities. Actually, he's a male version of Martha Stewart! After moving to Florida, his newest obsessions are hurricane (over)preparations and the chaos of their home renovation. Realizing he's vastly different from the workmen and inspired by the macho general contractor, he decides to become more "manly". What follow is a hilarious account of his startling transformation narrated by Linc, his wife, 13-year-old daughter and a stalker English teacher. I absolutely loved this thoroughly entertaining book. Mr. Hudler's writing style is utterly captivating. With his vivid characterization and humorous language, he definitely kept me laughing. On a serious note, this book does serve as an intriguing examination of non-traditional gender roles. All in all, this was well crafted, fascinating, and a delight to read. I highly recommend it! This is the sequel to "Househusband", although both books stand alone.

...humor, reality, and insight kept my attention. Great easy read; recommend it for bedtime, the beach, or the subway commute.

A man around the house gives us a frighteningly funny look at a stay at home dad and his atypical family. After 13 yrs as a stay at home parent to his daughter Violet & househusband to his wife Jo Lincoln Menner is having gender identity issues. A relocation to Naples Florida brings added turmoil to his life, a total remodel on their new home, a teenager going through her own identity crisis and a wife who works long hours and now hurricanes. Mr. Hudler gives us a hilariously funny and very intuitive look at role reversals and a family in crisis. I found myself laughing out loud on minute and shaking my head the next. The novel is very well written with the author's unique way with words. The characters are wonderfully warm and funny and very human, and the story line is first rate. I recommend this book to men and women alike. It will hold a proud place in my personal library. The work is a sequel to "Househusband", but does well as a stand a lone.

Man of the House is the sequel to an earlier work called Househusband, which I haven't read. Man of the House stands alone just fine, and I did not feel that I was missing out on any essential information. Violet, Linc's daughter, is 13 and attending a fancy prep school where the other moms drive expensive SUVs and talk on their cell phones constantly. Jo, Linc's wife, is running a hospital, a job that keeps her up late and sends her on the road far too often. The novel's point of view switches back and forth between these two, Linc, and Violet's English teacher, Jessica. It threw me for a loop at first, but you quickly learn to look for the name at the beginning of each chapter that indicates who's speaking. It helps, of course, that each chapter is skillfully written in voice. Much of the fascination of Man of the House comes from its quirky humor. It's fun to ride along with the characters as they do really neat things (some of Linc's ways of engaging his daughter's imagination are priceless, while others are hysterically over-the-top). It's equally fun to watch them run headlong toward many of the pitfalls they can't see coming (Linc's attempts to engage the contractors in conversation only send them running as he erupts into passionate discourse on the difference between baking and cooking). I found some parts a bit on the depressing side as Linc reaches the worst of his funk and his wife seems to have little success in reaching out to him. However, what could have been a largely extraneous plot about an English teacher who's a little too interested in Mr. Menner instead nicely dovetails with Linc's identity crisis, giving us not only a different and valuable perspective on his actions, but acting finally as a catalyst to bring the whole thing to its conclusion. It also gives us a perfect contrast with Linc's obsessive nature, to show that there can indeed be a fine line between beneficial and harmful obsessiveness. I highly recommend giving Ad Hudler's Man of the House a read. It's entertaining, unusual, and engaging, and dives headlong into issues of gender roles and stereotyping without a trace of self-consciousness or preachiness.

Man of the House, the sequel to Househusband, continues the story of the Menner family. Linc, Jo, and their teenage daughter Violet have recently relocated from New York to Naples, Florida. They purchased a fixer-upper and the living conditions are terrible. The roles in this family are not traditional-Linc is a stay-at-home father while Jo holds a prestigious job at a hospital. This arrangement has worked well since Linc was raised to be somewhat feminine by his mother. However, as his daughter seems to need him less as she gets older, Linc begins to realize he has been living in what he refers to as "girlyland" and starts becoming interested in doing manly things. Women will love this book because it portrays a man trying to fit into a woman's world. Men should be required to read this in order to appreciate the amount of responsibilities stay-at-home moms have. Humor resonates throughout the entire book. As someone who lives in hurricane-prone areas, I found the parts in which Linc was making preparations for an imminent hurricane hilarious. I also found the emails Linc sent to the headmaster at Violet's prestigious school humorous. I'm sure they have never met a parent like Linc before. The transformation of Linc from a meticulous, nearly perfectionist individual, into someone who started taking shortcuts and cutting corners, was excellently portrayed. Watching Linc recognize that he had given up so much of whom he is for so long and seeing him take the steps to regain his passions was empowering. I was disappointed in Jo's selfishness and sense of entitlement when it came to possibly having to make changes in her life to satisfy Linc. Each chapter tells the story from a different character's point of view, thus allowing the reader to feel a bond with each one and to understand their innermost thoughts. This story is funny and enlightening and will entertain anyone who reads it. I would love to see a sequel to find out what further developments will occur in this family's life. Armchair Interviews says: Most enjoyable read.