The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw

This book is hilarious. We like to read it to the middle and high school kids. You can hear them laughing about the fur coat, etc. outside the building. It has sparked many a boy into getting Partick's other books and reading for themselves. As a library director I know how hard it is to get middle and high school kids to read for pleasure. Patrick McManus is sure a pleasure. When I read the Goombaw story, and I have numerous times I still can not get through it without tears running down my face.

The book is a composite of stories of his childhood and adolescent years. He grew up in the boonies in an old run down shack. As a child he spent most of his time outside. He tells stories of tying his best friends brother up and locking him in the basement. He also gives pionters on taking fish hooks out of a buddys' ear. The book has a plot in every story; with 26 stories there are lots of plots to get burried in. The theme is pretty much the same throught out the book; Life is good if you have the right perception. I thought the book was hysterical. I actualy read the whole book. My parents almost got a divorce, because my dad would shake the room. He was laughing so hard. The book really reminded me of when I grew up; my friends and I were always outside raising cane. The way Patrick tells the story is like a joke, he lets your mind wonder before telling what happens. His choice of words really catch you, words like gunkholing or podner. I would definetly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Patrick really knows how to make people laugh.

Irving does his typically WONDERFUL reading of McManus! However, FYI, this two-cassette set only contains seven of the book's 26 stories. Along with the book's Title story, the other six audio stories are: "Gunkholing", "Sequences", "Out of Sync", "Boating Disorders", "A Brief History of Boats and Marriage", and "Scritch's Creek." Irving's rendition of "Scritch's Creek" stands as my personal all-time favorite of all the McManus stories I have heard (from this and several other tapes).

If you love the outdoors and love to laugh, his stories will make your sides ache - literally. Be prepared to laugh so hard you cry. I've yet to complete a story without having to stop and collect myself. My wife thinks I'm crazy for laughing so hard from a book!Growing up in the country I truly can appreciate all of the stories that Mr. McManus tells in his books, having experienced some of them myself!

It's sometimes hard to read, tears of laughter mean you have to stop in the middle of the story to recompose yourself. Absolutely Great. The best short story teller this century. Mark Twain has been replaced.