The Dangerous Animals Club'

Celebrity memoirs can be a challenge to read.  And when I say 'challenge', I don't mean interpreting the celebrity's philosophy.  When I say 'challenge', I mean wading through the nonsense while staying awake long enough to finish it.  


I felt this way when I picked up Stephen Tobolowsky's memoir, 'The Dangerous Animals Club'.  "Oh, man," I thought.  "Is this person going to tell me anything new?  Am I going to find some honesty?  Or is the book just crap?  And will I stay awake?"


Oh...I stayed awake.  His memoir, a joy to behold, was that interesting.  Not only did I have the privilege of peering into the mind of Stephen Tobolowsky, I learned quite a bit about his time with finding love and losing it, taking acting classes,  physics, and dealing with a cranky toddler.  And right off the bat, you learn what 'The Dangerous Animals Club' really is.  Or should I say, was.


Besides winning accolades for his acting ('Groundhog Day', 'Heroes', etc.), Stephen has turned out a memoir that showcases his skills as a storyteller.  He's entertaining and intelligent.  And while he shares with us his memories, good and bad, we discover that we, too, have traveled some of the   same roads.




Even though I have always appreciated his acting, it is now his writing that I find a genuine wonder.  I split a gut from laughing, despite his deep philosophical questions.


Perhaps you should write a play, Mr. Tobolowsky.  You just might earn a Pulitzer.


I'll be one of the first to send you warm congratulations.




  






'The Dangerous Animals Club' will be published in August 2012, by Simon & Schuster