Review: Klutzes of the World, Untie! You have nothing to trip on but your shoelaces!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 1, 2014
This is a fairly funny book. The author is one of those people who probably had to coordinate crutches and slings into his back-to-school wardrobe. I decided to read this book mainly because I am one of those people who broke her toe answering the telephone and who once got her hair caught in a mail slot. I survived to adulthood, too. I'm a Grandma now. So it was with some degree of fellow-feeling that I truly enjoyed this book. Matthew Weinrich not only is able to laugh at his many mishaps, he is able to cheerfully show us that despite nearly biting off his tongue and despite messing up his marriage proposal, there is a lot to be learned--and tons of reasons for constant hope.I wanted to love this book. However, it is too short. It took less than an hour to read. On the other hand, if its target audience is middle school and high schoolers who were bullied or who felt social anxiety and needed some cheering up and cheering on, then it's the perfect length. I can't tell the target audience for this book. Is it young people or adults? Or both?I found it jarring to read incidents that were not in chronological order. We jumped around the author's life from school days to adulthood, rather willy nilly, I felt. Thus, this book is best read as a devotional for the clumsy. It is best read one chapter at a time, and not in one sitting, methinks.Matthew Weinrich does know how to tell a good story. He knows how to find the kernel of truth in all of these clumsy moments and shows us what he learned. The underlying message is that human beings can make it, even if events are so out of control we really should carry a parachute and a life raft with us at all times.The author seems to be a kindred spirit not just to the clumsy, but to all those of us who need inspiration on a dark day, a reminder that the human spirit can transcend emergency room trips, bungled proposals, and broken bones. I recommend this book for that reason.