Horror movies meet the horrors of growing up in this unique and hilarious collection of personal essays, which examines the culture shock of aging as seen through the prism of pop culture addiction.
Why grow up when you can watch TV, instead?
That’s the question at the heart of this story, in which multi-award-winning humor columnist Mike Cavaliere captures the funny and surprisingly poignant moments that define our journeys to and through adulthood.
Nearly 100 scary movies set the stage for true and sometimes cringeworthy tales — from late-night porta-potty tipping, a school-wide pantsing epidemic and becoming an overnight karate sensation, to receiving a rare disease diagnosis, becoming a stepparent, and wading through memories of love, death, “dance dads” and so much more.
THE HUMORIST: ADVENTURES IN ADULTING & HORROR MOVIES captures the moments both silly and sincere that define the process of coming-of-age, weaving in unexpected analogies to the history of horror cinema that speak to our universal need for human connection through cultural objects, the gift of fear and the healing power of laughter.
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Cavaliere uses horror movies to set the stage for his personal essays on the challenges of adulthood. Humor plays a definitive role throughout, at times masking deeper emotions—such as when his wife suffers a miscarriage or during the more powerful moments of parenting his precocious stepdaughter.
Prose: Cavaliere writes with skill and a solid wit aimed at putting his audience at ease while simultaneously provoking deeper thought at the themes that underlie his jesting.
Originality: The Humorist takes an original approach by incorporating lessons from horror movies into Cavaliere's adulthood journey. That unusual setup is diverting, and, when coupled with Cavaliere's humor, is a unique way to chart his comic misadventures.
Character/Execution: Despite the personal nature of Cavaliere's writing, he comes across as guarded, falling back on a reservoir of humor in uncertain situations rather than allowing himself to be vulnerable.
Date Submitted: October 07, 2023
Why grow up when you can watch TV, instead?
That's the question at the heart of a unique and hilarious collection of personal essays, titled THE HUMORIST: ADVENTURES IN ADULTING & HORROR MOVIES, which released this month.
The story centers around formative (and sometimes cringeworthy) coming-of-age stories — from late-night porta-potty tipping and a school-wide pantsing epidemic, to receiving a rare disease diagnosis, becoming a stepparent and wading through memories of love, death, “dance dads” and so much more — all of which are seen through and informed by an addiction to film, fantasy and emotional escape.
The book is available now in ebook and paperback!
https://www.amazon.com/Humorist-Adventures-Adulting-Horror-Movies/dp/B0C7J32GWQ/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#detailBullets_feature_div
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A recovering journalist, author Mike Cavaliere won several awards for his weekly newspaper humor column, "Common Nonsense," which was syndicated in The Observer newspapers throughout Florida. His first book, Tracks in the Sand: Sea Turtles and Their Protectors, won the Florida Press Association’s President’s Book Award Silver Medal, and he served as editor of Explore the Southeast National Marine Sanctuaries with Jean-Michele Cousteau, which won the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Ben Franklin Award.
