At Least in the City Someone Would Hear me Scream : : Misadventures in Search of a Simple Life

AADL has no copies of this item

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Table of Contents
Fiction Profile
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Roughing It in West Michigan submitted by sdunav on June 17, 2012, 8:43pm This is a mostly funny memoir about two gay men who decide to leave the city and buy a cottage in the woods near Saugatuck, a resort city on Michigan's west coast. I'm strangely attracted to the "Green Acres" city to country trope, and Rouse's combination of snark, self-deprecation, and insight into small towns and rural communities is fun, although once in a while he carries his hyperbole just a bit too far. Mostly when he's talking about shoes, tight jeans, and flab.

This is the kind of passage I loved (talking about his partner and their trip to a potluck in a church basement):

"Gary decides to go because he doesn't want to seem impolite, doesn't want to alienate anyone in a small town lest he be ostracized forever, and most notably, doesn't want anyone to miss out on his "famed" cheesy hash brown casserole.

If any event, no matter how pathetic - be it a Tupperware party, a fundraiser for Rick Santorum, or an orgy of octogenarians - involves bringing a casserole, Gary is there (p. 218)."

I also enjoyed Rouse's unique take on Thoreau and religion. Once in a while, the narrative seemed a little forced, a patchwork of manic episodes (or an episode of "I Love Lucy") - and I couldn't help comparing this to David Sedaris, which is quite unfair to Rouse. And I was pissed at an off-hand "short bus" comment. But I recommend this despite his occasional missteps.

Ricky and Lucy in Saugatuck submitted by pkooger on March 26, 2013, 9:05am Yeah, this is definitely a collection of "I Love Lucy" vignettes. It's funny and insane in a frothy kind of way. There are occasional chapters where Rouse gets serious (and these are surprisingly good) but mostly it's fun and shallow and surface level, kind of like the resort town setting.

Laugh out loud funny submitted by yugure on June 26, 2013, 8:32am I wasn't sure at first if I would like this book because the first chapter comes off a little like he's trying too hard to be funny, trying too hard to impress the reader, but I was quickly hooked by Rouse's sense of humor and writing style. I laughed out loud at several points throughout this book. What I think makes this book special is that, amidst all the humorous anecdotes are sprinkled these wonderful moments of serenity and beauty, which I think is only natural for a book written about this area of Michigan.