Messages from My Father

by Calvin Trillin

Hardcover, 1996

Status

Available

Publication

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996.

Description

The man was stubborn, says Calvin Trillin -- the second most stubborn member of the Trillin family -- to begin his fond, wry and affecting memoir of his father. Abe Trillin had the western Missouri accent of someone who had grown up in St. Joseph and the dreams of America of someone who had been born in Russia. He was given to swearing off things -- coffee, tobacco, alcohol, all neckties that were not yellow in color. Presumably, he had also sworn off swearing, although he was a collector of curses like May you have an injury that is not covered by workman's compensation. Although he had a strong vision of the sort of person he wanted his son to be, his explicit advice about how to behave didn't go beyond an almost lackadaisical You might as well be a mensch. Somehow, though, Abe Trillin's messages got through clearly. Admirers of Calvin Trillin's unerring sense of the American character will be entertained and touched by this quietly powerful memoir.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member MusicMom41
Calvin Trillin’s father was born 3 years before my Dad. My father had his child (me) later in life that Abe Trillin had his two, so I am younger than Calvin, but I could really identify with the way Calvin’s father influenced his life and the reasons for this influence. Calvin was Jewish and my
Show More
family was Presbyterian so the “language” was different but the values were very similar: hard work, integrity, fair play, and following the rules were rigorously taught and enforced. Abe and my Dad also used a similar method of influencing our actions—by suggestion rather than by order. It seemed that we could make up our own minds about things so it we did not feel the need to rebel against the “advice” we were so subtly given. This loving remembrance of his father resonated with me and I think will speak to anyone whose father had a significant impact on his life. I enjoyed getting to know this family and also learning about the immigrant experience of the East European Jews in the 20th century. Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member GraceZ
Just the kind of memoir I like: short and floaty, almost more a collection of essays about memories and events related to a person, rather than a perfectly-executed, coherent book. I think it's one of the nicest ways to pay tribute to a someone.
LibraryThing member thosgpetri
A moving tribute to a father he obviously loved, and to his family, foibles and all. Great reading! An easy and enjoyable way to while away a few hours.
LibraryThing member ChazziFrazz
This is a biography of the writer’s father, Abe Trillin, a very opinionated and stubborn man with a strong willpower. If Abe ‘swore off’ something, it was permanent. There may never be an explanation for his decision, but it was a permanent decision.

Calvin Trillin, Abe’s son and the
Show More
book’s author, is a well-known writer who writes for “Time” and “The Nation,” along with having written a number of stand-alone books. This book is and not just to his father’s stubbornness, but also the wisdom imparted from some of his father’s quotes and actions.

Growing up in Missouri in the 1950s, Calvin absorbed traits of common sense, integrity and responsibility from his father. The traits that have followed him through his life. This book is an affectionate look back at those years and the man who taught the author those traits.

There is humour, sensibility, caring and appreciation in the author’s perspective of his father. Also a visit back to a time where common sense, responsibility and integrity were a part of everyday life. For me this was a very enjoyable read.
Show Less

Language

Barcode

6345
Page: 0.2933 seconds