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May 07, 2007

cathy rated it:

When About Alice first appeared as an essay in The New Yorker last year, I remember missing my train stop because I was so engrossed by Trillin’s eulogy and love letter to his late wife. Trillin opens his heart and home to readers as he chronicles his relationship with Alice from their first chance meeting at a party, to their final good-bye when cancer claimed her life after a 20-year remission. Trillin has written about Alice in other books (which I have not read), and he admits that those po More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 25, 2008

Yosafbridg rated it:

About Alice is Calvin Trillin's beautiful, loving tribute to his late wife, Alice. After over forty years together he still speaks of her with that true-love light in his voice, as if she could have done no wrong~and those things she did do which differed from him, which perhaps annoyed him, which perhaps they argued about were just those darling little eccentricities that endeared her to him ever the more.

I don't recall reading any of Trillin's New Yorker pieces before though i'm su More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Steve rated it:

Every once in a while we’re reminded that bad things can happen to good people. The good people in this case are Calvin, the writer, and his dearly departed wife, Alice. As you might expect from a loving tribute, pedestals and pathos are intrinsic. The earnest Trillin, smitten to the core, did his best to make her real, but still may have crossed into too-good-to-be-true territory. In a way, I had hoped for as much. Devotion suits him. Other things I’d read made him seem like such a pleas More...

6 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 23, 2008

Al rated it:

I read this when it was published in the New Yorker. It is an amazing remembrance of Alice, Calvin Trillin's wife and muse, who died of heart failure in New York City on September 11, 2001. When I saw the book on amazon.com, it said it was expanded. So I'll have to re-read it to see what else he's added.

I've only saved two editions of The New Yorker since I started reading it over 20 years ago. The first was the first post 9/11 edition with the black-on-black Art Spiegelman cover More...

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Jan 07, 2009

Ross rated it:

What I learned from this book? If you are walking down the street and, against all odds, just happened to get hit on the head with a flower pot, you need to get the flower pot off your head and keep walking.

This is a charming book that I just heard in audio form--read by the author. That is a special treat, I think, for this tribute. Trillin is so funny and loving about his late wife, who I certanily did not know. But I wish I had.

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jul 17, 2007

lia rated it:

So Calvin Trillin has been writing stories for the New Yorker for years. I like him in the New Yorker-white guy-smart-funny-older & thus from a simpler era kind of way. He often wrote very lovingly and sweetly and funnily about his wife Alice.

This is a tiny book, around seventy pages or so, talking about Alice, her diagnosis of lung cancer in the seventies and her heart failure in the nineties from the radiation she had received to kill her cancer. It sounds like a downer I guess, an More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Chad rated it:

Calvin Trillin is one of my favorite writers because he is wry and subversive without being furious. If he were to read his books and essays to me, I would expect him to do so with a sidelong glance and a smirk.

(When I heard he had once been repeatedly reprimanded and finally fired from a columnist job for relegating Christian historical events to the hypothetical - "the alleged Crucifixion" for example - I realized I had found a writer to whom I could consistently turn.)
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Mar 13, 2008

Amy rated it:

About Alice is one of those books which adds a bunch more books to your reading list. I now want to read the rest of Calvin Trillan's books, and his wife Alice's writing also.

To me, this is a love story -- but not in the usual sense of that term. It's true that the romantic, love-at-first-sight, heart-stopping first meeing is described here, but the story goes far beyond that.

Alice and Calvin had a lifetime of love, and although I think we all long for such a thing, we More...

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Feb 07, 2009

Sara rated it:

This is a short book, a loving tribute to his wife Alice who died in 2001 of heart failure at age 61. What comes through in every word is how treasured & special Alice was to Trillin, their daughters & the other people in their lives. I listened to this one on CD & got to enjoy the author reading it himself. A lovely, lovely tribute!

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 15, 2008

Nomi rated it:

A delicious offering to his late wife and their life together, I tried hard to finish Calvin Trillin's book in a single reading and managed to space it out over three days.
It is a compact tome, with chapters representing themes that repeated throughout some 36 years of marriage. There is not one wasted word. As has been my experience with other books by Trillin, his humor made me smile, sometimes through tears. In this entry, it extends to their friends, including Trillin's account of Nora More...

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Feb 28, 2008

Happyreader rated it:

This heartfelt tribute to his wife is also fascinating portrait of a cancer survivor. Alice Trillin died on September 11, 2001 from complications of her radiation cancer therapy -- 25 years after the therapy ended.

After reading this, you'll want to read more from Alice herself. If you have access to a good library, check out her New England Journal of Medicine article entitled "Of Dragons and Garden Peas: A Cancer Patient Talks to Doctors" in the March 19, 1981 issue. An More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 29, 2007

Leigh rated it:

This book was critically acclaimed, and I read it on the recommendations of magazine and newspaper reviewers.

I didn't think it lived up to the acclaim.

The book is a postscript to the author's other writings about his beloved wife, Alice, who passed away last year. Calvin had written about Alice for years; indeed, the vast majority of his work apparently centered around his deep-felt love for this woman.

Only I've never read any of his other writings.

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Jun 01, 2008

Jessica rated it:

I haven't read much of Trillin's previous work, so I'm sure this book didn't have the same effect on me that it would have on someone who has come to know Alice through Calvin's words. Trillin was so charming when I heard him on The Diane Rehm Show, though, that I just had to read this book, a 77-page reflection written after the death of his wife. I picked up the book and read it in one sitting, on the floor of the psychology section at Borders. Don't be fooled, though; the beauty of this book More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Giovanna rated it:

This is apparently a slightly longer version of the aritcle that ran in the New Yorker in 2006. For such a slim edition, it's a remarkably generous book. Trillin lets the reader see--or makes them feel they see--into his love for his wife. I felt like I knew him and Alice all along throughout their life together. Yet the writing is not at all voyeuristic. I wonder at how he could write such a perfect piece. In 78 pages--short ones at that--, Trillin writes in his perfect way: elegant and succ More...

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Jun 16, 2008

Diane rated it:

This is a marvelous little book. It's a love letter to Trillin's wife, Alice, who died of heart failure in 2001.

It's filled with funny and touching anecdotes about their life together. My favorite moment is when Alice was convinced she lost her looks because she couldn't get out of a speeding ticket. Trillin tries to convince her that it's really because there's been an influx of gay police officers. "Of course we're all in favor of that," Trillin said, "but it's bound More...

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Oct 06, 2011

Elliot rated it:

‘“You have never again been as funny as you were that night,” Alice would say, twenty or thirty years later. “You mean I peaked in December of 1963?” “I’m afraid so.”’ Couples should read this lovely book out loud to each other. Calvin Trillin is a writer for The New Yorker and who writes the “Deadline Poet” column for The Nation. This is the first book of his I read, after hearing him on NPR. It is short, only 80 pages, an extended eulogy for his wife who died in 2011. Alice Stewart Trillin was More...

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Aug 11, 2011

Aleeda added it

This book can be read in one sitting; I chose the audiobook version which is a single CD, wanting to HEAR Mr. Trillin's tribute to his late wife. I bawled and laughed uproariously from the first chapter until the last. Mr. Trillin comes clean about his description of his wife, accumulated over the years. Many people sent condolences to him, saying that they felt they knew her through his books, and this prompted him to set the record straight. She was often the foil and straight man for his c More...

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Aug 22, 2010

David rated it:

New Yorker staff writer Calvin Trillin is the only author I know who could write an entire novel about something as pedestrian as finding a parking space in New York City (Tepper Isn’t Going Out, Random House, 2002). The magic of Tepper is really in the relationship between the curmudgeony protagonist – who refuses to move his car once he’s found the perfect spot – and his assertive wife, who lovingly tolerates his idiosyncrasies. After reading Trillin’s wonderful memoir About Alice (Random Ho More...

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Mar 07, 2010

Matt rated it:

My first exposure to Calvin Trillin was pretty late in the game. It was at the Herbst Theater in 2007 when he was part of a Q&A trio that included Ruth Reichl and Alice Waters. Not having any previous knowledge of who Calvin was or what he had done, I was blown away by his captivating personality. He stole the show that night, and I suspect every time he speaks. Calvin always had something interesting to say, had everyone in the audience in stitches throught the evening, and most impor More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Sarah rated it:

This book is a ode to the author's wife, who died (of heart failure) due to the very treatments that saved her from cancer.
This is a book of romance and storytelling.
I can't quite put into words how much I loved this precious little 75-pager.
Calvin Trillin is a long-time contributer to the New York Times and Magazine. He is a great wordsmith who loved his wife and has managed to communicate this in words, which so often fall short.
Pick this up, pick this up now.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 17, 2007

C(h)ristine rated it:

This is the first book I completed reading after my stroke. I remember the excerpt from The New Yorker and feeling so inspired by his love for his late wife, and so I was completely drawn to this book once it came out. In fact, in both my post-stroke short term memory addled state and this unique draw to the story…I bought TWO copies of the book. A short read (a small book, and less then 80 pages long), but incredibly touching–you’ll want to be Alice.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 27, 2010

Manda rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jul 27, 2008

Julia rated it:

I had read large parts of this book in The New Yorker a few years back; its author, Calvin Trillin, has been a staff writer there for years. This is a love-filled, often funny, minimally bittersweet ode to his wife and muse Alice. It's short, doesn't take more than an hour to read. If you enjoy little windows into the lives of other people, especially the exceptionally satisfying love-lives, you'll like it.

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Dec 31, 2007

Steve rated it:

Calvin Trillin's touching ode to his wife, who died in 2001. The book is very, very similar (if not identical), to his 2006 New Yorker piece about his wife, but it's still a sweet tribute. Trillin isn't oversentimental but he's very honest. It's not like Mitch Albom, where you feel like he's waiting for death because it'll make a sadder ending.
About Alice is a short and sad and ultimately heart-warming read.

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 07, 2007

Shirley rated it:

The lumpy throat started on page 6 (of this very short book, which is article length) when Calvin Trillin was recalling how he got a lot of letters from his readers about Alice, although they had never met her, but knew her only through his writing - like the letter from a young woman who "sometimes looked at her boyfriend and thought, 'But will he love me like Calvin loves Alice?'"

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 24, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

What a beautiful book - a love story that isn't corny, that isn't sappy - it's just beautiful and real. Anyone who is cynical about what love is, or if it can last needs to read this one. Highly recommended. (and if you want to read just two pages that completely describe just how awesome Alice was, make them 65 and 66.)

*Her identity included engagement and optimism and enthusiasm. One of the most negative words she could use in describing someone was "passive".

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Nov 16, 2007

Heather S. rated it:

tribute by newyorker comic writer calvin trilling for his wife alice. its nice to witness such adoration -- he really thought the world of her and for good purpose. she was a very dynamic woman. it was also a bit of an insight into the early 60-70s nyc literary scene and general peek into the lives of committed manhattanites. i am in awe of those kinds of people.

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May 02, 2007

Kaitlin rated it:

This was basically a love letter to Calvin Trillin's wife who has died. I love his writing in the NYer and loved this. It's obvious how much he loves her from his essays. The book was so short, less than 100 pages, but it painted a clear picture of what love can and should be. His writing is clear, simple, and poignant. A small treasure of a book!

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

The humor that Calvin Trillin exhibits so brilliantly in his travel and food pieces is strongly evident in his loving tribute to his wife, even when he writes about Alice's battle with cancer or the eulogies delivered at her memorial service. The combination of lighthearted wit and deeply emotional topics appealed to reviewers universally, and several even suggested that readers have tissues handy for the more emotional passages. Trillin maintains a delicate veil over any aspects of his marriage

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Nov 22, 2008

Jan rated it:

It isn't often we see a high society couple truly devoted to one another.

My most favorite part of the book is while they are volunteering at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. They meet a little girl who is severely disabled with two genetic diseases: one stunts her growth, the other prevents her from digesting her food. She has to be fed every night by a feeding tube. But this little girl is always happy.

While playing Duck Duck Goose, the little girl was "it", More...

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