Oh The Things I Know [Hardcover]

Perhaps one of the strangest things Franken tries to do several times throughout the book is to change pace abruptly from comedy to serious advice. It does not work well, and is almost a pardoy of itself in that sense. Although the sections on marriage are often well-written and humorous, Franken partisans should know they aren't getting Al at his best here. True fans won't mind, but the casual reader will want to wait for another book in the political medium Franken seems to save the best of his talent for.

Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"

Sometimes I just can't figure out if he really means for us to take the advice he gives seriously, or if it is the bad advice he has promised to occasionally slip in, or if it is, purely and simply, an attempt at comedy. Hence my ambivalence.

For the moment, I am going to concentrate on some of the more meaningful of his comments: In a chapter titled "Oh The Loneliness, The Loneliness," he comments that we are born alone and that we die alone, even though we may be surrounded, in both cases, by family and friends. Unfortunately, this truly describes the human condition, and the happy man or woman is one who has learned to accommodate this existential (my description, not his) loneliness.

Another bit of good advice is that we should prepare for our declining years by anticipating the possibility for the future need of a nursing home or "assisted living facility," and check them out and pick one that we might like if we ever need one. This should be done while we are still young enough to make a valid assessment.

These are just two exmples of the better advice he gives.

Of lesser value are things like his discussion of the "inevitable" really horrible experiences during the middle years of a marriage. He apologizes to his wife in the afterword, but I think that, even if these chapters were meant to be humorous, they missed the boat.

I also found his advice that one must pick a religion in order to get through the tougher parts of life to be less than valid. He never seems to have considered such secular answers to life's so-called mysteries as Humanism. One can get through life's downs without resorting to answers from the god of his or her choice. Thus, it is my opinion that there are other ways to get survive these tough times than by resorting to an organized religion. He also has listed modern religions in order of usefulness. These rankings might be subject to questioning.

In summary then, the better and poorer suggestions tend to counterbalance one another, and the discerning reader will probably find some ideas that are of use to him or her.