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Big Babies
A.J. Fleger, an encyclopedia salesman who puts women to sleep, tries to attract the attention of the prettiest girl in the Public Setback Suport group that his brother, Sterling, is attending in hopes of restarting his stalled acting career.
248 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1996
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About the author
Sherwood Kiraly
5 books6 followersAuthor of four novels, screenwriter of Diminished Capacity, and professor of creative writing and writer-in-residence at Knox College.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 18, 2024
“I couldn’t remember this speech, so nobody knocked on the door. We just stood there on stage and got older.”
I mean come on, one of my favorite professors at college wrote this book, how could I not like it? I could see so much of him in it — from shared life experiences, to the fact that both he and Sterling have an acting background, to the comedic tone that underlines the piece, I could see so much of him in it. Which was really cool! I’ve never read a book written by someone I know before, it was really neat. I think I’ll get him to sign my copy at graduation :)
With my potential bias set aside though, I thought it was funny without pushing itself too far. AJ as a character has a dry and direct style to him which was reflected well by the humor in the piece -- especially given how excentric the rest of the cast of characters are. Sterling, Elston, and the Bogles are all so wild, while being grounded enough that I am willing to stick with them and the humor they bring. And there were quite a few one liners that stuck with me — the one about Sterling not having to say his lines if the stunt went wrong comes to mind. I also found that the book went in lots of directions and yet I never thought it was moving too fast, an impressive feat. A fun read through and through, and a nice break from the heavier plays and poetry I’ve been assigned for classes recently.
Rating - 8/10
I mean come on, one of my favorite professors at college wrote this book, how could I not like it? I could see so much of him in it — from shared life experiences, to the fact that both he and Sterling have an acting background, to the comedic tone that underlines the piece, I could see so much of him in it. Which was really cool! I’ve never read a book written by someone I know before, it was really neat. I think I’ll get him to sign my copy at graduation :)
With my potential bias set aside though, I thought it was funny without pushing itself too far. AJ as a character has a dry and direct style to him which was reflected well by the humor in the piece -- especially given how excentric the rest of the cast of characters are. Sterling, Elston, and the Bogles are all so wild, while being grounded enough that I am willing to stick with them and the humor they bring. And there were quite a few one liners that stuck with me — the one about Sterling not having to say his lines if the stunt went wrong comes to mind. I also found that the book went in lots of directions and yet I never thought it was moving too fast, an impressive feat. A fun read through and through, and a nice break from the heavier plays and poetry I’ve been assigned for classes recently.
Rating - 8/10
September 28, 2011
I picked this up at my local library - it was the last book on the left in the last bookshelf I passed before heading for the check-out desk. I liked the text on the front where it quoted "You can't get through life without encountering at least two violently unstable people - and that's just in your family." I totally relate to that kind of thing.
I ended up spending the rest of the day pretty much doing nothing but reading this book. It was fresh (and that's saying a LOT right there), it was entertaining, it was touching, and it contained lots of little bursts of genius spoken in a distinctive voice. AJ is a loser who doesn't really mind. He had pretty much expected that his life would be a deal where other people would do stuff and he would comment on it. His brother, Sterling, was the person he expected would be a shining star. Instead, he became a bottle rocket.
How Sterling became a bottle rocket (while making a commercial for the Little Spudge-Face Baby Safety Suit) is the gravy of the story, while the real meat is the relationship between two adopted brothers, biologically unrelated, but close to each other in a way that, perhaps, can only be accomplished by surviving a tough childhood together. This relationship, and all the different attacks on it, really took the story past humorous and into meaningful. I loved it. And I especially enjoyed all the turns of phrase, such as "All my big moments are little." Well, it's usually those little moments that make us.
Good book. Enjoyed it. Gonna read more by Sherwood Kiraly.
I ended up spending the rest of the day pretty much doing nothing but reading this book. It was fresh (and that's saying a LOT right there), it was entertaining, it was touching, and it contained lots of little bursts of genius spoken in a distinctive voice. AJ is a loser who doesn't really mind. He had pretty much expected that his life would be a deal where other people would do stuff and he would comment on it. His brother, Sterling, was the person he expected would be a shining star. Instead, he became a bottle rocket.
How Sterling became a bottle rocket (while making a commercial for the Little Spudge-Face Baby Safety Suit) is the gravy of the story, while the real meat is the relationship between two adopted brothers, biologically unrelated, but close to each other in a way that, perhaps, can only be accomplished by surviving a tough childhood together. This relationship, and all the different attacks on it, really took the story past humorous and into meaningful. I loved it. And I especially enjoyed all the turns of phrase, such as "All my big moments are little." Well, it's usually those little moments that make us.
Good book. Enjoyed it. Gonna read more by Sherwood Kiraly.
October 12, 2014
I liked it. I like most stories about two brothers and this one got really good towards the end.
July 17, 2008
I just got this from the library at random, and I ended up really enjoying it! My husband even read it (he never reads anything, so that's saying something) and laughed out loud in parts. Very funny and fun to read!
September 27, 2013
Quirky and really different. I've read it twice and enjoyed it both times.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews