Floater

by Calvin Trillin

As a "floating" writer on a national magazine, Fred Becker's greatest diversion is keeping score on all office romances, until a hot tip about the president's wife gives his career a new boost

Genres: Fiction, Journalism, Humor

204 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 1980

About the author

Calvin (Bud) Marshall Trillin is an American journalist, humorist, and novelist. He is best known for his humorous writings about food and eating, but he has also written much serious journalism, comic verse, and several books of fiction.

Trillin attended public schools in Kansas City and went on to Yale University, where he served as chairman of the Yale Daily News and became a member of Scroll and Key before graduating in 1957; he later served as a trustee of the university. After a stint in the U.S. Army, he worked as a reporter for Time magazine before joining the staff of The New Yorker in 1963. His reporting for The New Yorker on the racial integration of the University of Georgia was published in his first book, An Education in Georgia. He wrote the magazine's "U.S. Journal" series from 1967 to 1982, covering local events both serious and quirky throughout the United States.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing look at journalism through the character of a lazy writer coasting on a bit of natural talent, faced with a dilemma when it comes time to actually apply it to a big story. I particularly enjoyed the repartee between writers and their techniques coping with the quirks of their editors (am I projecting too much here, or what?) such as filling a story with "decoy sentences" to satisfy an editor who tends to make cuts to every story.

Sadly, I think a lot of that repartee; the cultivating of good, knowledgeable sources and the luxury of writing stories with the help of researchers, stringers and fact-checkers has all but disappeared in the 20 years since this was first published.

I'll admit, the "twist" ending was a little disappointing and threw out most of the realistic parts of the journalism world, but the book was well worth the day and a half I spent on it before returning it to its rightful owner.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, but not as good as the stuff with Alice.

It did, however, remind me that I truly like Trillin's voice.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, reads quickly enough. I can't really put a finger on why. I suppose all the anecdotes, and all the diversions from the "main" plot. You get a sense of a lot of characters, although more from a behavioural standpoint than physical descriptions (or is that the way my mind works?). There are also some pretty amusing lines and some amusing situations--all the convolutions people go through at this office. And their schemes and dreams.

There is a surprise ending, too.

This is probably the first book I've finished reading in months. It's a lack of time and a desire for additional (yet still deficient) sleep, not a lack of interest in any particular book that kept me from finishing anything. Although I must admit that most of the books I am currently reading are the "long romance" kind of books - not romance books, but that they take months to finish because I have so little time and so many books I am spread across that overall progress is nearly zero. I had a water problem in the basement and had to evacuate everything from those rooms, at which point, the Floater book was sitting in the top of an open box, mocking me for not having read it. So I did.

This is one of about a dozen books I bought because of "So many books, so little time." I'd been looking for the book since about 2009 and last year bought it used off the Internet. It's a library surrender, and the old stamp card is still in the front. That tells a story of it's own - Checked out five times in 1985, once in 86, once in 87, once in 88, once in 91, once in 92, once in 93, once in 95, twice in 96 & 97, once in 98, three times in 2002, twice in 2005, and once in 2006.

--Brian.

[Holly Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly different kind of vampire novel -- you've probably heard that one before, but I mean it! In five novella-length chapters, Charnas draws a wonderful portrait of a vampire who really is another species. No romantic neck-biting here -- he's a cunning, cold-blooded creature out to survive in a world of humans. Some of them hunt him; some try to reach him on a personal level. Skillful and totally involving. Don't miss this one.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

mostly light and fun, with some dark humor. wry look inside the magazine publishing business from an insider perspective. a bit dated at time but can see why sara nelson picks it out as a superior forerunner to "the devil wears prada"

[Lorri Steinbacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, and you can tell that while some of the details have been exaggerated for comic effect, they all ring true. Light, fun read that has become almost quaint in its setting of a bustling news magazine, a dying if not already dead medium. Would have made a great 1980's sitcom.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book by a great writer about the magazine business. Short and light and dry wit.

[Diane Shipley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and amusing but a little silly and very dated. Preferred Tepper Isn't Going Out — it's more modern and more restrained.

[Sara Arsham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the original 1980 hardback in a used book store: a total surprise gem of a book. Funny exposé of the inner workings of a certain weekly nyc news magazine.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites of his work.

[R. Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious insights into working at a major weekly news magazine, back in the days when those magazines really mattered.

[rndgmoat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calvin Trillin is known to me, at least, for his frequent contributions to the New Yorker. He writes the kind of dry, urbane humor that wins national prizes and garners the occasional slight smile or nod of recognition.

Floater is an okay enough book. It's short, breezy, and has one or two lines that made me laugh out loud. The whole thing is completely frivolous and, ultimately, forgettable. I had high hopes for this slim volume and maybe was expecting too much out of it. Overall, it just seemed kind of aimless and a little dated as a result of its retro, un-pc vibe. I paid a dollar or two for it at the book store. Guess I can't complain.

[J R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first learned about Calvin Trillin from a Tonight Show interview with Carson Trillin did in the late 1970s. Trillin was extremely witty and I just had to read one of his books.

Unfortunately, Floater was not as humorous as Mr Trillin was in person. Even so, I will read another of his books.

Good Read

[Cassidy Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calvin Trillin has said when people call him "wry" what they mean is "almost funny". I want to call this wry, but I know how he feels about all that. It's funny, in that subtle satirical way that really speaks to me. I appreciate that it was a quick, fun read - but I would love to have more. These type of novels are rare and perfect treats.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should be mandatory reading for journalists. Classic Trillin. Read it in an airport. The occasional bursts of loud laughter will keep seats next to you empty.

[Colleen Rodgers · Rating 3 out of 5]

hard to believe people from the 80s are real- fun little book tho!