Too Soon To Tell

by Calvin Trillin

Too Soon To Tell reveals Trillin at his barbed and irrepressible best. His short takes send us back to contemporary life refreshed and delighted.

Genres: Essays, Humor, Nonfiction

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Marigold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trillin is never less than good. This book, however, is a collection of essays from the early 1990s - which I came to realize seems very far away. Kind of dated. Funny in bits but wasn't a "wow" for me.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short humorous essays; somewhat dated but still fun to read as a look-back to the 90's.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. A collection of columns. Individually, they are perhaps amusing. As a book, they are wearying.

[Lyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated material takes away from the joy of reading these essays. Not as timeless as About Alice, but still a few choice essays.

[JoAnne]

I agree with "meh" as another reader put it. A few of the pieces were pretty funny in my opinion, but most were just ok. The video game story with grandpa and grandchild had me laughing.

[Brandy Hussa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trillin has a great voice but does not button a short essay well. Very dated essays. Easy to pick up and put down....

[Paul Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated, but still funny.

[Bonajean McAneney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love.

[J R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read.

[Natalie Kaiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful compilation of short essays that deliver insightful commentary on society, using current events as a jumping off point and hilarious hypothetical scenarios to further illustrate the point.

[Milt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bud done good