The Swiss Family Perelman

by S.J. Perelman, Al Hirschfeld (Illustrator)

The author offers a humorous account of his family's voyage to the Far East, France, and England

Genres: Humor, Travel, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Sidney Joseph Perelman, almost always known as S. J. Perelman, was a Jewish-American humorist, author, and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker. He also wrote for several other magazines, as well as books, scripts, and screenplays.

Reviews

[Barry Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly enjoyable reading, recounting his family adventures (wife and 2 children) on a worldwide trip. Perelman’s vocabulary, arcane references and caustic style shine in this extraordinary tome. I could spend weeks looking up the words and people he drops constantly in this clever, funny book.

[Toni Wyatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretentious and not as funny as the author thinks it is, this ‘travel comedy’ just ends up libeling every country and native this family encounters on their nine month excursion. That’s right. Nine months.

It becomes impossible to have empathy for their ‘hardships’ when they are spending money hand over fist, and nothing is ever good enough. Understandably, this is supposed to be comedic, but that, imo, works much better with some realistic heartfelt moments mixed in.

The author berates his wife and children throughout, and it got old for me. 2 stars.

[Christopher Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations by Al Hirshfeld for this account of a late-1940s family voyage through Asia are a little politically incorrect (how many "Nina"s can he hide in an epicanthic fold, or in the warp and woof of a coolie hat?), but Perelman's prose is almost supernatural in its constant flow of witticism. His description of drunk Dutchmen in Indonesia vilifying Americans is utterly hilarious. He might actually be, sentence by sentence, the funniest American writer.

[Rdb]

Read 29 of 212 pages.