Never Sleep three in a Bed

by Max Braithwaite

An autobiographical memoir of growing up in Saskatchewan during the first quarter of the century.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Humor, Canada

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

1911-1994

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of three books which the TV series "Wind at My Back" is based on; I enjoyed the book very much as I love the TV Series. I definitely will try to find the other two novels!
The story of Hub and Fat and their large family living in Saskatchewan during the 1920s. So many things that I could relate to and recognize as I have lived in Saskatchewan all my life. "Three in a bed" I can relate to because for many of my early years my two sisters and I shared a bed...no one ever wet the bed though lol...

[Jane Minieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and would like to read the rest of the trilogy. Braithwaite is a wonderful story teller with wit and a rhythm that engages and delights the reader. He remembers his childhood quite fondly and tells a dear and funny story about growing up in the prairies of Saskatchewan.

Would I be amiss not to mention that some sentences made me cringe due to their sexist tones? Maybe not. But there I did it.

[Twyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an easy read; but it read like one of those old style comedian specials. You could practically see him walking off stage to sip on a water every once in a while to come back and narrate the rest of it to me. The vignettes are not long; a couple pages at most so its good for reading on coffee breaks at work or in the waiting room at the doc's office etc because you never have to worry about following a plot or remembering what happened last time you read. At the beginning he is you and at the end he is less young and in general it follows that transition in age; ending at the stock market crash in 1929 with some really dark words that are the opposite of the frivolity of the rest of it. He calls things hilarious or dire or embarrassing that are just ... meh ... rather than being so emotional; maybe I just didn't get it.
There's a bit about PA in there from when he lived there and I found it really weird to read about a place I go to all the time and see from different eyes.

[Jovana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad that I read the other two books in this trilogy of sorts first, because I enjoyed them both a good deal more. See, Braithwaite's books tend to contain outdated moral/social views, but I felt that the views expressed in his other two books were portrayed as being from the early 1900s. In Never Sleep Three in a Bed, I felt that he was putting forth his views at the time of writing the novel. There are certain social views I will accept as normal for 1920, and certain others that I will accept for 1969. It seemed the author was way too proud of his narrow-minded views considering that it was no longer 1920 when he wrote the novel.

I should have enjoyed this novel more than the other two, if you look at the fact that this one focuses on the author's childhood while the others focus on his adult life. I love stories about children growing up throughout history, but the highlights Braithwaite chose to talk about from his childhood weren't that interesting to me. I skimmed entire sections about sports, for example, because I can only hear "I was a young Canadian boy who loved hockey" and other such variations so many times. On top of that, there wasn't a "plot" to this novel. It was more a series of vignettes.

If you are interested in this book because of the TV show Wind at My Back, I would say skip it and read his other two books instead. To me, they contain more of the spirit of the TV show, if not the events.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Braithwaite's reminiscences of growing up in central Saskatchewan in the 1910s and 1920s was popular when it was published in 1969. The tone of its humour often sounded to me like 1929. Just as often, it sounded like an older author pressing with indifferent success to be current with the day; e.g.: "Today's young people are hep." The book does offer informative glimpses of early 20th-century life in the village of Nokomis and the small cities of Prince Albert and Saskatoon at that time. It's similar to old B movies that now serve an accidental documentary function through any scenes that were recorded on location. I did smile patiently several times and chuckle twice. The memories of childhood and adolescent thinking were well done. The last two pages were set in 1929 and full of eloquent foreboding. But the book did not make me want to read the next two titles in the trilogy.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max Braithwaite, born and raised in small-town Saskatchewan, gives us amusing vignettes from his childhood but mostly his youngest years. He gives us a sense of small-town Saskatchewan in the 1920s, bringing with it an historical element. The topics range from standard boys' hijinks to ones venturing into adolescence and sex, with mild sexual content and plenty of swearing throughout the book therefore, I wouldn't recommend it for young children. The stories are nostalgic and winsome. I intend to read the entire trilogy once I can get my hands on book two at a reasonable price.

[Noriko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious from start to finish, Max Braithwaite has captured the essence of small town prairie life, and has left me laughing and longing for the carefree days of my own childhood. His enthusiasm is catching, and I found myself welcomed into the family with the same love that Braithwaite injects into all his stories. It's an ordinary story, told extraordinarily well. I shall be on the look out for more on my next bookstore trip!

[Harron68 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nostalgic look at living in 1920s Saskatoon, Canada. It suffers from the century ago era from which the stories were drawn. Still, it is very entertaining and funny for me. From boyhood to adulthood, I could see the similarities to America way back when. A very cute and hard to find book here in the U.S., filled with the sweet life, optimism despite WWI, childhood then was sheltered (if not from the subfreezing prairie winds) then from the worst of "big city" crime and life. I gave it a swell three stars, one for each member in the bed!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was part of the source material for a favorite tv show that helped get me through the first few months of grad school (Wind at My Back). I've been searching for the book for awhile, and finally found it through ILL. Umm, I know Kevin Sullivan (producer of WaMB and the Anne of Green Gables movies) frequently takes great liberties with source materials, but good grief! I still can't quite figure out how he came up with WaMB based on Braithwaite's book. The book itself is a fairly typical memoir about growing up poor in a large family in the early 20th century. Won't be checking out his other books, because they aren't quite charming enough.

[Darlene Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read to my Reading group at New Market Manor
Mar 09 to Aug 09
They enjoyed MB's story - and we enjoyed sharing reminiscences of their life in the 30's. Although, I was surprised to find that most of them were only alive towards the end of the 30's. I had grouped them (without thinking it through) into people of that era. BUT - if they're 80 or so - . . . . .

[Roberta · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because the TV series "Wind at My Back" was taken from it. (Kevin Sullivan is the same man who produced the Anne of Green Gables shows) We enjoy the shows so much that I thought I'd read the book. I was disappointed! The only thing familiar was a few names and maybe one event. In this case, the book is NOT better than the show.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The memories of a man growing up in the 1920-1930's in Canada. I read this because a show I was watching had a line that it was based on this book. (very loosely) It was a good read but nothing like the tv show.

[Olivia]

The inspiration for Kevin Sullivan's television show "Wind at My Back." A cute memoir full of poignant and funny anecdotes.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

I requested this book because the Canadian t.v. seris Wind at my Back is suposed to be loosely based on this book. This was another poorly written book. A waste of time.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, funny, funny! Recommended.