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Ten on Sunday: The Secret Life of Men
A moving, lyrical, eye-opening look at the true nature of intimacy among men.
The L.A. riots had an indelible effect upon the city of Los Angeles, upon the wider debate in this country about race, and especially -- in the pages of this wonderful memoir -- on ten weekend basketball players. After the riots, and once he'd fled his mid-city home for the relative safety of suburban Santa Monica, Alan Eisenstock at last found himself with a driveway that was big enough for a weekly basketball game. For years he'd yearned for this; now all that stood between him and the zone defense was the fruits of the carob tree that fell on the driveway and threatened to ruin the game. Once the surface was clear, however, Sundays were given over to a raucous, competitive, and hilarious series of ball games. But what began as a recreation soon became a chance to shatter the Boy Code once and for all.
So here they doctors, lawyers, writers, construction guys -- some single, some married -- all, however, committed to the game they're playing, and to the deepening of friendships the time together engenders. Along the way there's a fight and a falling-out; the tragic death of one of the guys' wives; a trip to Mexico that's right out of a buddy movie, except that these early-middle-aged men end up in bed by 9:30 P.M.; a laugh-out-loud karaoke session that has to be read to be believed; and more bagels than any book should ever be able to bear.
Holding it all together is Alan Eisenstock himself. His own personal journey from unhappy, stressed-out screenwriter to full-fledged, fulfilled book writer is the story of a man risking his financial and emotional life in order to follow his heart. And what begins as a weekly ritual of game-playing becomes, over five years, a meaningful exchange on marital issues, money worries, and the onset of various midlife crises. The result is a lovely, whimsical, and hilarious book about guys and what they talk about when their better halves are not around.
The L.A. riots had an indelible effect upon the city of Los Angeles, upon the wider debate in this country about race, and especially -- in the pages of this wonderful memoir -- on ten weekend basketball players. After the riots, and once he'd fled his mid-city home for the relative safety of suburban Santa Monica, Alan Eisenstock at last found himself with a driveway that was big enough for a weekly basketball game. For years he'd yearned for this; now all that stood between him and the zone defense was the fruits of the carob tree that fell on the driveway and threatened to ruin the game. Once the surface was clear, however, Sundays were given over to a raucous, competitive, and hilarious series of ball games. But what began as a recreation soon became a chance to shatter the Boy Code once and for all.
So here they doctors, lawyers, writers, construction guys -- some single, some married -- all, however, committed to the game they're playing, and to the deepening of friendships the time together engenders. Along the way there's a fight and a falling-out; the tragic death of one of the guys' wives; a trip to Mexico that's right out of a buddy movie, except that these early-middle-aged men end up in bed by 9:30 P.M.; a laugh-out-loud karaoke session that has to be read to be believed; and more bagels than any book should ever be able to bear.
Holding it all together is Alan Eisenstock himself. His own personal journey from unhappy, stressed-out screenwriter to full-fledged, fulfilled book writer is the story of a man risking his financial and emotional life in order to follow his heart. And what begins as a weekly ritual of game-playing becomes, over five years, a meaningful exchange on marital issues, money worries, and the onset of various midlife crises. The result is a lovely, whimsical, and hilarious book about guys and what they talk about when their better halves are not around.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2003
29 people want to read
About the author
Alan Eisenstock
32 books7 followersI've been a writer most of my life. I've written books, magazine articles, TV shows, movies, plays, advertising copy, and brochures for my kids' school. A few years ago, I decided to walk away from a successful television writing and producing career and follow my dream of writing prose for a living.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 16, 2012
Oops. Can't believe I forgot to review this. Maybe that's for the best because in the weeks since I finished it, I still find myself thinking about it.
Something of a memoir, because the author recreates this time in his life as he remembers it, so it's not an absolute "this is how it was," but how he remembers it. I found it a totally fascinating look at how men experience intimacy among themselves.
It all started with a weekly basketball game in the author's driveway at--Ten on Sunday. At first, they're a bunch of guys being guys, but as the weeks pass and the men scrape against each other, sometimes rubbing each other wrong, sometimes being supportive, it's not only educational but entertaining. Like the occasion when one of the guys brings his wife to play in the Sunday game. It's fascinating how the guys change how they play, how they resent the intrusion, how they talk among themselves all week long, trying to decide what to do if it happens again (because of course, they're hoping it just won't happen, so they won't have to do anything.) Their guy's weekend in Mexico also doesn't go as planned. But these guys, the core of the group, bond and you can see the walls come down in how they start to actually--gasp!--talk to each other.
This is on my keeper shelf and I will read this again I have no doubt.
Something of a memoir, because the author recreates this time in his life as he remembers it, so it's not an absolute "this is how it was," but how he remembers it. I found it a totally fascinating look at how men experience intimacy among themselves.
It all started with a weekly basketball game in the author's driveway at--Ten on Sunday. At first, they're a bunch of guys being guys, but as the weeks pass and the men scrape against each other, sometimes rubbing each other wrong, sometimes being supportive, it's not only educational but entertaining. Like the occasion when one of the guys brings his wife to play in the Sunday game. It's fascinating how the guys change how they play, how they resent the intrusion, how they talk among themselves all week long, trying to decide what to do if it happens again (because of course, they're hoping it just won't happen, so they won't have to do anything.) Their guy's weekend in Mexico also doesn't go as planned. But these guys, the core of the group, bond and you can see the walls come down in how they start to actually--gasp!--talk to each other.
This is on my keeper shelf and I will read this again I have no doubt.
Displaying 1 of 1 review