Readers of The New Yorker will instantly recognize Ros Chast’s cartoons. They’re edgy and funny. Roz Chast’s memoir, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? centers on her parents. When the memoir starts, her parents are 78 and still living in their original apartment in Brooklyn. But as the years go by, Roz Chast (an only child) has to contend with the ups and downs of her aging parents. Her mother falls, her father suffers from dementia. You would think this would make for some grim reading, but Roz Chast’s clever cartoons and brutally honest commentary blend to make this a very moving story. I could recommend this wonderful book to anyone dealing with aging parents. And, if you are an aging parent, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? shows where you’re headed. This is one of the best books of 2014! GRADE: A
Been meaning to put this on reserve. Saw its great reviews.
Patti, the great reviews for CAN’T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT? are certainly deserved. Roz Chast is a genius.
Not sure I want to know where I’m headed. Still in denial.
Bill, Roz Chast makes the inevitable future both funny and moving.
OK, this is going on my list immediately. Love that cartoon, by the way. So true.
Jeff, I was looking for a Roz Chast cartoon to include with my review and this popped up. I love it, too!
Her cartoon doesn’t mention book blogs and what people have been reading–ah well, perhaps that’s just a select few.
This era is beginning for me and my siblings. My parents will both turn 80 within the next six months and, while both if them are in relatively good health, they are undoubtedly showing signs that age is catching up with them. My sister (who isn’t married and is the only one of us who lives fairly close to them) is able to visit them almost every weekend to keep the rest of us in the loop as to how things are going.
Deb, my Mom is 86 and resides in the Alzheimer’s wing of a nearby nursing home. Diane’s mother is 94 and lives with us. Both mothers’ health is declining. Roz Chast’s CAN’T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT captures the stress on a child who is caring for aging parents. It’s clever and touching.
This sounds very good, if a bit depressing in spite of your saying it’s not. I do love her cartoons. My parents are both gone, so I guess in this scenario all I have to look forward to is dementia and death, which is pretty much a downer. All the more reason to be glad for each good day! I’ll see if the library has this one.
Rick, CAN’T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT? is very good. Roz Chast brilliantly takes a depressing situation and makes it humorous yet truthful. This is a great book!
Deb, my sister lived an hour from my parents so had all the burden of watching over them the last few declining years since they refused to sell their house and move into more sensible accomodations. Now that my father is gone we are dealing with that now – her up close and the rest of us long distance.
When we first moved to this building over 25 years ago one of the old ladies living here (all of whom are gone now) told me, “Don’t get old!”
There is no other alternative that is any more pleasant.
Jeff–my brother and I are our spouses are so grateful for what our sister has been going for our parents. Right now my sister lives a two-hour drive from mom & dad; when her daughter graduates from high school (next June), my sister plans to move closer to them. It helps that my sister is retired military and no longer works. I don’t know what my brother (6 hours away) or I (10 hours away) would do without my sister on the case.
Deb, you’re lucky your sister can be a care-giver for your parents. My brother and my three sisters and I worked together to care for our Mom until the Alzheimer’s forced us to place her in a nursing home. Having everyone on the same page makes a big difference.
I have a hold on the book, I # 254 of 254. Must be popular.
I was the close to parent son in our family, and spent a lot (a LOT) of time tang care of everything from housework and yard work to driving her to Dr. appointments and grocery shopping. For years, until she moved into attended care.