It鈥檚 a rite of passage for all comedians: Work like crazy on the stand-up circuit, hit it big, record live specials for a streaming platform, and then write a book that can never quite measure up to your live act.
Consider 鈥淏ig Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind鈥� by I laughed so hard I cried during parts of his Netflix special 鈥淵our Friend, Nate Bargatze.鈥� But I can count on two hands the laugh-out-loud moments I experienced as I read 鈥淏ig Dumb Eyes.鈥� That鈥檚 not because Mr. Bargatze isn鈥檛 funny. Books just aren鈥檛 the funniest mediums for stand-up comics. Bargatze鈥檚 live act flows from his droll, self-deprecating delivery. And while he tries right there in the book鈥檚 subtitle 鈥� 鈥淪tories from a Simpler Mind鈥� 鈥� the humor just doesn鈥檛 have the same impact on the page as it does the screen.
Bargatze seems to realize this, writing in his introduction that he is 鈥渧ery on the record about not liking to read books.鈥� Alas, the publisher, and good ol鈥� fashioned capitalism, apparently convinced him that he should write one.
All that said, for super fans or anyone who would rather read funny stories than watch Bargatze tell them on TV, 鈥淏ig Dumb Eyes鈥� is a quick read. There are even grainy, black and white photos of Bargatze through the years with his family. If you haven鈥檛 already watched his specials, you鈥檒l learn a lot about his upbringing 鈥� from the sense of humor and theatrical nature he inherited from his father, the greatest clown and magician to ever work in Old Hickory, Tennessee, to the role his decade-younger sister, Abigail, played in keeping him from being completely self-centered growing up.
My favorite chapter, the one with the most LOL moments, is called 鈥淢y Sister the Alien鈥� and recounts the time when Nate, his brother Derrick and their dad forgot to bring Abigail home from church one Wednesday night. They all realize when they get home that Abigail isn鈥檛 with them and dad鈥檚 first words are 鈥淒o not tell your mother.鈥� When they drive back to the church, Abigail is with a couple, who found her in the church cemetery 鈥減assing from tombstone to tombstone communing with the dead like the devil鈥檚 phantasm.鈥�
Bargatze tells quite a few stories about his wife, Laura, as well, and near the end Laura even chimes in via footnotes, as if she鈥檚 reading the book along with you. 鈥淥bviously I knew about this, too. Now that I think about it, go ahead and tell Nate. I can鈥檛 wait to see the look on his face,鈥� reads one after Nate shares how he had to ask his parents to pay for her engagement ring.
At the end, in a two-page 鈥淐onclusion,鈥� Nate offers his congrats to readers who make it that far, scolding anyone who got through all 222 pages in one sitting. 鈥淵ou should probably move around some more. Or sprinkle in some other healthier activities, like watching TV,鈥� he writes. It鈥檚 good advice. I suggest 鈥淵our Friend, Nate Bargatze.鈥�
___
AP book reviews:
Rob Merrill, The Associated Press
