Hailed as a triumph by everyone from the New York Times to Sports Illustrated, Billy Crystal's 700 SUNDAYS is the crowning achievement of an amazing career. A poignant, hilarious, and personal portrayal of his youth, Crystal's play broke Broadway box office records and failed to leave a dry eye in the house.
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. So many parts of it had me laughing. I could hear Crystal's voice in my head while I was reading and could imagine how he would deliver it if he were on stage. It was very evident that Billy Crystal loved his family and that his time with them meant a great deal to him. 700 Sundays refers to how long he had with his father, who died when Billy was fifteen. Because of work obligations the day Billy and his two older brothers had to spend with their father was Sunday. He was proud of the achievements of his father with producing jazz records and running a record store in New York as well as giving new musicians a chance to get up on stage and play for audiences. From a very young age Billy loved baseball and comedy. His first acts were done in front of his family, both his immediate and extended family. He would perform routines he had seen on stage and memorized from records, even when he did not understand all of the jokes or sexual innuendos included in them. Most of this book focuses on his childhood and memories with his father and then later with his mother at the end of her life. While he mentions his wife briefly and his two children, this is not a book about them. I imagine on the stage this was even funnier because of being a part of an audience and hearing Crystal himself tell the anecdotes. The photos that were included added to a feeling of knowing Billy's family and set the tone for the time period within which events were taking place. Each of the chapters was on the short side and in a way self contained so this was good before bed reading. In between other books I would pick this one up and read a chapter or two, get a few laughs and go to bed for the night. It was nice to read a book from a celebrity that was so family focused.
Product Details
Pub. Date: October 2006
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Format: Paperback , 192pp
ISBN-13: 9780446698511
ISBN: 0446698512
Edition Description: Reprint
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