[Barry's] prose style hasn’t matured either, thank heavens. It’s as ideally sophomoric as ever, if more rueful around the edges, what with civilization aflame and all that ... Class Clown, as funny books go, is a home run—albeit a shallow, wind-aided home run. Barry leans heavily on old clips of his writing to fill this book up, and that’s fine, but near the end the bag of leftovers grows soggy ... This book never goes too deep. Barry had two early marriages before marrying his current wife in 1996, for example, but no details are provided.
Barry is the epitome of the laugh-out-loud writer ... Barry had his share growing up, and he shares that with his audience in a mixture of gentle humor and humility.
[Barry's] depiction of his childhood in Armonk, New York, is eye-opening, as well as shocking ... One of the funniest chapters involves stories about his readers ... There are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments in this section ...
It is great to see Barry’s biggest achievements that truly validated his entire life. As a long-time fan of the man and his work, it gave me a good feeling to experience these milestones as he shared them. Class Clownis a delightful read. Be prepared to laugh long and hard.
Lifelong fans of Barry will enjoy the familiar rhythm of his humorous (and sometimes satirical) storytelling, and first-time readers will enjoy his candid, unpretentious voice and hilarious anecdotes spanning nearly 80 years.
The early sections, in which he writes about his family and about his early struggles to figure out who he was, are rather touching ... He seems genuinely humble, genuinely astonished at how he’s made an entire career out of writing funny stuff, and genuinely a nice guy. Hilariously funny, too. And we’re not making this up.
Revealing if bumpy ... Amusing anecdotes about his parents...give context to Barry’s natural comedic impulse and bring a levity that counterbalances otherwise harrowing recollections of his father’s alcoholism and his mother’s suicide ... Selections from Barry’s columns sometimes serve to bolster his recollections—like his final devastating meeting with his mother—but more often bog the narrative down, particularly a punishing chapter dedicated to his coverage of every presidential election from 1984 to 2020. It makes for an uneven mix of heartfelt reflection and greatest hits compilation.
