Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

Dad is Fat opens with a vignette about Jim and his wife/then-girlfriend's visit to a couple with a one-year-old. They were baffled by the couple's bizarre behavior and why they so resented Jim's desire to kick them out of his hotel room and take a nap. The friend tells him, "You will rue the day you took that nap." Only when Gaffigan and his wife had children later did they understand the comment. In similar fashion, you will probably not get the full humor of Dad is Fat unless you have at least one child. I probably didn't get the entire story as I have only one, as opposed to five.

Dad is Fat is essentially a collection of Gaffigan's observations about the trying yet humorous world of parenthood. I listened to the audiobook, read by Gaffigan, and was expecting to be laughing out loud for the next week of my commute. While the book was enjoyable, I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to having also watched DVDs of the comedian. I think in large part this was because I was expecting more... well, comedy. It is funny, but largely tongue-in-cheek humor.

Also, to be perfectly frank, some of it scared me. I have one baby, and I live in a second story 2-bedroom walk-up in LA. Gaffigan has five children under the age of 8 and lives in a fifth story 2-bedroom walkup in New York City. Our situations are different enough that his life sounds crazy to me, but similar enough that there is sometimes a little too much truth in what he says, and makes me fear for the future, when I have more than one child and they are older and more mischievous.

However, most of the stories were amusing and definitely helped my commute pass faster. If you are a fan of Gaffigan and a parent, you will most likely enjoy this book.

3 stars

Warnings: Maybe one or two swears