The Bear in the Attic

McManus is perhaps the most famous nonfiction author from around these parts, and several of his stories have been made into hit one-man shows.

All these successes are deserved.

The stories are dangerous to read in seemingly innocuous settings, like the breakfast table (unless you like having milk spurt out your nose) or in class (unless you love it when your teacher glares at you for laughing and causing a disruption).

My favorite story is "The Sensuous Angler," in which McManus sort of flirts with the idea of adultery. ...P>Sure, "Bear" has some good chortles in it.

The title story is funny, if drawn out. "Culinary Magic" and "A Hunter's Breakfast" are both funny looks at the dining habits of McManus and his compatriots. There's a couple of "ha haw" moments in "As the Ear is Bent," as we hear some of the gems ol'Pat has given his long-suffering disciple, Newton, and in "The Time Machine."

Newcomers to McManus will probably find a lot to enjoy. But really, there's nothing here that we haven't seen in any of McManus' other books. And the freshness has begun to fade.

Hopefully, "Bear" is just representative of McManus' "off" days, and not a sign that the author is permanently slipping.


A Humorist "Roughs It" in the Great American Wilderness   August 11, 2002
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

If you haven't yet discovered Patrick F. McManus, aka "Mr. Outdoors," THE BEAR IN THE ATTIC is a fine place to start. And you don't have to be a rugged outdoorsman to enjoy his tall tales of a lifetime of hunting, fishing, and camping.

McManus has hunted turkeys in Georgia, doves in Alabama, geese in Minnesota, grouse in Michigan, deer in Montana, elk in Colorado, chuckars in Idaho, pheasants in Oregon, and quail in Washington.

He writes about growing up poor in Blight, a little logging town in northern Idaho, and romping with his boyhood companions Retch Sweeney and Crazy Eddie Muldoon. He describes his wife Bun, who views his escapades with a jaundiced eye; his cousin Buck (only slightly smarter than celery); and his crotchety neighbor, the odiferous old woodsman Rancid Crabtree, who considers it a nuisance to take clothes off at night just to put them back on again in the morning.

Like Mark Twain's ROUGHING IT, in which Twain describes his six years of traveling the American West, in THE BEAR IN THE ATTIC McManus writes self-deprecatingly of his own ineptitude in the wilderness. The camp biscuits he cooks are so petrified that they will likely be found millennia from now in an archaeological dig. He seeks out the best fishing spots by consulting a fortune-teller and a crystal ball. He explains the delicate art of skittering, a concept with which all stream fishermen are familiar. And he describes the Toadus sumo, the celebrated wrestling toads of Blight County.

In Alaska's Kenai River, McManus catches a sixty-pound trout (there is a singular pleasure in doubling the size of a fish one hasn't caught), and in South America he goes fly-fishing for piranha (the stew made from piranha heads was sumptuous, with just a tiny bite to it).

In "The Last Honest Man," McManus tells of his buddy Parker Whitney, in whom he sadly discovered a monumental character flaw: "It's impossible for him to lie."

Creative lying is McManus' signature stock-in-trade. For example, in "The Time Machine" he gets into Melvin Futz's invention and travels to the 30th century. There he discovers that the lucky voyager can also travel backward in time to hunt the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex.

"Sounds scary," I said. What kind of success rate do you have on T-rex hunts?" "Sixty percent." "That's fantastic!" "I think so," Luke said, "I go out with ten hunters and come back with six."

The 36 essays of THE BEAR IN THE ATTIC are funny with a capital "F." If these outrageous strories were adapted for the stage they would be performed at Zanies [a local Nashville night spot] in a Theatre of the (Comic) Absurd.

It's probably best to read this book in private; otherwise your uncontrolled outbursts of laughter may cause your friends to question your sanity.

Patrick F. McManus has written eleven collections of essays, four other books, and two plays. There are nearly two million copies of his books in print, including the bestselling They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?; The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw; and A Fine and Pleasant Misery. He divides his time between Spokane, Washington, and Idaho.

Patrick McManus is also the author of:
Deer On A Bicycle (2000)
Kid Camping From Aaaaiii! to Zip! (1999)
Into The Twilight, Endlessly Grousing (1997)
Never Cry, "Arp!!" (1997)
How I Got This Way (1994)
The Good Samaritan Strikes Again (1992)
Real Ponies Don't Go Oink! (1991)
The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw (1989)
Rubber Legs and White Tail-Hairs (1987)
The Grasshopper Trap (1985)
Never Sniff a Gift Fish (1981)
They Shoot Canoes, Don't They (1981)
A Fine And Pleasant Misery (1978)


The Best Yet?   July 22, 2002
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Pat McManus comes through again! Just when you think he must surely have run dry, he has another batch of great tales centered on his outdoor experiences. I particularly liked the title piece; somewhat more reflective and in-depth than his usual tales but, equally entertaining. I also enjoyed the mix of old guy (which I am) problems mixed with flash-back or straight kid stories. If you are a Pat McManus fan, you'll love this!


This wasn't what I was expecting   July 17, 2002
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Okay first off, Ilove McManus' books and think he is great.
Secondly-This is a funny and interesting book. Though I have to say that this does not compare to previous books. It is less focused and in a different style. I got this for my father on Fathers' day. I picked it up to check it out too and we both didn't say anything like normal, bringing up funny things from the book and whatnot. This time after a while I brought up that it was different and he said he sure noticed. He said it was like it wasn't even him writing it. This isn't one of those laugh out loud during every page or every other page, keep smiling through the whole book things. This is sort of hard for me to read actually. I think Pat would be best off to go back to the format he made. This doesn't have any rythm to it when you read it, and Pat's normal books pretty much go by quick and have this great pace to them that makes them so enjoyable. Its like it reads itself normally. But not here, here you have to do the reading. I give it a 3 compared to other books. But as a McManus effort it is more like a 1. Though all his other books may have spoiled me on different styles of humor writing-Because they were so perfectly written. I suggest any of Pat's other books first, but if you are starved for more of Rancid and the gang I guess it is a decent book, but just be warned that this is changed around and I wouldn't shell out the hardback money twice either.