A few months back I received an email from a longtime traveler of ours who asked if someone at our office would be willing to review his new self-published book for our newsletter. Having had a few interactions with the author, Dennis Globus, my curiosity was piqued and I couldn’t help but be curious what kind of a book he would write, so I told him to send a copy over and I’d be happy to review it!
The book arrived at our office shortly after and although Dennis had given me a bit of a preview of what it was about, I didn’t have that top of mind when I first opened the package, instead the first thing I thought was “oh no, what have I gotten myself into”. The Wizard of Oz has never been my favorite movie – in fact I’m still scared of the flying monkeys!
Fortunately for me, and for all readers, this book is not an adaptation of the classic Wizard of Oz tale. Instead it is a hilarious autobiography, similar to a collection of short stories that recounts the variety of jobs Dennis held in his early career.
His writing is fluid and easy going, often taking on a very introspective stream of consciousness tone, as he recounts his first job (at age 5!) collecting golf balls at the neighborhood golf course. From there his very odd variety of colorful jobs continues – including one where he accidentally became the projectionist in a gay porn theater owned by a rabbi – in the 70s. What makes the book even more compelling (other than the laugh out loud sections – and there are a few!) is the way he is able to weave poignant stories about coming of age, family life and finding one’s “career” throughout his search for a way to apply one’s skills in this crazy world.
In his acknowledgements Dennis thanks David Sedaris and I would certainly say his style is very similar: funny, because he is able to laugh at himself and write about it; interesting, because he knows how to bring his characters alive; compelling because you really feel like you’ve gotten to know him better after reading the book. Pick up a copy and who knows, you may very well have the opportunity to talk to the author on tour.