Way to Go, Smith

by Bob Smith

In his award-winning first book, Bob Smith offered up a witty dose of nineties reality with his observations as a happily adjusted gay man. Now, after breaking up with his longtime boyfriend, Smith looks back to his painfully normal childhood to see where all the trouble really began. Like every other American kid, Bob's adolescence was marked by alternating moments of blissful ignorance, hazy confusion, and humiliating self-consciousness. And in these pages, Bob evokes his youth with a vividness that will make you shudder and howl with recognition. In these hysterically humorous pages, Bob Smith introduces readers to his comically unsympathetic grandmother, who makes light of his "Bob only throws up because he's near the window and he can"; to his first teacher crush, whose "five-o'clock shadow could plunge a room into darkness"; and to his first brush with fame, when he fainted from his chair during a biology filmstrip ("Way to go, Smith!"). Sharp, observant, ingeniously ironic and wholly satisfying, this new Lambda Award-nominated collection is at once bittersweet nostalgic fun and a testament to the unquestionable gifts of a highly original comic writer.

Genres: LGBT, Humor, Memoir, Gay, Nonfiction, Biography, Queer

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

"Bob Smith is a real writer . . . . But what readers, gay and straight, will really appreciate are the direct approach and the eye for detail that make this book a touchingly personal document.. . . Smith brings a sensibility and a sensitivity that make this one of the most rewarding gay books of the year." — Lambda Book Report "(LY BOB is a dazzlingly funny, semiautobiographical, hardcover one-man show." — Paper

Reviews

[Brian Kovesci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost every paragraph is punctuated by a joke. It got old pretty quickly.

That format for his storytelling was so distracting it took me a while to realize there was no real continuity to the book. Some stories were longer than other, some shorter, but it was just a series of experiences following his breakup.

The only redeeming story is when Bob has a crush on his teacher. That kind of innocence melted my heart. Both of the awarded stars go to that section.

[Ali]

Dear Bob Smith,
If this is one of the authors from "I'm not the biggest bitch in this relationship" than I adore you. I wish you all of the best. Thank you for opening my eyes to see that we all should go through life just wanting a biscuit and to live out lives as our dogs do... Minus eating the poop. God Bless!

[Todd Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked his first book Openly Bob better, yet still found the book humorous at times and a good read. I felt the first book was more organized than this one. I would have liked to learn more about the breakup in this book than what he shared. He brought the subject up intermittently and this only made me more interested in what really happened. The last section dealt with him being single, which was fun, but I didn't feel there was enough in the book allowing for closure after the relationship had ended.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ground-breaking comedian Smith's second memoir from 1999 is mostly devoted to stories of his growing up in seventies Buffalo. "Way to Go, Smith" is full of smart, shrewd observations that reminded me of novelist Stephen McCauley's best work. An example: "If people were like books, you might like the beginning but then you would find out later that entire chapters were missing or the story keeps inexplicably changing genres. What started out as a romance novel suddenly became pornography, then became a comedy of manners, switched into a Victorian melodrama, deteriorated into a war novel, melted into a tearjerker, morphed into a how-to manual, survived as a case study, and, having beaten the odds, ended up as a self-help-tome that you read like a magazine, scanning it and then tossing it aside." Smith followed this up with two novels, that I now want to read. Currently out of print, "Way to Go, Smith" is worth tracking down at a library or used book sale. Recommended.

(Smith is currently fighting ALS, and my thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.)

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Bob Smith's essay style of writing. This book takes you through his break-up, his family, starting over again and all the funny things in between. There are a few occasions where it jumps around a bit, but you can easily get back on the path and enjoy the journey.
This might be one of the best essay books I have ever read. And he even begins to talk about a liason, but in the end leaves it to your imagination. Pity. :)

[Cory Van Horn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each chapter is a short story of his life. It’s slightly humorous and quite touching at some points. The book reads like it’s your best friend sharing his day-to-day experiences.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny man.

[Jennifer Kronk · Rating 4 out of 5]

While less laugh out loud funny than OPENLY BOB, WAY TO GO SMITH is a deeper story about love and loss and just how complicated life can get.

[Zweegas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy it quite as much as Openly Bob. However, the subject matter is not as fun and upbeat so it's not necessarily worse, just more depressing.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good follow up to his first book, but not as happy.