From the Bookshelf of Bookmarks Subscribers …

The humor that Calvin Trillin exhibits so brilliantly in his travel and food pieces is strongly evident in his loving tribute to his wife, even when he writes about Alice's battle with cancer or the eulogies delivered at her memorial service. The combination of lighthearted wit and deeply emotional topics appealed to reviewers universally, and several even suggested that readers have tissues handy for the more emotional passages. Trillin maintains a delicate veil over any aspects of his marriage

The humor that Calvin Trillin exhibits so brilliantly in his travel and food pieces is strongly evident in his loving tribute to his wife, even when he writes about Alice's battle with cancer or the eulogies delivered at her memorial service. The combination of lighthearted wit and deeply emotional topics appealed to reviewers universally, and several even suggested that readers have tissues handy for the more emotional passages. Trillin maintains a delicate veil over any aspects of his marriage that might have been less than magnificent, but critics generally viewed this silence as thoughtful discretion. In sum, About Alice sets a new standard not only for elegies__but also for marriage itself.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.