This book edition of the comedians successful, one-man Broadway stage show is a fine, compact memoir. The crux of the title is that Crystals father was a man who regularly worked two jobs, six days a week, but Sundays were the days he spent with his wife and three sons. Billy Crystal was 15 years old when his father died suddenly. He estimates he had 700 Sundays with his
father and thats it. Several press reports have given the impression that Crystal counts down these Sundays, but that is not the case. He does include a few humorous riffs guessing at his first few Sundays, but essentially this book tells the story of his immediate and extended family while growing up.
The family business revolved around a New York music-recording company that had young Crystal and his relatives in regular contact with jazz musicians from the little known to the very famous. Crystal intersperses these tales of musicians with those of his family in a style that is an interwoven mix of amusement and poignancy. There are a few occasions where readers may laugh out loud while reading this book, which is a rare feat to accomplish. And though 700 Sundays is a readable, enjoyable book, it often feels like reading a script. The show 700 Sundays, with Billy Crystals voice inflections, facial expressions, timing and antics, likely brings this text to more immediate life and underscores the words with far deeper meaning. Still, if you didnt make it to Broadway to see this show, this funny and touching book will have to do.
Books
January 4, 2006
700 Sundays/Billy Crystal
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