Author: C.R. Yeager

Illustrator: Thom Zahler

Publisher: Raku Publishing

ISBN: 0-9770662-0-7

C. R. Yeager, an author who survived the Cuyahoga River fire, has written this amusing book, drawn partly from his own experiences.  This is a man who is often to be found driving on the wrong side of the road due to suffering from dyslexia. He lives with his wife Marsha and daughter Anna, where he can often be found glued to televised soccer games and consuming ethnic food.

Breakfast at Noon: Backwards In The ‘Burbs, takes a quirky look at suburban life living in an age of the “Sandwich Generation”. Being a father to Anna and the son of aging parents, C. R. Yeager draws together a hilarious account of how life is for him and the world around him. From the local raccoons who have taken up residence in the flowerbeds, to the yellow jackets nesting in the mailbox. Mr Yeager also describes what life is like when you hit middle age giving a very scary but accurate description.

Inside this brilliant book filled with funny tales and essay’s, is Yeager’s accounts of his young daughter who takes a liking to “demon dolls” and kicked soccer balls around the house until she was old enough to attend her first spring soccer program. Having Anna actually be able to play outside and not wreck the house, was a very much awaited moment for both Yeager and his wife. Still, as the author himself says, it could lower the home insurance especially if a ball is kicked through the window.

There 51 amusing chapters throughout this book from the introduction through to Resolved. Some personal favourites of mine have included, Creature Discomforts, Lightning-Up, Playdata, First They Drive You, Then They Drive You and the hilarious but oh-so-true Handbag Hell.

I thought that Yeager captured the likeness to social events so well in Handbag Hell. Have you ever seen how men clam up and become ridged when holding a lady’s handbag? Or maybe a rather more disturbing chapter, Corporate DIY. A chapter following some of the most bizarre operations performed, one in which a man plans to impregnate himself with his own sperm after undergoing a sex change. Shocking maybe, but very funny.

Included throughout this book are ten cartoon drawings, very amusing and apt. They really sum up the comicalness in this read.

After reading through this novel, my only biggest and lasting regret was that it finished far too soon for my liking. I’ve never read a more accurate and entertaining social analyses than this one. An absolute must for anyone interested in the perils of suburban  mid-life. Fantastic

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The above review was contributed by: Jessica Roberts: Jessica has been a book reviewer for a newspaper and a national women's magazine and is working on a novel.