Official Review: Caca Pasa by J E Ted Thayer

NadineTimes10 · Post by **NadineTimes10** » 22 Aug 2018, 05:32

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Caca Pasa" by J E Ted Thayer.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Pain plays a myriad of roles in the human experience, and it shows up in numerous ways. Heartache can be full of life lessons, while depicting physical pain has been a convention of comedy for countless generations. In his memoir, Caca Pasa: Historias de un Hombre Viejo (An Old Man’s Stories), author J E Ted Thayer recounts events of his life, tying them together with a universal subject: pain.

The brief and various accounts in this memoir range from comical to disturbing, from commonplace to poignant. Thayer relates his down-to-earth stories with humor, charm, and candor. The writing style is both old-fashioned and contemporary, appropriate for a memoir spanning the author’s childhood to his senior years. As the book travels through different decades, it gives the reader diverse, nostalgic slices of Americana.

The author includes his family, friends, peers, coworkers, and even his pets in his accounts. There is some grisly material, substance use, and graphic medical information, but the author keeps it to a minimum. He has a tendency to veer away from his topics at times. Yet, he often acknowledges when he has digressed and returns to the subject at hand.

In some of the stories, however, pain is only a minor or passing theme. Also, here and there, I did not catch any reference or impression of pain at all. Some of the accounts seem to lack a particular sense of direction. Hence, there may be points where the author is simply reminiscing about his past.

On a more technical note, the memoir would benefit from professional editing. The author admits to his “strange punctuation and odd phrasing” in the Preface. Still, the writing ultimately suffers from the number of errors and inconsistencies throughout the book. Some of the dialogue runs together, instead of having separate paragraphs for each speaker, and there are many capitalization mistakes. The author sometimes writes out the time of day incorrectly, such as “2:00 o’clock.” He frequently hyphenates words that do not require hyphens, such as “week-end,” “our-selves,” and “no-where.” The vast overuse of hyphens may be the book’s most distracting practical weakness.

Even with its flaws, this memoir is transparent, relatable, and full of personality. Therefore, I give Caca Pasa: Historias de un Hombre Viejo a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. I’d recommend it to memoir fans who can enjoy casual reading, despite the errors. Whether or not the author intends to pursue commercial publication, thorough editing would help the book to appeal to a wider audience.

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Caca Pasa
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AmySmiles · Post by **AmySmiles** » 22 Aug 2018, 14:54

Thanks for the through review. I am not interested in this book currently with its grammatical errors and its lack of direction.

prhyme · Post by **prhyme** » 22 Aug 2018, 23:38

I does not offer any thrill to me.Memoirs, no matter how tragic or relatable does not offer that kick that I ever relish in fiction

Post by **kandscreeley** » 23 Aug 2018, 08:15

Interesting. I don't know that I've seen a memoir that has a theme of pain. It sounds interesting, but the editing issues would definitely be distracting. I think I'll wait to pick this one up until there's been another round of proofreading. Thanks for the review.

revna01 · Post by **revna01** » 23 Aug 2018, 15:01

I wasn't expecting this type of memoir/autbiography based on the cover. I'm not sure I would be able to enjoy a book with such transparent errors and veering off subject. Thank you for your honest review

NadineTimes10 · Post by **NadineTimes10** » 23 Aug 2018, 15:12

SABRADLEY wrote: ↑23 Aug 2018, 15:01 I wasn't expecting this type of memoir/autbiography based on the cover. I'm not sure I would be able to enjoy a book with such transparent errors and veering off subject. Thank you for your honest review

Yes, I wouldn't have been able to tell much by the cover either.

It really seems to be a casual, DIY project all around, perhaps not a book that's meant to be sold, but maybe it will be officially polished up one day.

Kalin Adi · Post by **Kalin Adi** » 25 Aug 2018, 15:34

He has a tendency to veer away from his topics at times. Yet, he often acknowledges when he has digressed and returns to the subject at hand.

Thayer reminds me of my grandpa. He always does that. He starts saying something, then suddenly veers away, and some time later he asks: "What was I saying first?" It's just hilarious.

On the other hand, it seems there is a lot of potential in this memoir if the author writes with humor and candor. Too bad about the numerous errors. I'll wait for them to be fixed. Thanks for the review, though!

P.S. Is the book written in Spanish?

NadineTimes10 · Post by **NadineTimes10** » 25 Aug 2018, 18:13

Kalin Adi wrote: ↑25 Aug 2018, 15:34
He has a tendency to veer away from his topics at times. Yet, he often acknowledges when he has digressed and returns to the subject at hand.
Thayer reminds me of my grandpa. He always does that. He starts saying something, then suddenly veers away, and some time later he asks: "What was I saying first?" It's just hilarious.

On the other hand, it seems there is a lot of potential in this memoir if the author writes with humor and candor. Too bad about the numerous errors. I'll wait for them to be fixed. Thanks for the review, though!

P.S. Is the book written in Spanish?

Tee-HEE, it reminded me of listening to an older person's stories too! I guess they just have so much information to share by that time in life...

And, no, the book isn't written in Spanish. Just the title.