Book Review: The Fun Master
The Fun Master: A Memoir. Jeff Seitzer, SparkPress, 2022, Paperback and eBook. 256 pages.
Reviewed by R.H. King, Jr.
The Fun Master chronicles a father’s struggle to overcome his own demons and become the parent he must be for his health-challenged son, Ethan. Ethan is born with serious birth defects requiring multiple surgeries and extensive continuing physical therapy and medications. He then becomes deaf, adding more complexities into his everyday life. The father, Jeff, an academic, stay-home dad, initially feels ill prepared and overwhelmed by the challenges associated with the care of an impaired child. But Ethan’s determination and positive attitude helps Jeff to grow into the task at hand. Indeed, Jeff and his wife decide to adopt another child, Penelope, from China. The latter half of the book details the loving relationship that develops between Ethan and Penelope.
The author uses an interesting literary device to tell his story. In the first chapter we are introduced to Jeff and the then 10-year-old Ethan at the beach. While swimming, Ethan is overwhelmed by the waves and is trouble. Jeff swims out to rescue him and falls victim himself to the powerful water conditions. The first chapter ends with both father and son sinking beneath the surface. Then the book goes back in time to Ethan’s birth. The story recounts how Ethan overcame the various physical challenges that confronted him, as well as Jeff’s development as a father. The book details specific memories, such as a fifth birthday party or play dates with friends, but in the back of the reader’s mind is the thought: this is not going to end well for Ethan. Ultimately in the last chapters we are brought back to the present.
The book is very well written and tells a heart-warming, if gut-wrenching story. As a parent, it was a difficult book to read, and I cried during my reading of the final chapters. My only criticism is that the book was overly long for the story it told. Some of the antidotes of Ethan’s childhood did not directly contribute to a better understanding of Ethan or Jeff’s development. Overall, I found the book a worthwhile, although an emotionally difficult read.