Buy used:
$6.88
FREE delivery May 20 - 24. Details
Or fastest delivery May 14 - 16. Details
Used: Very Good | Details
Sold by ThriftBooks-Phoenix
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comment: May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Eric Kraft
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Little Follies: The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy (So Far) Hardcover – January 28, 1992

by Eric Kraft (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 9 ratings
See all formats and editions
A serial novel made up of nine novellas features Peter Leroy, an older, reflective man, as he recalls his childhood in the Clam Capital of America on Long Island, New York
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    437 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Crown
  4. Publication date
    January 28, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    051758543X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0517585436
  8. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Nine charming novellas of an all-American boy, all but one of which appeared individually in paperback in the early 1980's, here offered as a hardcover ``serial novel.'' Kraft (Reservations Recommended, 1990; Herb 'n' Lorna, 1988) is a veteran comic writer with an occasional dark touch. Here, he recaptures childhood for all of us, as a time of exploration, flights of the imagination, and sexual confusion. He also captures the small-town atmosphere of 1950's Long Island, with its innocence and easy living and yet also with its repression. In ``Do Clams Bite?'' Peter Leroy is staying in his father's old room when he discovers photographs of a naked woman whom he slowly comes to realize is May, a friend of his father's still but not his wife; May has never married. To twist the knife, Kraft has May tuck Peter into bed and caress him gently. It's a funny story, full of clamlore, but there's also an underlying terror rather like that in John Knowles. Then there's the man in ``My Mother Takes a Tumble'' who, masquerading as a woman, writes to lonely men--with hilarious results. Most of the pieces are about sexual initiation in one way or another: in ``Life on the Bolotomy,'' otherwise a kind of parodic salute to Mark Twain with its boy's river odyssey, May makes love to Peter's older friend; and in ``The Girl with the White Fur Muff,'' Peter is introduced to female anatomy, if not quite to sex. But the mood is gentle and comic, innocent at heart, in the end far more reminiscent of Booth Tarkington than of John Knowles. Peter stays a child, and in ``The Young Tars''--a sendup of Boy Scouts and 4-H and all those other clubs for youth--he's a boy rather like Penrod or the Tom Sawyer who can talk you into painting his fence. Nine novellas do not quite a novel make, but these are delightful and satisfying stories from a sure stylist, sweet without ever being sentimental. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; Reissue edition (January 28, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 437 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 051758543X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0517585436
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.65 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Eric Kraft

Eric Kraft

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
9 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books of all times that is about life's little ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2016
Verified Purchase
One of my favorite books of all times that is about life's little follies. Its a bunch of real stories, tales, lies and exaggerations of a man who grew up on the east coast
I love that he is brutally honest (even about some things I would never admit - especially being bathed by my neighbors horny wife after school.... BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE BRAGGED INSTEAD!!), but it's a great read. Even gifted it to my mom and loved to hear her laugh out load, gasp and smile with each chapter (which is a New story or part of his life. Q. Tarantino style "out of order"
Delicious read.
Helpful
 Report
Alexander Graden Kalamaroff
5.0 out of 5 stars Stumbling Onto Delight
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
I do not remember how I first discovered The Little Follies but am so glad I did. Delight is an aesthetic quality that is not valued now enough these days. Eric Kraft's writing is undeniably delightful. It's a tenacious delightfulness. The Fox and Clam is my personal favorite. --Alex Kalamaroff
Helpful
 Report
Lyssa
5.0 out of 5 stars It's a wonder...
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2003
Verified Purchase
Introduced to me by a friend, it seems this author's work sells by word of mouth, though clearly the critics of The New Yorker, Boston Globe, LA Times, and The New York Times Book Review agree he produces a brilliant brand of fiction unlike any other.
On the surface Little Follies appears to be simply a collection of stories composed of childhood memories. The most obvious components of the work are the comedic, entertaining story lines and quirky characters - the work genuinely defines wit. But, add to that the narrative explanations in each preface of how the story and character were devised, and the reader finds himself diving below the surface to be pleasantly tangled up in multiple layers of fiction. Without question, this is a book that can be enjoyed on many levels.
Loaded with metaphor, literary allusion, and multiple layers of fiction, Little Follies is, simply put, literature for the intelligent reader who does not take himself too seriously. For a thorough sampling of this artist's talent, style, and wit check out his web site.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Cozy Cat
5.0 out of 5 stars The Subtle Kind of Humor That Builds and Builds Until You Are Desperate to Find Someone to Read Aloud to....
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2014
Quirky, intelligent, surprising and very, very funny. The innate ridiculousness of the stories is written in clear detail and with a touching seriousness. The memories of Peter, writing of his teenage years, will resonate with your own memories until the bizarre twists of Peter's life and environment catch you up and you are helpless within a circle of amusement that won't let go. Peter is very endearing, as is the whole town of Babbington, and the books are written with so much gravity and intelligence that they are small masterpieces. And, then, you eventually get to "Herb and Lorna", over the top with a premise so sweet, sentimental, outlandish and convincing that your vision of ....... No spoiler alerts here!
Helpful
 Report
kalmiasc
5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, wow
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2004
I was introduced to Eric Kraft's writing when a friend came for a visit. He sat down and read aloud "The Static of the Spheres" from The Little Follies. I didn't understand at first why he wanted to do this, as we had a lot of things to see and do. But as he continued reading, I realized that this wasn't your ordinary book. I became so enrapt in the "history, adventures, expreriences and observations" of Peter Leroy that the passage of time took on lesser importance. By the end, when I felt how beautifully the ideas in this story are melded together, all I could do was just sit there and say "Oh,wow." And then, of course, I had to find the book for myself and read all of it. That was a couple of years ago. I have just finished reading it for a second time, and it's even more wonderful.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
edis
5.0 out of 5 stars Soft strenght of unpretentious humorous vivid intelligence
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2003
This one came into my hands as 1EUR sale item passing Vienna. It was single book worth taking with from the pile of various stuff - and it still was plenty of luck, that it got there, and that I took hold of it. So many qualities of good literature are present in this book, that there is warranty of pleasure for any intelligent reader. Pleasant value even exchanged for full price.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report