My Life and Hard Times is the 1933 autobiography of James Thurber. It is considered his greatest work as he relates in bewildered deadpan prose the eccentric goings on of his family and the town beyond (Columbus, Ohio).
Characters include the maid who lives in constant fear of being hypnotised; a grandfather who believes that the American Civil War is still going on; a mother who fears electricity is leaking all over the house and Muggs, an Airedale Terrier that had a liking for biting people.
The book was a best seller and also achieved high critical praise. Russell Baker writing in the New York Times said it was "possibly the shortest and most elegant autobiography ever". Ogden Nash said it was "just about the best thing I ever read"', and Dorothy Parker said "Mad, I don't say. Genius I grant you."
Famous quotes containing the words life, hard and/or times:
“Normally, the sciences distance themselves from life and the return to it via a detour.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“I’ve been complimented for my scorekeeping, and sometimes it’s hard to tell whether it’s a backhanded compliment or not. Are the men surprised when a woman does a good job as a judge?”
—Sheila Harmon-Martin, U.S. political scientist and boxing judge. As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, pp. A13-A14 (June 2, 1993)
“I ... toyed with the idea of going to find another war where I could at least feel alive. I was so numb that it took terror to make me feel anything.”
—Bess Jones, U.S. nurse. As quoted in the New York Times Magazine, p. 72 (November 7, 1993)