I love Nate Bargatze's stand up, so I was really excited to check out his book. I did laugh out loud at moment's, and I could hear his voice in my head as I read, but it wasn't the same as his actual delivery. I plan to pick this up when it comes out as an audio book. I suspect I would have liked this book more.

Big Dumb Eyes is a hilarious and heartwarming collection of stories from comedian Nate Bargatze’s youth. With his signature deadpan delivery and self-deprecating humor, Bargatze brings to life a series of amusing tales that had me laughing out loud more than once. Whether he’s recalling awkward childhood moments or bizarre family encounters, his storytelling is effortlessly funny and deeply relatable.

The book feels like sitting down with a friend who has an endless supply of funny, slightly ridiculous memories. It’s full of charm, wit, and a tone that stays true to the Nate we know from stand-up. I sincerely hope this is just the beginning and that more books are on the way—Bargatze’s voice is a welcome one on the page as much as it is on the stage.

This book was pure Nate Bargatze. it would be
Even better as an audio book. I did read it thinking about how Nate would be saying it,

As a long time Nate fan I knew I would enjoy this. It was hard to read the stories and not read them in his voice. There were a few repeats from other times I have watched and listened to him, but lots of new material too. He is one of the funniest men out there and the fact that he does it all in such a clean, entertaining way is outstanding. Even though it would blow his that this is book number 42 for me this year, I think in a weird way he would be proud to have made my list!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I am a fan of Nate’s style of comedy, mixing humble stories of his life with silly situations, and some xennial flair. I was really curious to read what he’d consider worthy to be in a book. And make no mistake, this is 100% written in his voice. You can hear the cadence and style with every word. I was a little reluctant to start reading this one. Not that I don’t like him, but it’s hard to be funny for a couple hundred pages no matter who you are. And I’m sorry to say I was right to be apprehensive. As much as I enjoy his stand up routines, there were a few themes that popped up that made me uncomfortable. One is religion. I get it, the south is steeped in it. But that doesn’t mean I want to read about it in a book from a comedian. Another is about his grandmother, which he admits is an abusive alcoholic who abused his dad. It’s not the description that’s the issue, it’s the story of his dad visiting on her deathbed asking for forgiveness for “not being a better son”. Coming from my own abusive past, this jangled a lot of nerves. Everyone deals with their issues differently but this feels like a dangerous vignette to appear so casually. This is all in the first 10% of the book, too.

Overall, it’s ok. Nothing that really blows the doors off. And truly, I don’t think it was meant to. It’s a collection of stories. Some are funny and heartwarming, like the Men in Black story with his little sister. Some are a product of their time where you truly had to be there or like alive during that era (church basketball, old blue, McDonald’s menu change). Others are sad like the cliff story, his dad’s childhood and poor Cosmo the cat. And the whole Vanderbilt sports story. (Yay sports ball?)

If anything by the end of the book, it’s much easier to understand how Nate ended up in stand up. With family like his, it truly was the only possible outcome.

I think Nate Bargatze is hilarious. If you've never seen some of his stand-up, you're missing out. His self-deprecating humor and his "normal guy" delivery are really, really funny.

However, I think the delivery is what's missing in this book for me. I tried to love it, and some places I did laugh out loud. But overall, reading the book just didn't work well for me. I think in this case, the audiobook would have been 100x better.

2.5⭐s from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lynnlee Publishing for an advanced copy of the book. It's scheduled to be published on May 6, 2025.

I was introduced to Nate Bargatze's comedy on Saturday Night Live, where he did his now-viral George Washington sketches. These are, in my opinion, sheer genius, but throughout this book, Bargatze tries to convince us that he is just the opposite. This is the approach he takes in his standup as well - painting a picture of an ordinary guy from a small town who was dumb enough to flunk bowling in college - a guy who also had a fall as a child and broke his skull, which (he claims) is the reason that he isn't the genius he wanted to be.

All of the chapters here are slice-of-life stories, from his own childhood to having children of his own (I particularly liked the chapter on his daughter's birth, where he swears he is not going to cut the cord, but guess what). Much of the book is, as Bargatze describes it, "light, funny and relaxing." His style is low key and modest. It's not until you get to the end of chapters that you realize you were laughing the whole time.

I admit to having a bit of trouble with his occasional use of improper grammar ("me and Laura went to the store"). It reinforces the stereotype of an ignorant southern kid, and it bothered me because his whole shtick is trying to convince you that he is not a genius when in fact, he is.

I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to more Nate Bargatze in the future. Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.