The Child Becomes The Man

Comedy writer Adam Resnick shares juvenile exploits of his youth and adulthood in "Will Not Attend"

By Michael Shashoua / Jester editor-in-chief

Comedy writer Adam Resnick delivers a collection of short stories and pieces “Will Not Attend: Lively Stories of Detachment and Isolation,” (on shelves May 1) that will definitely appeal to anyone who’s become a fan of “The Goldbergs” TV series.

Resnick’s book is a mix of short stories and anecdotes from childhood and as a neurotic Jewish adult New Yorker. The childhood stories could easily be turned into scripts for “Goldbergs” episodes, such as “An Easter Story,” about a childhood crush he had, and “Booker’s A Nice Guy,” which gives readers a picture of Resnick’s gruff father, Merv, who resembles Murray, the father played by Jeff Garlin on “Goldbergs.”

In another chapter, “Blue Yodel No. 13,” Resnick recalls how as a young teen, his effort to have sex with the supposed town nympho – a gruff and not particularly attractive trashy girl in his suburban Harrisburg past, gave way to a nerdy interest in a rare Jimmie Rodgers vinyl her grandmother may have had.

But readers also get the stunts that Resnick, all grown up, does, like sabotaging his hated sister-in-law’s forcible family outing to Disney World, in “Playground of the Shrew,” and in another piece, “Scientology Down Under,” he sets out to confound missionaries for that organization in the NYC subways – akin to the type of stunt that might have been done by his onetime boss, David Letterman, during his 1980s NBC late night run.

There’s plenty more beyond these pieces, and there’s no boring or dole chapters in Resnick’s book. With it, he’s put himself on the map as a comedy author worth following.