Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind

By Nate Bargatze

Grand Central Publishing

Pub date: 06-May-2025

Publisher’s Summary:

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A #1 TORONTO STAR BESTSELLER
AN INSTANT USA TODAY AND INDIE BESTSELLER
A GLOBE AND MAIL BESTSELLER

From one of the hottest stand-up comedians, Nate Bargatze brings his everyman comedy to the page in this hilarious collection of personal stories, opinions, and confessions.

Nate Bargatze used to be a genius. That is, until the summer after seventh grade when he slipped, fell off a cliff, hit his head on a rock, and “my skull got, like, dented or something.” Before this accident, he dreamed of being “an electric engineer, or a doctor that does brain stuff, or a math teacher who teaches the hardest math on earth.” Afterwards, all he could do was stand-up comedy.* But the “brain stuff” industry’s loss is everyone else’s gain because Nate went on to become one of today’s top-grossing comedians, breaking both attendance and streaming records.

In his highly anticipated first book, Nate talks about life as a non-genius. From stories about his first car (named Old Blue, a clunky Mazda with a tennis ball stick shift) and his travels as a Southerner (Northerners like to ask if he believes in dinosaurs), to tales of his first apartment where he was almost devoured by rats and his many debates with his wife over his chores, his diet, and even his definition of “shopping.” He also reflects on such heady topics as his irrational passion for Vandy football and the mysterious origins of sushi (how can a California roll come from old-time Japan?).

BIG DUMB EYES is full of heart. It will make readers laugh out loud and nod in recognition, but it probably won’t make them think too much.

*Nate’s family disputes this entire story.

Review:

Nate Bargatze’s debut book is everything his stand-up fans want. He admits more than once that he doesn’t even think about books or reading, which made it difficult to try writing a memoir. It worked just fine after his two years of making it. He credits the help of talented copy editors who may have done quite a lot to make his spoken words easier to digest for readers. None of the editing process decreases the pleasant Tennessee drawl of Nate Bargatze. If you are a fan, hearing his voice while you read may be easy.

Big Dumb Eyes calls back to one of Bargatze’s bits where he talks about himself not being smart, and how people generally speak very slowly to him which he attributes to having big dumb eyes.

Whether or not you’ve seen his performances, this collection of anecdotes and vignettes of his life makes for an enjoyable experience. He dives into more details about growing up with a born again clown-magician father, an equally strict mother, his brother Derek, and baby sister, Abigail, who is ten years younger. On stage, Bargatze keeps the stories of his family light, funny, and cheery, even when talking about the death of a beloved pet. In Big Dumb Eyes, expect the boundary of the stage to disintegrate. Bargatze reveals sad details about his father’s side of the family. Looking at his father’s stage presence and style of entertaining audiences, Bargatze explains that his father’s jokes “came from a place of darkness.”

Faith and certain traditions have been a large part of Bargatze’s life and weave into his formula for making stories about his life appealing to a wide audience. His lack of swearing (cussing, cursing) keeps his billing as a “clean” comic which means family-friendly. He built onto his stand-up comedy by forming Nateland Entertainment which produces stand-up comedy specials, showcases, sketches, and scripted episodic content for film, TV, podcasts, music and more. The titular Nateland Podcast features Bargatze, Brian Bates, Aaron Weber & Dusty Slay.

Summary:

You don’t need to have seen any of Bargatze’s stand-up routines to enjoy Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind. Big Dumb Eyes is a smooth memoir that makes for an easy reading experience. Though Nate Bargartze states that a reader can take the chapters in any order they like, I recommend starting at the beginning and flowing straight to the end in order so that every time there’s a call back (like the origins of his best friend P-P’s nickname), it will all make sense. There are silly footnotes about parts of stories that Bargatze’s family recall differently. The book also includes delightful family photos allowing people even more insight into this Southern, peculiar, competitive, and loving family.

Rating: 5 stars

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.