Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind

Nate Bargatze is the author of Big Dumb Eyes, a memoir about his life. Bargatze is a successful standup comedian, and this is his first book. His standup comedy often draws from his upbringing in the small American Southern town of Old Hickory, Tennessee. Big Dumb Eyes draws heavily on Bargatze’s childhood growing up in this town outside of Nashville, and it traces the steps he takes from childhood and young adulthood to his current life as a successful comedian with a wife and daughter.

As per the memoir’s title, Bargatze bases many of the book’s jokes and plot points on the idea that he is fundamentally unintelligent. He claims that he used to be smart as a child—“almost a genius”—but (in his opinion) he lost most of his mental capabilities when he fell off a cliff as an adolescent. From that point on, Bargatze maintains, he never lived up to the same academic standard he previously had. Despite this, he doesn’t mind being a “simple” person and leading a simple life.

The author exaggerates his perceived lack of intelligence for comedic effect and to skirt more complex issues that contribute to the actions he describes. As a comedy writer, Bargatze is not a fully trustworthy narrator.