Mere Anarchy
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Product Description
Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
"Mere Anarchy breaks a 27-year drought for fans of Allen the
literary prankster. It more than justifies the wait... His stories are
delicious confections: virtuoso turns, tipsy on their own linguistic
ingenuity" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
literary prankster. It more than justifies the wait... His stories are
delicious confections: virtuoso turns, tipsy on their own linguistic
ingenuity" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
The first new humour collection from Woody Allen in over 25 years
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Whilst I lost interest in the man's movies some considerable time back, I'll always have time to reread his trio of humorous essay collections from the '70s, hence my excitement in hearing about this book.
It doesn't disappoint in it's inspired silliness and virtuoso use of arcane and rococo language - I can think of scarcely a single current humourous writer who could beat this on a laughs-per -page basis.
A justified criticism might be that Allen's recurrent themes,rather recherche even in the 70s, are simply antiquated now - There's a piece on The Three Stooges, for instance. Contemporary readers might well take issue with Allen's attitude towards women here, too.
It doesn't disappoint in it's inspired silliness and virtuoso use of arcane and rococo language - I can think of scarcely a single current humourous writer who could beat this on a laughs-per -page basis.
A justified criticism might be that Allen's recurrent themes,rather recherche even in the 70s, are simply antiquated now - There's a piece on The Three Stooges, for instance. Contemporary readers might well take issue with Allen's attitude towards women here, too.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am a huge fan of Woody Allen's films. This is the first book written by him which I have read. The best I can say is that each story within the selection is short. I continued to read the stories as I thought they were bound to improve but I was disappointed. He tried too hard to be funny and unfortuntaely left me without a smile.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I didn't expect to be criticising a Woody Allen book but Mere Anarchy seldom reaches the heights of any of his previous trilogy, nor does it really stray from the same themes and situations. In fact, there were a number of weak formulaic stories that hardly raised a chuckle, never mind the involuntary guffaw common to the 5 star Getting Even, Side Affects and Without Feathers. Woody's strong and frequent New York, Jewish dialect and references also make comprehension a bit difficult at times and obscure some of the undoubtedly brilliant metaphors, but i suppose that's my problem as an English speaker ;-)
However, even if the story ideas aren't as strong as previous collections there is a wealth of small detail to delight in the dialogue, rhetoric and idiom on every page. The names of characters are great too - Flanders Mealworm, Pontius Perry, Max Endorphine, Reg Millipede, Murray Pepkin, Velveeta Belknap - reminiscent of PG Wodehouse.
The stories commonly follow the downward spiralling fortunes of the subject, with the comically self-deprecating hero involved in absurd deals and transactions with showbiz promoters, agents, building contractors, patients and doctors - Allen employing bathos (and other classic comic elements) to ridicule all kinds of artistic pretension - eg a Broadway play about the invention and manufacture of the adjustable showerhead, or the songwriting titles and lyrics of undiscovered genius Pepkin eg "A Side Order of Heartache, Please" and "Embrace me, disgrace me, just don't erase me from your rolodex". Unfortunately it's often the same joke dressed in different, if admittedly witty, words.
My favourite stories were Below the Box Springs and Pinchuck's Law - right at the end - which i felt were consistently funny - too many of the others felt a bit like rejects or unedited drafts from his earlier books.
In spite of all these reservations it is an extremely funny book in Allen's unique style. I suppose you'll either love or hate it then. I suspect it may seem a bit male chauvinist (is that the Jewish influence?) to some sensitive souls. I look forward to reading it again with a New York Dictionary.
However, even if the story ideas aren't as strong as previous collections there is a wealth of small detail to delight in the dialogue, rhetoric and idiom on every page. The names of characters are great too - Flanders Mealworm, Pontius Perry, Max Endorphine, Reg Millipede, Murray Pepkin, Velveeta Belknap - reminiscent of PG Wodehouse.
The stories commonly follow the downward spiralling fortunes of the subject, with the comically self-deprecating hero involved in absurd deals and transactions with showbiz promoters, agents, building contractors, patients and doctors - Allen employing bathos (and other classic comic elements) to ridicule all kinds of artistic pretension - eg a Broadway play about the invention and manufacture of the adjustable showerhead, or the songwriting titles and lyrics of undiscovered genius Pepkin eg "A Side Order of Heartache, Please" and "Embrace me, disgrace me, just don't erase me from your rolodex". Unfortunately it's often the same joke dressed in different, if admittedly witty, words.
My favourite stories were Below the Box Springs and Pinchuck's Law - right at the end - which i felt were consistently funny - too many of the others felt a bit like rejects or unedited drafts from his earlier books.
In spite of all these reservations it is an extremely funny book in Allen's unique style. I suppose you'll either love or hate it then. I suspect it may seem a bit male chauvinist (is that the Jewish influence?) to some sensitive souls. I look forward to reading it again with a New York Dictionary.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Amusing but not his best
I'm a big fan of his movies and have a lot of his books as well. It's a collection of short stories and I'm sure if a fan you're going to enjoy it, but it doesn't have the energy... Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2009 by ShaunMadrid
Nietzsche's Will To Power Flapjacks
Consisting of eighteen short pieces of tongue-in-cheek writing by Woody Allen, some of this stuff is a little facile and angled for an American market and as names and references... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2009 by Eileen Shaw
A highly amusing collection of stories
This is Woody Allen's first book I have read. I have seen lots of his movies, but I have never seen him in print. And I must say, I am rather impressed. Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2008 by Thomas Koetzsch
Embellished but still brilliant, and enduringly original
OK: what would you guess Woody Allen would write about after these uneventful 25 years since his last volume of essays? Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2007 by Mark Slattery
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