Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit and Wisdom from History's Greatest Wordsmiths [Kindle Edition]

One of my best friends had an aunt (let's call her Ginny) who, like Yogi Berra, could bring a lively conversation to a screeching halt with one brief comment. Aunt Ginny really was unaware of this (shall we say) unique talent. She was not trying to be funny, clever, etc. On the contrary, she offered what she considered to be a serious comment and everyone knew what her intended meaning was. For example:

"Quicker than you can count Jack Robinson."
"Deader than a door knob."
"She was born on a silver platter."

My personal favorite:

"He's on a treadmill to Bolivia."

I am curious to know what Aunt Ginny would make of Grothe's book. (She died many years ago.) She would no doubt agree with many observations but perhaps not see the humor in any of them. Grothe has selected what he calls "oxymoronical" material from his vast collection of quotations. With regard to the term, his definition: "Oxymoronica, n.; A compilation of self-contradictory terms, phrases, or quotations; examples of oxymoronica appear illogical or nonsensical at first, but upon reflection, make a good deal of sense and are often profoundly true." As other reviewers have correctly noted, many of the quotations which Grothe has assembled are hilarious, others insightful, still others cynical. All of them qualify as "oxymoronica."

Among those forgotten or of which I was previously unaware, my personal favorites include:

"Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything."
John Kenneth Galbraith

"Hatreds are the cinders of affection."
Sir Walter Raleigh

"I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?"
Benjamin Disraeli

"What you get free costs too much."
Jean Anouilh

"Good fiction is that which is real."
Ralph Ellison

"Nothing is funnier than unhappiness."
Samuel Beckett (in Endgame)

Selections are organized within fourteen chapters, each of which has a generic subject such as "Sex, Love & Romance," "Ancient Oxymoronica," and "The Literary Life." I presume to suggest that Grothe's anthology be skimmed occasionally rather than read cover-to-cover. In the Foreword, Richard Lederer offers these comments which serve as an appropriate conclusion to my review: "Paradox is a particularly powerful device to ensnare truth because it concisely illuminates the contradictions that are at the very heart of our lives. It engages our hearts and minds because, beyond its figurative employment, paradox has always been at the center of of the human experience." Or, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, if people don't want to appreciate oxymoronica, nobody's going to stop them.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out The Portable Curmudgeon and The Return of the Portable Curmudgeon, both edited by Jon Winokur; also John M. Shanahan's The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time (In Two Lines or Less) and Condensed Knowledge: A Deliciously Irreverent Guide to Feeling Smart Again, edited by Will Pearson.

I am sure if someone had told me before I read this book that it was an easy-to-read, entertaining, and informative combination of a simple quote book, many cultural and historical references, and a scholarly and literary analysis of paradoxes and oxymorons, I would not have bought it. Well, I sure am glad nobody told me exactly what the book was about because I not only bought it and read it, I thought it was an outstanding book.

"Oxymoronica," a new term introduced by Dr. Mardy Grothe and the title of this book, was defined inside the front cover as "any variety of tantalizing, self-contradictory statements or observations that on the surface appear false or illogical, but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true."

In keeping with that definition, the book contained over 1,400 oxymoronic and paradoxical quotations from ancient times to today, organized into fourteen categories, most of which you would expect to find in any standard book of quotations (i.e. advice; insults; politics; sex, love, and romance; marriage, home, and family life). Complementing the wit and wisdom of the quotations was Grothe's historical and cultural research and his ability to present and put into a logical, often humorous, context the quotations so that I could reflect on and appreciate their profound meanings. You can open the book at random or read it sequentially and get the same pleasant experience both ways.

I had many profoundly personal moments of reflection on people and events in my life throughout the pages of this book:

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's own ignorance." Confucius

"You can't make anything idiot-proof because idiots are so ingenious." Ron Burns

"The child is father of the man." William Wordsworth

"When you add to the truth, you subtract from it." From the Talmud

"He had nothing to say and he said it." Ambrose Bierce, on a contemporary

"I learned an awful lot from him by doing the opposite." Howard Hawkes, on Cecil B. DeMille

"Most people when they come to you for advice come to have their own opinions strengthened, not corrected." Josh Billings

"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." Jonathon Swift

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." George Orwell, in "Animal Farm"

There's something about oxymorons that bring us up short even as we laugh over the sheer absurdity of it all. Even the name of this little book is an absurdity in itself: "Oxymoronica"?? Reading this volume helps us to stop and think about some of the gems and malapropisms that have enlivened the English language, both planned and unplanned. Here you'll find some of the more classic Berra-isms and the wit and wisdom of Shakespeare, Aristotle, and Confucius, just to name a few. The book is well organized into different areas of life such as politics, art, romance and sex (some of the more delicious examples of oxymoronica fall into this category), marriage and literature. The book makes you reminisce on some of the choicer oxymorons of your own experience; one of my favorites came from a lawyer friend of mine, who, hearing that an upcoming court hearing was being delayed because the judge-from-hell was ill, said "Gee, I hope it's nothing trivial." "Oxymoronica" is full of hilarious examples that match or top that one. Its wisdom should be absorbed slowly, savored bit by delicious bit. To use a classic oxymoron, it's a terribly funny book.