Mere Anarchy
by Woody Allen
(Click here)
Book Summary Information
Author: Woody AllenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-14
ISBN: 0812979508
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Mere Anarchy
Book Review: MERE S.J. PERELMAN
Summary: 2 Stars
One of the greatest and most popular American humorists of the 20th century was S.J. Perelman. His style is absolutely unique as regards vocabulary,, narrative persona,premises, titling of pieces, characters' names - everything. It cannot be mistaken. In "Mere Anarchy", Woody Allen, who has said that Perelman was a huge influence on him, has done his level best to reproduce exactly Perelman's style and incorporate very little of his own. It boggles the mind how well Allen has copied Perelman, in all aspects. Why he has done it, and almost completely abandoned his own distinctive style, is another question. An homage? Just to see if he could? (He can.) He's so successful, though, that it makes it difficult to review this book. If you love Allen's previous books like "Without Feathers," then you won't care much for this. If you loved Perelman, you'll enjoy this odd reincarnation of him but perhaps resent just a tiny bit the usurpation of a singular mind and gift. And you might want to read some of Perelman's work while you're at it ("Baby, It's Cold Inside" or "The Most of S.J. Perelman")-he was a genius. In fact, I would recommend just getting the Perelman collections and leaving "Mere Anarchy" alone.
Summary of Mere Anarchy
Here, in his first collection since his three hilarious classics Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects, Woody Allen has managed to write a book that not only answers the most profound questions of human existence but is also the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling.In hysterical flights of inspirational sanity we are introduced to a cast of characters only Allen could imagine: Jasper Nutmeat, Flanders Mealworm, and the independent film mogul E. Coli Biggs, just to name a few. Whether he is writing about art, sex, food, or crime, he is explosively funny. In "This Nib for Hire," a Hollywood bigwig comes across an author's book in a little country store and describes it in a way that aptly captures this magnificent volume: "Actually," the producer says, "I'd never seen a book remaindered in the kindling section before."
Praise for Mere Anarchy:
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
"The stories in Mere Anarchy deliver the same joys and foibles that have been with its author from the start."
-Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Uproarious . . . In each story the ornate and the vulgate slam together and make it rain polysyllabic absurdity."
-The Wall Street Journal
"Nostalgically enjoyable . . . The stories in Mere Anarchy deliver the same joys and foibles that have been with its author from the start."
-The New York Times
"Brilliant neurotica . . . unfailingly entertaining . . . [an] obsessive and seriously funny book."
-Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Like the Carnegie's one-pound sandwiches, Allen's literary slapstick is . . . comedy on wry."
-USA Today
Essays Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Funny stuff
The Importance of Being EarnestDisney; Release date: 2002-11-12; DVD
Best price: $7.70
Price in other shops:
The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthologyby P.G. Wodehouse
Everyman's Library; Published: 2007-06-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.50
Price in other shops:
30 Rock: Seasons 1 & 2Universal; Release date: 2009-05-19; DVD
Best price: $47.94
Price in other shops:
The Office: Seasons 1 - 4 CollectionUniversal Studios; Release date: 2008-09-02; DVD
Best price: $134.99
Price in other shops:
Seinfeld - The Complete SeriesSEINFELD,JERRY; Release date: 2007-11-06; DVD
Best price: $112.96
Price in other shops:
Everybody Loves Raymond: The Complete SeriesROMANO,RAY; Release date: 2007-10-30; DVD
Best price: $81.49
Price in other shops:
The In-LawsWarner Brothers; Release date: 2003-05-13; DVD
Best price: $5.79
Price in other shops:
The Producers (Deluxe Edition)TCFHE/MGM; Release date: 2005-12-13; DVD
Best price: $5.48
Price in other shops:
The Producers (Widescreen Edition)BRODERICK,MATTHEW; Release date: 2006-05-16; DVD
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
Monty Python Holy Trinity (Monty Python and the Holy Grail / Monty Python's Life of Brian / Monty Python's the Meaning of Life) (6 discs)MONTY PYTHON; Release date: 2008-11-18; DVD
Best price: $29.98
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Woody Allen - Woody Allen on ComedyAllen; Release date: 2001-07-24; Music CD
Best price: $7.70
Price in other shops:
Three One-Act Plays: Riverside Drive Old Saybrook Central Park Westby Woody Allen
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2004-01-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.91
Price in other shops:
Complete Prose of Woody Allenby Woody Allen
Wings Books; Published: 1991-03-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $29.70
Woody Allen and Philosophy: You Mean My Whole Fallacy Is Wrong?Open Court; Published: 2004-08-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.39
Price in other shops:
Conversations with Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking (Vintage)by Eric Lax
Knopf; Published: 2009-08-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.50
Price in other shops:
Woody Allen on Woody Allenby Woody Allen
Grove Press; Published: 2005-07-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.14
Price in other shops:
Getting Evenby Woody Allen
Vintage; Published: 1978-08-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
Without Feathersby Woody Allen
Ballantine Books; Published: 1986-02-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.15
Price in other shops:
Side Effectsby Woody Allen
Ballantine Books; Published: 1986-09-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops:
The Insanity Defense: The Complete Proseby Woody Allen
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2007-06-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops: