Mere Anarchy Paperback – October 14, 2008

The two funniest books I ever read were "Without Feathers" and "Getting Even", so my expectations were impossibly high for "Mere Anarchy." But almost to my surprise, Woody Allen's new book at least equals and maybe surpasses them both.Allen's writing skills are off the charts, whatever the genre. At times, his sentence structure is so intricate and precise, his vocabulary so eccentrically obscure, that his setups become funnier than his punchlines:"I was supremely confident my flair for atmosphere and characterization would sparkle alongside the numbing mulch ground out by studio hacks. Certainly the space atop my mantel might be better festooned by a gold statuette than by the plastic dipping bird that now bobbed there ad infinitum..."This particular vignette, "This Nib for Hire", is particularly hilarious: the story of Flanders Mealworm, a pretentious, out of work novelist writing a novelization of a Three Stooges short.In the later chapters, Allen drops the highly stylized prose and reverts to earlier form, where he simply piles absurdities on his paragraphs like pastrami on rye. This too is sidesplitting:"How could I not have known that there are little things the size of 'Planck length' in the universe, which are a millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a centimeter? Imagine if you dropped one in a dark theater how hard it would be to find. And how does gravity work? And if it were to cease suddenly, would certain restaurants still require a jacket? ..."Allen is funny on every level:Funny premises--"Frederich Nietzsche's Diet Book", Savile Row suits impregnated with fragrances, a lighting double kidnapped by Indian terrorists while on location.Funny, perfectly drawn metaphors and similes--"I have also reviewed by own financial obligations, which have puffed up recently like a hammered thumb." Or, "With that, he scribbled in an additional ninety thousand dollars on the estimate, which had waxed to the girth of the Talmud while rivaling it in possible interpretations."Funny character names--Hal Roachpaste, Reg Millipede, Agememnon Wurst and E. Coli Biggs, to name a very, very few.Funny words--Myrmidon, crepescular, succubus, screed, vigorish, on and on.And of course, funny jokes, everywhere--"She quarreled with the nanny and accused her of brushing Misha's teeth sideways rather than up and down." "As we know, for centuries Rome regarded the Open Hot Turkey Sandwich as the height of licentiousness ..."Allen is the absolute master of fusing the sublime with the absurd. The result is a book that makes you think as well as laugh. That's a combination you don't often see these days!

The book came in hard cover, which is what I had requested. And it's a fine book.

Woody Allen is one of those writes that you love or hate. And this book is no exception. I found particularly funny the way he laughs at science in "Strung Out" and philosophy in "Thus ate Zarathustra". In this last essay he says "Spinoza dined sparingly because he believed that God existed in everything and it's intimidating to wolf down a knish if you think you're ladling mustard onto the First Cause of All Things". This is sample of what you can expect in this book.

As always with W. Allen’s writing it’s a good idea if you’re education or formative years included some supposedly intellectual references to both philosophy, Greek Mythology and the Borscht Belt. Reminiscent of his early work. I laughed a number of times in reading this short story collection. If you are a fan of Allen’s writing maybe give it a go.

I've always enjoyed Allen's short stories. Now he's done a nice job of writing stories using Perelman's style. I'm not sure why that would irritate some reviewers. All artists borrow from others in some ways. If they didn't they'd all still be drawing mastodons on cave walls with walrus blood."Sam, You Made The Pants Too Fragrant" - great stuff!

Typical Woody Allen story telling...a bit off-balance, wonderful humorcatchy narrative and dialogue. Easy read at the beach, on a loungeor just before bedtime...will make you smile.

What you would expect from a Woody Allen book. Laugh out loud stories that challenge the brain.

Short stories but there is no connection between them and the style is repetitive among them. Given up reading half through the book.