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هرج و مرج محض
"I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me." -- Woody Allen
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 the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling.
"I awoke Friday, and because the universe is expanding it took me longer than usual to find my robe," he explains in a piece on physics called "Strung Out." In other 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 ("Pugh has been a policeman as far back as he can remember. His father was a notorious bank robber, and the only way Pugh could get to spend time with him was to apprehend him") 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."
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 the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling.
"I awoke Friday, and because the universe is expanding it took me longer than usual to find my robe," he explains in a piece on physics called "Strung Out." In other 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 ("Pugh has been a policeman as far back as he can remember. His father was a notorious bank robber, and the only way Pugh could get to spend time with him was to apprehend him") 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."
260 pages
First published January 1, 2007
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حسین یعقوبی
33books47followersحسین یعقوبی نویسنده، روزنامه نگار، مترجم، نمایشنامه نویس. فوق لیسانس زبانشناسی از پژوهشگاه علوم انسانی و مطالعات فرهنگی.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 376 reviews
October 13, 2012
Imagine being in an elevator with Woody Allen for three minutes, and he tells you a funny anecdote about buying a pair of pants. You’d find him witty and hysterical and you’d laugh out loud as you walk out of the elevator. OK, now imagine instead of three minutes it’s three days in an elevator with Woody Allen, who doesn’t stop talking for three whole days, and in those three days, he’s still talking about just buying pants. At some point, you’d probably turn to him and say “Enough with the pants already!� no matter how witty he is being. That is what reading Mere Anarchy is like. Allegedly a book of short stories, the book is more a series of creative writing exercises stretched into stories; or like a long series of related witticisms that Allen decided was close enough to a story. For example, in one story (“This Nib for Hire�) a writer is hired to pen the novelization of a Three Stooges movie. I’m 100% convinced that Allen was watching a Three Stooges movie one day, thought in his head how clever it would be to draft a high literature paragraph based on the on-screen action, wrote out a dozen sentences of said paragraph, and then added four pages of fluff in front of it to justify a short story out of a single witticism. That is what all 18 stories in this collection are like. There are a few standout selections in here where Allen kept the story tightly short and the witticisms are sufficiently enjoyable (the only ones I liked were “Strung Out� and “Thus Ate Zarathustra�). And while there are plenty of phrases and sentences that are wildly clever and inventive and funny, trudging through the rest of the story to get to those lines was really not worth it for me. The stories often tended to peter out at the end, as if after getting to the witticism that the story was based around, Allen just wanted to wrap up the story and be done with it. Well, after three or four stories into it, I felt the same way. Unfortunately, this one is a pass for me.
September 9, 2020
Απολαυστικός κι αγαπημένος Γούντυ Άλεν!�
January 3, 2016
Description: "I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me." -- Woody Allen
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 the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling.
"I awoke Friday, and because the universe is expanding it took me longer than usual to find my robe," he explains in a piece on physics called "Strung Out." In other 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 ("Pugh has been a policeman as far back as he can remember. His father was a notorious bank robber, and the only way Pugh could get to spend time with him was to apprehend him") 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."
Read by hisself! 3:22:17
3* Without Feathers
3* Side Effects
TR Getting Even
3* Mere Anarchy
TR Woody Allen: Interviews
4* Zelig
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 the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling.
"I awoke Friday, and because the universe is expanding it took me longer than usual to find my robe," he explains in a piece on physics called "Strung Out." In other 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 ("Pugh has been a policeman as far back as he can remember. His father was a notorious bank robber, and the only way Pugh could get to spend time with him was to apprehend him") 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."
Read by hisself! 3:22:173* Without Feathers
3* Side Effects
TR Getting Even
3* Mere Anarchy
TR Woody Allen: Interviews
4* Zelig
September 2, 2016
Πριν πω περισσότερα, να σας πω το εξής: μου κάνανε παρατήρηση από το δίπλα διαμέρισμα γιατί ακούγονταν πολύ δυνατά γέλια από το -φοιτητικό- διαμερισματάκι μου. Στις 2 τα ξημερώματα. Ο λόγος είναι αυτός ο κύριος. Στο σημείο αυτό να επισημάνω ότι γενικά δεν είμαι καπετάν-φασαρίας, μη μου βγει και τ'όνομα.
Ναι, ο λατρεμένος, διοπτροφόρος Woody μας θυμίζει πόσο καλός κωμικός είναι και πως "το 'χει" ακόμα. Η μία ατάκα να ακολουθεί την άλλη, με αποτέλεσμα να μην μπορείς να πάρεις ανάσα από τα γέλια.
4/5 για για το συγκρίνω με τις προηγούμενες ιστορίες του (βλ. Complete Prose) χάνει στα σημεία Η γραφή του Woody εξαιρετική, πάντα θεωρούσα ότι χειρίζεται έξυπνα τη γλώσσα.
Υ.Γ. Σε όσους ενδιαφέρονται προτείνω να το διαβάσουν στ'αγγλικά. Στα ελληνικά θεωρώ ότι χάνεται η γοητεία πολλών αστείων, wordplays κλπ.
Ναι, ο λατρεμένος, διοπτροφόρος Woody μας θυμίζει πόσο καλός κωμικός είναι και πως "το 'χει" ακόμα. Η μία ατάκα να ακολουθεί την άλλη, με αποτέλεσμα να μην μπορείς να πάρεις ανάσα από τα γέλια.
4/5 για για το συγκρίνω με τις προηγούμενες ιστορίες του (βλ. Complete Prose) χάνει στα σημεία Η γραφή του Woody εξαιρετική, πάντα θεωρούσα ότι χειρίζεται έξυπνα τη γλώσσα.
Υ.Γ. Σε όσους ενδιαφέρονται προτείνω να το διαβάσουν στ'αγγλικά. Στα ελληνικά θεωρώ ότι χάνεται η γοητεία πολλών αστείων, wordplays κλπ.
June 23, 2020
Αν και είμαι μεγάλος θαυμαστής του Γούντι Άλλεν δεν μπορώ να πω ότι με συγκίνησε ιδιαίτερα η παρούσα ανθολογία. Πρόκειται για διηγήματα/άρθρα χιουμοριστικού περιεχομένου που δημοσιεύτηκαν για πρώτη φορά στο New Yorker και παρουσιάζονται εδώ με την μορφή βιβλίου: στα διηγήματα ο Άλλεν καταπιάνεται με διάφορα θέματα πχ την δίαιτα, τα καθαριστήρια, τον πνευματισμό χωρίς όμως να καταφέρνει (τουλάχιστον για μένα) να μεταδώσει το νευρωτικό χιούμορ που έχει στις ταινίες του. Αντίθετα εμφανίζεται περισσότερο σουεραλιστικός ενώ σε σημεία δείχνει να κάνει αγγαρεία (βαριέμαι να γράψω αλλά κάτι πρέπει να βάλω) κάτι που δεν πρέπει να μας εκπλήσει καθώς προσωπικότητες σαν αυτόν από κάποιο σημείο και μετά γίνοντια καθεστός. Ενδεχομένως αυτό το format έκφρασης να μην του ταιριάζει ιδιαίτερα (δεν είναι όλοι Μάρκ Τουέιν), ενδεομένως εγώ να μην το πιάνω. Σε κάθε περίπτωση η ανάγνωση του μικρού αυτού βιβλίου ήταν ιδιαίτερα βαρετή διαδικασια. Λυπάμαι Γούντι αλλά ασχολήσου καλύτερα με καμία rom-com και άσε το γράψιμο.
October 29, 2021
Вуді Аллен буває харизматичний, але цю харизму я взагалі не відчуваю у цих текстах. Лише вульгарність, шеймінг та сексизм. Ці його "кралі" не відрізняються від "лялечок" і викликають лише огиду та сум. Я не сміялася.
January 17, 2025
Many of the stories in this collection reminded me of an old BBC TV series called The Good Old Days. It was a recreation of the days of the Victorian music hall (vaudeville) and was hosted by the loquacious Leonard Sachs who loved to demonstrate his lexicographical expeditiousness when introducing each act. Woody Allen shows himself to be on friendly terms with multi-syllabic and philologically complex linguistics, too - thankfully this rarely intrudes on the jokes, which are Woody Allen stand-up to the core. Very enjoyable. I may even read it again.
Read
October 6, 2024псевдоінтелектуальний гармидер з нотками абсурду. спочатку я хотів написати відгук на кожне оповідання окремо, але в цьому немає сенсу: вони всі однакові. однаково ніякі. по стилістиці це як суміш роальда дала з монті пайтоном плюс оскаженілий неймдропінг мінус, хто б міг подумати, хист зібрати все це діло докупи. розв’язк� мляві, референси беззмістовні, наративний прийом в усіх оповіданнях однаковий: гіперболізація на межі фолу. здебільшого поза межами фолу.
мабуть, вуді аллен таки не мій auteur.
мабуть, вуді аллен таки не мій auteur.
April 2, 2018
@ past me what the fuck
at least i stole it off the inter webs instead of actually paying for it right
at least i stole it off the inter webs instead of actually paying for it right
December 6, 2017
زرافه طبقه سوم بيسكويت شور ميخواهد...
January 12, 2023
A collection of short somewhat funny stories by Woody Allen... I listened to the audiobook which is great, read by Woody Allen himself it gives me the feeling of watching one of his movies.
November 6, 2012
In the 1970s Woody Allen wrote short humorous pieces that often appeared in The New Yorker. These pieces were collected into three acclaimed volumes, Getting Even (1971), Without Feathers (1975), and Side Effects (1980). For many years after that, he didn’t publish any short pieces, only his screenplays. However, at some point in the 1990s, he began to once more write these short comic pieces. These have now been collected into a volume published this year, Mere Anarchy. Having just finished it, the sketches and stories often brought a smile if not outright laughter. Allen is definitely a wordsmith and his use of language is amazing. This slim volume collects 18 of his recent pieces.
The pieces themselves span cults (religious or otherwise), the travails of a little-known character actor with delusions of grandeur, the invention and sale of clothing with unusual properties, an increasingly vitriolic series of letters from the director of a film camp and the father of a successful young student, a nanny tell-all book, a Maltese Falcon mystery of a giant white truffle, the perils of home remodeling, a history of the philosophy of dieting and good eating, and Mickey Mouse’s testimony at a Disney trial.
To offer a few quotes from the stories:
From “On a Bad Day You Can See Forever�(the home remodeling story): “In the end I settled on a suspiciously sensible estimate originating from the office of one Max Arbogast, alias Chic Arbogast, alias Specs Arbogast—a waxy little ectomorph with the glinting eyes of a claim jumper in a Republic western.�
From “Attention Geniuses: Cash Only�: “Jogging along Fifth Avenue last summer as part of a fitness program designed to reduce my life expectancy to that of a nineteenth-century coal miner, I paused at the outdoor café of the Stanhope Hotel to renovate my flagging respiratory system with a chilled screwdriver.�
From “Glory Hallelujah, Sold!�: “When the ratings came out and The Dancing Ombudsman got a minus thirty-four, there was some talk at Nielsen that people who accidentally tuned in the show then put their eyes out like Oedipus.�
These are only a few of the sentences that made me laugh as I read Allen’s pieces. Mere Anarchy is a wonderful collection of short humor and I easily recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading humor or who appreciates the way a writer strings together words to complete his sentences. This was a delightful and easy read.
The pieces themselves span cults (religious or otherwise), the travails of a little-known character actor with delusions of grandeur, the invention and sale of clothing with unusual properties, an increasingly vitriolic series of letters from the director of a film camp and the father of a successful young student, a nanny tell-all book, a Maltese Falcon mystery of a giant white truffle, the perils of home remodeling, a history of the philosophy of dieting and good eating, and Mickey Mouse’s testimony at a Disney trial.
To offer a few quotes from the stories:
From “On a Bad Day You Can See Forever�(the home remodeling story): “In the end I settled on a suspiciously sensible estimate originating from the office of one Max Arbogast, alias Chic Arbogast, alias Specs Arbogast—a waxy little ectomorph with the glinting eyes of a claim jumper in a Republic western.�
From “Attention Geniuses: Cash Only�: “Jogging along Fifth Avenue last summer as part of a fitness program designed to reduce my life expectancy to that of a nineteenth-century coal miner, I paused at the outdoor café of the Stanhope Hotel to renovate my flagging respiratory system with a chilled screwdriver.�
From “Glory Hallelujah, Sold!�: “When the ratings came out and The Dancing Ombudsman got a minus thirty-four, there was some talk at Nielsen that people who accidentally tuned in the show then put their eyes out like Oedipus.�
These are only a few of the sentences that made me laugh as I read Allen’s pieces. Mere Anarchy is a wonderful collection of short humor and I easily recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading humor or who appreciates the way a writer strings together words to complete his sentences. This was a delightful and easy read.
January 5, 2019
Абсурд, іронія, сатира, тонкі авторські метафори - безумовно, коронні трюки Аллена. Завжди цікаво дивитись, як за допомогою сміху над собою (у першу чергу) і над світом земним (куди ж без нього, всім нам тут довелось опинитися) він намагається осмислити вічні теми.
Так, Вуді не соромиться свого відверто мізантропічного погляду на людську сутність. Однак це не заважає йому визнати і чесноти гомо сапіенса. Ну, як визнати? На контрасті повного безладу уважний читач таки знайде натяки на віру в талант, працьовитість, деяку розсудливість, може, й любов у серцях головних героїв 18 історій цієї збірки.
Однак, мушу визнати, читати місцями важко. По-перше, через постійні референси на американські реалії життя. А по-друге, через не завжди вдалий переклад.
Тим не менш, почитати Аллена - це наче подивитись його черговий геніальний фільм, який не покажуть на екрані.
Так, Вуді не соромиться свого відверто мізантропічного погляду на людську сутність. Однак це не заважає йому визнати і чесноти гомо сапіенса. Ну, як визнати? На контрасті повного безладу уважний читач таки знайде натяки на віру в талант, працьовитість, деяку розсудливість, може, й любов у серцях головних героїв 18 історій цієї збірки.
Однак, мушу визнати, читати місцями важко. По-перше, через постійні референси на американські реалії життя. А по-друге, через не завжди вдалий переклад.
Тим не менш, почитати Аллена - це наче подивитись його черговий геніальний фільм, який не покажуть на екрані.
April 6, 2021
Um autor é um autor, seja no cinema, no teatro, na música ou na escrita. E se as artes têm sempre veios de comunicação entre si, daí resulta que um grande realizador como Woody Allen é também um bom escritor. Toda a ironia de stand-up comedian, a verborreia dos filmes, a anarquia do tudo-é-possível, a auto-comiseração e as histórias trágico-patéticas estão aqui, por vezes mesmo em excesso. Tanto nos leva a rir a bandeiras despregadas como a sentir um pequeno tédio de previsibilidade, rapidamente compensado pelo fulgor da escrita cinematográfica muitas das vezes (quando não mesmo sob a forma de guião de cinema). Veja-se, em particular, o conto «A lei de Pinchuck», onde o delírio alcança níveis descontrolados: «Os tablóides estão a dizer que é um assassino em série. É claro que os assassinos em série estão a queixar-se de discriminação, dizendo que são sempre eles os acusados quando há três ou mais vítimas mortas da mesma forma. Dizem que gostavam de ver o número aumentar para seis.»; ou «Sygmnd era um pobre austríaco que perdera todas as vogais do nome num acidente de barco». Se a maior parte dos contos não é inesquecível, é pelo menos suficientemente absurda para percebermos que é um autor como muitos outros não são. E se calhar até vendem mais...
March 19, 2016
Volim Vudijeve filmove i simpatičan mi je njegov intelektualni cinizam, zato sam sa radošću dohvatila zbirku kratkih priča Puko bezvlašće. Bolje da nisam, pomalo se poraženo osećam kada posmatram nedovoljno spretne pokušaje ugledanja na Kišona. Lepo je isprobavati multimedijalni pristup, no sve u svemu drž' se ti Vudi sedme umetnosti.
November 25, 2008
I think to get all the jokes you need a street map of Manhattan and then a dictionary of obscure little used words to get the punch lines. This book is more for those considering becoming criminally insane.
July 9, 2016
اما حداقل اين اتفاق باعث شد كه بفهمم اختلاف فرهنگي خيلس مهمتر از اختلاف طبقاتي است.شما ميتوانيد با چوبدست جادويي كدو قلقلي را تبديل به كالسكه وسگ ولگرد را تبديل به اسب تازي كنيد اما نميتوانيد يك موجود خاله زنك را به يك روشنفكر فمنيست تبديل كنيد
August 21, 2012
Woody Allen has a tap in his head. When he turns the tap on, out pour gags. Complex sentences setting up simple jokes, by the thousand. You might have read Getting Even, Without Feathers or Side Effects. They are books where Woody takes a single, silly premise, gets all Noo Yoik on its ass, via a few pages of first person narration and a metronomic set-up/punchline rhythm so exacting it's like a Drill Sergeant in clown shoes is shouting at Woody as he types.
Well Woody hasn't marched this yard since 1980, but this is right back in step. The last book I read and reviewed, is about what happens when you start thinking about something you don't have to think about. Woody doesn't seem to worry about doing a bad job of something he's good at. You just get up and have another go the next day.
This book is so good it's practically .
"Twenty years in the Homicide Division of the NYPD and, brother, you've seen everything. Like when some Wall Street broker juliennes his little petit four over who gets to work the channel changer, or this lovesick rabbi decides to end it all by salting his beard with anthrax and inhaling. That's why when somebody reported a dead body on Riverside Drive at Eighty Third with no bullet holes, no stab wounds and no sign of struggle I didn't freak to some film-noir conclusion but put it down to one of the thousand natural shocks the Bard claims the flesh is heir to but don't ask me which one."
Agent to meteoric and now fallen star:
"Did I say take it easy? Did I not lecture myself blue in the punim on overweening ambition, using as a for instance Icarus?"
"Yes, but-"
"What but? Arvide Mite was only waxing hyperbolic when he said you could make the phone book into a hit. Only an idiot or a megalomaniac would have accepted the challenge. Especially the Yellow Pages."
160 pages of big Woody joy, and even an afterword on the font. I couldn't ask for anymore, and if I did, I doubt anyone would hear me.
Well Woody hasn't marched this yard since 1980, but this is right back in step. The last book I read and reviewed, is about what happens when you start thinking about something you don't have to think about. Woody doesn't seem to worry about doing a bad job of something he's good at. You just get up and have another go the next day.
This book is so good it's practically .
"Twenty years in the Homicide Division of the NYPD and, brother, you've seen everything. Like when some Wall Street broker juliennes his little petit four over who gets to work the channel changer, or this lovesick rabbi decides to end it all by salting his beard with anthrax and inhaling. That's why when somebody reported a dead body on Riverside Drive at Eighty Third with no bullet holes, no stab wounds and no sign of struggle I didn't freak to some film-noir conclusion but put it down to one of the thousand natural shocks the Bard claims the flesh is heir to but don't ask me which one."
Agent to meteoric and now fallen star:
"Did I say take it easy? Did I not lecture myself blue in the punim on overweening ambition, using as a for instance Icarus?"
"Yes, but-"
"What but? Arvide Mite was only waxing hyperbolic when he said you could make the phone book into a hit. Only an idiot or a megalomaniac would have accepted the challenge. Especially the Yellow Pages."
160 pages of big Woody joy, and even an afterword on the font. I couldn't ask for anymore, and if I did, I doubt anyone would hear me.
April 13, 2013
Though I typically remember how I come into the possession of a book, I cannot for the life of me remember how I came to own Woody Allen's "Mere Anarchy." It isn't surprising for me to have a Woody Allen book on my bookshelf (I actually have another I remember getting). I happen to like the man in a purely artistic way. I just don't remember buying or receiving "Mere Anarchy" as a gift.
Regardless of the unsolved mystery, I had Woody Allen on the brain recently because I had read Diane Keaton's semi-memoir "Then Again" not so long ago and she spoke fondly of Woody. So when it came time for me to pick books for vacation, I naturally plucked "Mere Anarchy" from my bookshelf.
"Mere Anarchy" is a perfect book for travel because it's a small book that contains a series of short stories. Each story lasts only a few pages long so one could easily pick up the book and drop it. As it so happened, I had a free afternoon outside and I ended up finishing the book in a few hours.
While the book may not have taken long to finish I wouldn't label it a breezy read. Allen often used complicated syntax when describing the simplest details. At times I felt like I could have benefited from using a dictionary. Still I was able to overcome Allen's rhetoric and plough through the book. And as in any collection of short stories, there were a few stories that stood out more than others. Then there was the rare story or two that made me pause and wonder how it could have made the final cut. But overall I found "Mere Anarchy" to be a mostly enjoyable, readable, and oftentimes humorous body of work. I'd say the best audience for this book would be a Woody Allen fan or at the very least a person who is familiar with Allen.
Regardless of the unsolved mystery, I had Woody Allen on the brain recently because I had read Diane Keaton's semi-memoir "Then Again" not so long ago and she spoke fondly of Woody. So when it came time for me to pick books for vacation, I naturally plucked "Mere Anarchy" from my bookshelf.
"Mere Anarchy" is a perfect book for travel because it's a small book that contains a series of short stories. Each story lasts only a few pages long so one could easily pick up the book and drop it. As it so happened, I had a free afternoon outside and I ended up finishing the book in a few hours.
While the book may not have taken long to finish I wouldn't label it a breezy read. Allen often used complicated syntax when describing the simplest details. At times I felt like I could have benefited from using a dictionary. Still I was able to overcome Allen's rhetoric and plough through the book. And as in any collection of short stories, there were a few stories that stood out more than others. Then there was the rare story or two that made me pause and wonder how it could have made the final cut. But overall I found "Mere Anarchy" to be a mostly enjoyable, readable, and oftentimes humorous body of work. I'd say the best audience for this book would be a Woody Allen fan or at the very least a person who is familiar with Allen.
October 27, 2015
دست آ خر هم پایان زندگیتون مصادف میشه با رسیدن به اوج لذت
March 29, 2022
Empecé esta novela creyendo que sería una "novela", luego me doy con la sorpresa de que es una antología. Para ser sincero, no sé sí ambos pueden convivir en un solo libro, pero vamos con lo que me gustó y lo que no:
BUENOS:
-Errar es humano; flotar, divino: Este relato (el primero) fue demasiado divertido, sobre todo por esa joda a la cienciología (hay varios relatos en lo que es mencionado) y a esa "secta" que te da poderes sobrenaturales... Quizás el personaje que más me gustó fue Max Endorphine, ese gordo es insoportable y divertido, ambos la mismo tiempo.
-Rescate tadoori: Este relato fue igual de divertido que el anterior, o quizá más. Se centra en un actor que quiere ganarse un lugar en las pantallas grandes, él cree que ya lo ha logrado; su agente Pontius Perry... joder, es el mejor agente del mundo jajajajaja, cuando lo lean me entenderán.
-Qué paladar tienes, muñeca: Solo fueron unas pocas páginas y me quedé impresionado con toda la cantidad de información que hubo. Espero que no haya gente que pague tanto por comida... Igual el detective fue muy hábil para no caer en las redes que le tendió aquella...
-Gloria, aleluya, ¡adjudicada!: Este relato te deja un mensaje claro: No te juegues nunca con la fe de la gente, menos si tiene una familia peligrosa xd
-Peligro, caída de magnates: Este fue el top 1 de los relatos, incluso podría fácilmente ser adaptada al cine, o una serie... Hasta ya tengo el nombre: "El ascenso de un joven guionista".
-El sol no sale para todos: Esto es como un manual sobre cómo no comprar una propiedad. Fue interesante y un pelín divertido.
-Atención, genios: pagos al contado: Desconocía lo de Cachet y Van Gogh, averiguaré más de esa historia.
-Sorpresa en el juicio de la Disney: En mi cabeza se oía, me refiero al terminar el relato: "Jajajajaja, ¿Qué caraj*s acabo de leer?". Hasta ahora no puedo creer lo que leí. Es demasiado gracioso, pero depende del sentido del humor que tengas.
NO TAN BUENOS:
-Pluma de alquiler: Este relato no es tan divertido, pero deja una enseñanza: Jamás muestres tu trabajo si no hay un contrato de por medio.
-Calistenia, urticaria, montaje final: Este relato es de los que menos me gustó, incluso lo sacaría de la antología.
-El rechazo: Fue entretenido, pero me sigo quedando con los de arriba.
-Canta, Sacher Tortes: No entendí nada de lo que decían. Creo que es muy sofisticado para mí.
-Tirar demasiado de la cuerda: Relato prescindible. Ya ni recuerdo de qué iba.
-Por encima de la ley, por debajo del somier: Meh.
-Así comió Zaratustra: Meh x2.
La ley de Pinchuk: Meh x3.
BUENOS:
-Errar es humano; flotar, divino: Este relato (el primero) fue demasiado divertido, sobre todo por esa joda a la cienciología (hay varios relatos en lo que es mencionado) y a esa "secta" que te da poderes sobrenaturales... Quizás el personaje que más me gustó fue Max Endorphine, ese gordo es insoportable y divertido, ambos la mismo tiempo.
-Rescate tadoori: Este relato fue igual de divertido que el anterior, o quizá más. Se centra en un actor que quiere ganarse un lugar en las pantallas grandes, él cree que ya lo ha logrado; su agente Pontius Perry... joder, es el mejor agente del mundo jajajajaja, cuando lo lean me entenderán.
-Qué paladar tienes, muñeca: Solo fueron unas pocas páginas y me quedé impresionado con toda la cantidad de información que hubo. Espero que no haya gente que pague tanto por comida... Igual el detective fue muy hábil para no caer en las redes que le tendió aquella...
-Gloria, aleluya, ¡adjudicada!: Este relato te deja un mensaje claro: No te juegues nunca con la fe de la gente, menos si tiene una familia peligrosa xd
-Peligro, caída de magnates: Este fue el top 1 de los relatos, incluso podría fácilmente ser adaptada al cine, o una serie... Hasta ya tengo el nombre: "El ascenso de un joven guionista".
-El sol no sale para todos: Esto es como un manual sobre cómo no comprar una propiedad. Fue interesante y un pelín divertido.
-Atención, genios: pagos al contado: Desconocía lo de Cachet y Van Gogh, averiguaré más de esa historia.
-Sorpresa en el juicio de la Disney: En mi cabeza se oía, me refiero al terminar el relato: "Jajajajaja, ¿Qué caraj*s acabo de leer?". Hasta ahora no puedo creer lo que leí. Es demasiado gracioso, pero depende del sentido del humor que tengas.
NO TAN BUENOS:
-Pluma de alquiler: Este relato no es tan divertido, pero deja una enseñanza: Jamás muestres tu trabajo si no hay un contrato de por medio.
-Calistenia, urticaria, montaje final: Este relato es de los que menos me gustó, incluso lo sacaría de la antología.
-El rechazo: Fue entretenido, pero me sigo quedando con los de arriba.
-Canta, Sacher Tortes: No entendí nada de lo que decían. Creo que es muy sofisticado para mí.
-Tirar demasiado de la cuerda: Relato prescindible. Ya ni recuerdo de qué iba.
-Por encima de la ley, por debajo del somier: Meh.
-Así comió Zaratustra: Meh x2.
La ley de Pinchuk: Meh x3.
July 28, 2019
Some of the stories were funny, the other ones I just read to finish the book and that's it.
I like that there are a lot of references to great people/history events, and I've actually discovered a lot of interesting things. So that was cool.
I like that there are a lot of references to great people/history events, and I've actually discovered a lot of interesting things. So that was cool.
February 11, 2021
Its genius how his mind works even in writing short stories but i must confess that i didn't perticularly enjoy all of the stories; just like his movies. Some are good and some are meh. All in all the good old humor and sarcasm is there.
March 26, 2019
читаючи цю книгу, мені довелось немилосердно гуглити, що, звісно, відволікає від читання. певно, цей твір розрахований на значно витонченішого і ерудованішого читача, ніж я. дуже майстерно написана книга (переклад теж хороший), але не зачепило жодної емоції.
цей інтелектуальний гумор настільки інтелектуальний, що я лиш на половині книги збагнула, що то ж був гумор (хоча смішно від того так і не стало)!
літературне фуа-гра під трюфелями - це не для мене. втім, це не означає, що книга погана, просто не для мене.
цей інтелектуальний гумор настільки інтелектуальний, що я лиш на половині книги збагнула, що то ж був гумор (хоча смішно від того так і не стало)!
літературне фуа-гра під трюфелями - це не для мене. втім, це не означає, що книга погана, просто не для мене.
December 15, 2009
I wanna preface a nasty review with this: I love me some Woody Allen...films. I'll take Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, even new offerings like Match Point and Vicky Christina Barcelona any day! But we all know that sometimes dear ole Woody takes a misstep. Curse of the Jade Scorpion? Getting with the stepdaughter? Yes, indeed, this collection of short stories was a disaster on that level. Ok, ok, I did like one thing about the stories - they were very short. The characters, events, and language in the stories are beyond ridiculous. People are dying on toast points etc. Please, Woody, please. All the characters are buffoons, which is slightly entertaining, but the language (which may have been enjoyable to hear) was a major headache to read. The ENTIRE book was like this: "Flashback six months prior, when Mrs. Endorphine's little boy was at emotional ducks and drakes over a series of tribulations, which, if you count my misplaced beret, topped Job's. First, this fortune cookie from Taiwan I was tutoring in anatomical hydraulics eighty-sixes me for an apprentice pie maker, then I get sued to the tune of many dead presidents for backing my Jaguar through a Christian Science Reading Room." So, I admit, that passage in ISOLATION is fairly entertaining, if not totally absurd, but continue this non-stop whacked-out 1940's detective movie slang parade for the next 150 pages and a reader just gets tired. I like playing with language, but it works out less well in print than in dialogue.
January 27, 2020
Creo que este libro es completamente lo que llamaríamos un Fan Service para quien sea un fiel seguidor de Woody Allen desde hace ya algunas décadas.
El libro arremete en muchas de las breves historias a manera de sátira en contra de la religión, la política y la sociedad New Yorkina.
La mayoría de los cuentos se encuentran localizados en New York y esta narrada desde la perspectiva de coloridos personajes de diferentes círculos sociales y estatus económicos (Por así llamarlo).
Woody hace sobre todo un uso increíble de la sátira haciendo hincapié en lo absurdo de la vida, la fama y la política.
En general el libro me saco mas de una sonora carcajada, sin embargo no le doy el 5 estrellas completa por que creo que su obra esta cargada de referencias a los trabajos anteriores de Allen ademas de que emplea demasiadas noticias, nombres de socialites y artistas con los que si no estas familiarizado puede que te pierdas un poco en la lectura.
Pero en general, recomiendo este libro para aquel que goce del relato corto.
El libro arremete en muchas de las breves historias a manera de sátira en contra de la religión, la política y la sociedad New Yorkina.
La mayoría de los cuentos se encuentran localizados en New York y esta narrada desde la perspectiva de coloridos personajes de diferentes círculos sociales y estatus económicos (Por así llamarlo).
Woody hace sobre todo un uso increíble de la sátira haciendo hincapié en lo absurdo de la vida, la fama y la política.
En general el libro me saco mas de una sonora carcajada, sin embargo no le doy el 5 estrellas completa por que creo que su obra esta cargada de referencias a los trabajos anteriores de Allen ademas de que emplea demasiadas noticias, nombres de socialites y artistas con los que si no estas familiarizado puede que te pierdas un poco en la lectura.
Pero en general, recomiendo este libro para aquel que goce del relato corto.
September 7, 2009
As I read this book I told myself, " I am as big a fan of synonyms as the next bibliophile but c'mon!"
Here is an example of that which I speak, "a quincunx* of loyal minions scurried forward" "a salivating lycanthrope*". This one I had to admit was funny, "my son from a previous connubial holocaust".
*quincunx=five objects
*lycanthrope=werewolf
So, at times, it was funny but most of the time it was tenebrous, obtuse and pedantic.
Here is an example of that which I speak, "a quincunx* of loyal minions scurried forward" "a salivating lycanthrope*". This one I had to admit was funny, "my son from a previous connubial holocaust".
*quincunx=five objects
*lycanthrope=werewolf
So, at times, it was funny but most of the time it was tenebrous, obtuse and pedantic.
January 9, 2021
I'd never understood the criticism that Woody Allen was a pretentious writer until settling in to his books. A collection of light comedy stories, of which about a quarter are any good. The final three in the brief compendium are worth a glance, but not a purchase. Still, short and sweet, a nice little distraction for the weekend, but shamefully half-baked and littered with wordplay that relies on an avalanche of large words, rather than strong writing.
February 28, 2016
I remember laughing hysterically at a couple of Woody's tiny books when I was in college, but the thrill seems to be gone. I did get a chuckle out of a few stories, but I was disappointed I didn't enjoy this collection more. ;-)
June 24, 2020
سه ستاره، صرفاً برای نوشتهها� جناب آلن. همین.
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