Hardcover, 176 pages
English language
Published June 12, 2007 by Random House.
The first new humour collection from Woody Allen in over 25 years'I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me.' Thus begins 'Strung Out', Woody Allen's hilarious application of the laws of the universe to daily life. Mere Anarchy, Woody Allen's first new collection in over 25 years, features eighteen witty, wild and intelligent comic pieces - eight of which have never been in print before.Surreal, absurd, rich in verbal play, bitingly satirical and just plan daft in the mode we have grown to love from his finest films, this flight-of-fancy collection includes tales of a body double who, mistaken for the film's star, is kidnapped by outlaws; a pretentious novelist forced to work on the novelisation of a Three Stooges film; a nanny secretly writing an expose of her Manhattan employers; crooks selling bespoke prayers on eBay; and how to …
The first new humour collection from Woody Allen in over 25 years'I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me.' Thus begins 'Strung Out', Woody Allen's hilarious application of the laws of the universe to daily life. Mere Anarchy, Woody Allen's first new collection in over 25 years, features eighteen witty, wild and intelligent comic pieces - eight of which have never been in print before.Surreal, absurd, rich in verbal play, bitingly satirical and just plan daft in the mode we have grown to love from his finest films, this flight-of-fancy collection includes tales of a body double who, mistaken for the film's star, is kidnapped by outlaws; a pretentious novelist forced to work on the novelisation of a Three Stooges film; a nanny secretly writing an expose of her Manhattan employers; crooks selling bespoke prayers on eBay; and how to react when you're asked to finance a Broadway play about the invention and manufacture of the adjustable showerhead.
Sometimes you see something that makes you smirk a bit and you think "There's a joke in there somewhere." Sometimes Woody Allen comes along and proves you wrong. "Nope, I've fully explored that one, wrote a whole piece on it, and published it. There wasn't really anything funny about it after all."
Having previously only read Side Effects which I enjoyed, Woody Allen's mere anarchy was a light dose of whimsical absurdity which suited the diverse stories mostly pertaining to the downfall of many an odd victim of a mad world. The language Woody employs throughout is lively and at times surreal. Less a set of observation pieces about humanity and our idiosyncratic systems; mere anarchy is a Commedia dell'arte of swindling, greed, subservience and the culture we have stacked up around ourselves, unable perhaps to see over for all the nonsense that glues it together.
It is a light read. If you are seeking for a quick deliverance from the every day routine of sensibility than I recommend Woody's mere anarchy; there are some unexpected puns and clever word play that will provide enough chuckles through-out.
