โI am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me.โโWoody 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.
โI awoke Friday, and because the universe is expanding it took me longer than usual to find my robe,โ he explains in a piece on physics called โStrung Out.โ 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 (โPugh 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 himโ) he is explosively funny.
In โThis Nib for Hire,โ a Hollywood bigwig comes across an authorโs book in a little country store and describes it in a way that aptly captures this magnificent volume: โActually,โ the producer says, โIโd never seen a book remaindered in the kindling section before.โ