''Mere Anarchy'' is an anthology of essays by
Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
. First published on July 5, 2007, by
Ebury Press
Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Centu ...
,
the book is a collection of 18 tales, 10 of which previously ran in ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''. It was Allen's first collection in 25 years.
Reception
In ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',
Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
wrote that Allen's "writing style
..remains impervious to the changing world around him", that the older essays "outshine" the newer ones but that the newer ones "hold their own", and that the collection is "nostalgically enjoyable" and "timelessly bright".
[ In '']the Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Adam Mars-Jones called the essays "perfunctory" and "lazy riffs and lame parodies hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
do more to annoy than entertain", while faulting Allen's use of a "facetious linguistic register" and "comedy names".[ '']Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' wrote, "While this collection doesn't quite measure up to Allen's Without Feathers
''Without Feathers'' (1975, ) is one of Woody Allen's best-known books, spending four months on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller List. It is a collection of essays and two one-act plays, ''Death'' and ''God''.
Title meaning
The title ''Without ...
(1975), there are pieces here—for instance, the report on Mickey Mouse's testimony at the Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
/Michael Ovitz
Michael Steven Ovitz (born December 14, 1946) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was a talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as preside ...
trial—that will put a rictus on your kisser."The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' wrote, "At its best, ''Mere Anarchy'' is absurd fun, but even Allen's best at this point is only meant for those familiar with, and predisposed to love, his intensely quirky style."
Contents
#To Err Is Human; To Float, Divine
#Tandoori Ransom
#Sam, You Made the Pants Too Fragrant
#This Nib for Hire
#Calisthenics, Poison Ivy, Final Cut
#Nanny Dearest
#How Deadly Your Taste Buds, My Sweet
#Glory Hallelujah, Sold!
#Caution, Falling Moguls
#The Rejection
#Sing, You Sacher Tortes
#On a Bad Day You Can See Forever
#Attention Geniuses: Cash Only
#Strung Out
#Above The Law, Below the Box Springs
#Thus Ate Zarathustra
#Surprise Rocks Disney Trial
#Pinchuck's Law
References
External links
Woody Allen pages
{{Woody Allen
2007 short story collections
Comedy books
American short story collections
Short story collections by Woody Allen
Ebury Publishing books