''Mere Anarchy'' is an anthology of essays by
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
. 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 magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
''. It was Allen's first collection in 25 years.
Reception
In ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...
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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', Adam Mars-Jones
Adam Mars-Jones (born 26 October 1954) is a British novelist and literary and film critic.
Early life and education
Mars-Jones was born in London, to Sir William Mars-Jones (1915–1999), a Welsh High Court judge, and Sheila Cobon (1923–199 ...
called the essays "perfunctory" and "lazy riffs and lame parodies hat
A hat is a Headgear, 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 incorpor ...
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'' is a 1975 collection of humorous essays and two one-act plays, ''Death'' and ''God'', by Woody Allen. It is one of Allen's best-known books, spending four months on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller List.
Title meaning
The ...
'' (1975), there are pieces here—for instance, the report on Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
'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 ...
/Michael Ovitz
Michael Steven Ovitz (born December 14, 1946) is an American businessman. 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 president of The Walt Disney Compan ...
trial—that will put a rictus on your kisser."The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an 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 created in ...
'' 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 essay collections
Short story collections by Woody Allen
Ebury Publishing books