Carlin succeeds admirably, though not without qualification.
Abounding yuks, chuckles, guffaws, rip-snorts—though few side-splitters—in this free-form compendium of Carlin's comedy stylings.
A growing number of modern comics, from Bill Cosby to Tim Allen, have enjoyed a profitable sideline in adapting their shtick (with varying degrees of success) to the exigencies of the written word. Now veteran stand-up comic Carlin takes his own shot at authorship. Unlike many niche comics, who focus on a limited range of subjects built around an easily typecast persona, Carlin has a protean talent, and his book is a kind of mini-encyclopedia of humor, ranging from wretched puns ("The lazy composer still has several scores to settle''), to Steven Wrightstyle one-liners ("I put a dollar in one of those change machines. Nothing changed''), to classically structured jokes ("I got a chest x-ray last month, and they found a spot on my lung. Fortunately, it was barbecue sauce''). He also offers a number of longer comic meditations on subjects as diverse as sports and grief, while avoiding such stale stand-up staples as airline food and 7-11s. Carlin has an unusual concern with language, combining a grammarian's precision with a sharp eye for the absurd: "Favorite oxymorons: nondairy creamer, death benefits, holy war.'' He is less successful when he examines things he deeply cares about, like politics and justice. His anger is too close to the surface, his otherwise latent didacticism too blatant. Many of the jokes, taken straight from Carlin's act, suffer from being reduced to the printed page. With the right timing, the right droll delivery, they would be hilarious, but here, without help, they fall flat.
Carlin succeeds admirably, though not without qualification.Pub Date: May 12, 1997
ISBN: 0-7868-6313-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1997
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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