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NICE TRY

Name: NICE TRY
Author: Josh Gondelman
ISBN: 978-0-06-285275-5

STORIES OF BEST INTENTIONS AND MIXED RESULTS

by Josh Gondelman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 17, 2019

Gondelman describes performing as an opening act for more famous comedians, and this book could easily be read as a warm-up...

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A genial memoir by an Emmy- and Peabody-winning comedian and writer.

Working against the adage that “nice guys finish last,” Gondelman has done well for himself. Happily married, he has sustained a career onstage, on TV, and in print after spending his earliest days following college teaching preschool. Though comedy is often considered a cutthroat arena, a survival-of-the-fittest challenge where the comedian must either kill or die, the author seems to suggest that there are other paths to perseverance. Early on, he confesses, “for a comedian, ‘nice’ can be shorthand for someone’s work being bland. And on a personal level, ‘nice’ is about as meaningful as saying someone ‘has decent breath’ or ‘is usually punctual.’ ” Throughout the book, the writing risks blandness, as Gondelman rarely aims for comedic punch, settling for gentle taps. In many ways, he brings to mind Bob Newhart of Tom Papa, a gentle man with a wry sense of humor who makes himself the butt of most of his jokes. Gondelman remembers that well into his 20s, he was considered not merely nice but “ ‘too nice,’ which is a very sweet euphemism meaning ‘simply not a person I am interested in having sex with in the foreseeable future.’ ” When he did meet a woman who was interested in him, it was through exchanges on Twitter, where he also received a career boost by collaborating on an account titled Modern Seinfeld, offering pitches for the series that had ceased to exist, and somehow attracted 800,000 followers. He also gained some traction on social media with his “Twitter Pep Talks,” offering personalized encouragement to strangers in need. Somewhere between grade school and marriage, an expanse that he covers in detail, he began performing stand-up and eventually found great success writing for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Desus & Mero, and other programs.

Gondelman describes performing as an opening act for more famous comedians, and this book could easily be read as a warm-up for a much funnier one to come.

Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-06-285275-5

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Perennial/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: June 8, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.