What do you get when you mix crazy loony characters, NYC life, and lots of over-sexed or under-sexed people? Woody Allen’s Complete Prose! This is a completely wacky set of stories, all very short (3-5 pages in length) capturing a type of humor that you either really like or don’t. I had a number of real guttural laughs and at times I had some ugh, or even mimicked his own Oy vey (which as Webster defines is “an exclamation of dismay or exasperation meaning 'oh pain'”). Some of the story endings are silly and non-sensical but I guess that is his point about much of life. His Abe Lincoln story (The Query) is “kid comedy” and the “Kuglemass Episode” about a faculty member who has an affair with a character in a book (because the local Magician he hired transports him into the book) is pretty ingenious. Allen’s span of comedy reminds me of the Three Stooges (slap-stick) through the work of Seinfeld (who was clearly influenced by Allen). When I think of my NYC experience I think, this book is SOOO NYC! It’s one of those “location jokes,” ie you have to live here to know that the characters really do exist. Coming from upstate NY, I can only imagine lots of folks not “getting the punch line” as these characters seem so unreal! Believe me they are living well in NYC. Allen’s ability to capture a laugh through a story in 3-5 pages demonstrates his brilliance as a writer, whether you like him or not. As the cover notes, this is an ideal “companion for the bedside”… how about the toilet as well? Ooops, trying to mimic Allen’s comic moments as well. A great gift for the pseudo-intellect as well as the person who just needs to take their mind off of the trials and tribulations of life in the big city. As one says, if you can’t laugh at self, then find someone else to laugh at. They are all in this book!
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