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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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