In his first book, Dern shoots for the easy laughs, some of which he hits; however, he falls short of creating the lasting...
A collection of stories, essays, and sketches from the senior writer of Funny or Die.
For a sampling of sketches from this debut collection, see “If I Have to Shit During the 5K Charity Run, I’m Just Going to Do It,” “I’m Not an Asshole, I’m Just an Introvert,” “How Many Farts Measure a Life?” or “Only Six of My Seven Kids Have Whooping Cough, So I’m Staying Anti-Vax.” The author, who, before Funny or Die, was the artistic director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, stuffs his first book with absurdities and silliness, almost like an anthology of lower-brow “Shouts & Murmurs” segments from the New Yorker. Some of the sketches—e.g., “I Like All Types of Music and My Sense of Humor Is So Random” or “As the Toothbrush You Just Threw Away, I Have Some Questions about the Seven 12-Ounce Mountain Dews in Your Trash”—are genuinely funny. Others are less so, creating an unevenness that is common in such collections. Sometimes the joke is in the title, and the rest of the piece feels like padding. However, the author also includes a scattering of personal essays throughout the book, and for many readers, these will be the most engaging. In “Predator Prey,” Dern describes the “joy in being the willing dupe,” as when he visited Tunisia after college and was manipulated by a young local man. Unfortunately, Dern doesn’t go as deeply into the subject as readers may hope, and that’s the overall problem with this collection: he tends to skate along on the surface without digging for more. In the first piece, “Which One Are You?” the author describes his appearance on the reality show Beauty and the Geek and his lifelong quest for attention: “I like attention. I like it too much, so I do dumb things to get it.”
In his first book, Dern shoots for the easy laughs, some of which he hits; however, he falls short of creating the lasting ones.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2220-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
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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