Supplies lots of laughs in its observances of the everyday.
A life expressed through laughter and punch lines by a self-proclaimed “comedian-at-law.”
In his memoir, Massachusetts-born D’Angelo (born Paul J. Murphy) entertainingly chronicles his adventurous life via a funny collection of anecdotes and satirical commentary. Indecisive through high school, the author initially settled on dentistry as a career, then opted for a law degree. He became a prosecutor with the Essex County District Attorney while also doing stand-up comedy, but the strain of juggling an escalating career as an attorney and hosting a weekly show at a popular Boston comedy club left him “successful, but unhappy,” so he decided to be a full-time funnyman and writer. Much of the book recounts droll observances that, due to time restraints, never made it into his stand-up routine. D’Angelo shares a bounty of tightly written, lighthearted tales, some barely a page in length, others more thoroughly considered. Among the best are musings on his thick Boston accent, how his judgmental mother stunts his love life, his six-year struggle to go pro in “phony” Hollywood, terrifying airplane turbulence, class reunions, and the general highs and lows of navigating the comedy-club circuit. Describing a checkup, he quips: “My doctor was happy to report that the only thing that is sick about me was my mind.” On modern technology, D’Angelo remarks: “If we have now been blessed with so many so-called ‘time-saving devices,’ why is it that no one ever seems to have any free time anymore?” Cohesiveness is not one of the book’s strengths, however, as each of the chapters, while consistently amusing, contains a mass of ideas with no organizing principle. Fans of the comedian and general readers who enjoy a fusion of comedy and memoir will easily overlook these flaws and be content to discover D’Angelo’s wit and comic chops, accompanied by plenty of black-and-white photographs that illustrate the author’s rich, star-studded road to success.
Supplies lots of laughs in its observances of the everyday.Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-0692294352
Page Count: 298
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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