Woody Allen’s new memoir has been met with mixed reviews from critics, but the disgraced filmmaker’s book has at least one high-profile admirer: comedian Larry David.
In a long profile of the Curb Your Enthusiasm star in the New York Times, David says he’s been reading Allen’s memoir, Apropos of Nothing. David played the lead role in Whatever Works, Allen’s 2009 film that was met with mediocre reviews by critics.
“Yeah, it’s pretty great, it’s a fantastic book, so funny,” David told the Times. “You feel like you’re in the room with him and yeah, it’s just a great book, and it’s hard to walk away after reading that book thinking that this guy did anything wrong.”
Allen’s daughter, Dylan Farrow, has accused the filmmaker of sexually assaulting her when she was 7 years old. Allen has denied the allegations and does so again in the new book. Allen’s son, journalist Ronan Farrow—who writes about Allen in his bestselling book, Catch and Kill—has said he believes his sister’s claims.
Allen’s memoir quickly became one of the most controversial books of the year after Hachette announced in March that it would publish the autobiography. The company quickly reversed its decision after criticism from Ronan Farrow, who ended up cutting ties with Hachette, which published Catch and Kill. Hachette employees also staged a dramatic walkout in protest of the planned publication of the memoir.
Last month, independent press Arcade Publishing, a Skyhorse imprint, published the book without advance notice to the press. As of Monday morning, the book was ranked No. 226 among all books on Amazon.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.