Carl Reiner (1922–2020)

NNNNN by Carl Reiner is a short piece of metafiction that in audio form, is read by the author. My friend Ken, who also got me addicted to audio books, and chick lit, loaned me his copy.

Ned Nolan is working on his fifth book. As a good luck charm, he always titles his books in progress with an N. As this is his fifth one and he's stuck for a working title, he just types out five Ns.

As the book is metafiction, it draws attention to the methods behind the story telling. Part of that meta-ness show more is focus on a writer suffering from writer's block. But a big part of it, is the book within the book — Ned Nolan's piece — and the fact that it and the book as a whole share the same title.

Ned's book opens the novel and in the audio form, it comes with an annoying pastoral piece. I cringed on hearing the flowery music, combined with a rather humdrum re-imagining of the early bits of Genesis. Ned worries his newest piece is too shocking and blasphemous but frankly I found it an annoying piece of filler. Later in the book I mostly skipped over these tracks.

Ignoring (as I chose to do) Ned's novel, the rest of this book (novella, really) is about a man who has anger management issues and has started to talk to himself without realizing he's doing it. In seeking help for his problem he begins therapy with the aptly named Dr. Frucht. But more importantly his therapy sessions lead him to discovering the truth behind his birth and adoption.

It was the introduction of the adoption plot that finally got me hooked (at least on Ned's personal story) on the audio. There are so many bizarre coincidences and twists and turns that Ned uncovers. It's truly memorable and oddly charming. show less

Like many of my sedentary compatriots, my after-school hours growing up were spent sitting in front of decade old sitcom reruns. McHale's Navy was big and Hogan's Heroes was must-see. But few if any of my friends stuck around for the Dick Van Dyke Show. In addition to somehow being immune to the affects of a certain Capri pant-wearer, my friends obviously lacked the sophistication needed to appreciate the talents of show creator and head writer Carl Reiner. But I didn't - by third grade I show more had Reiner pegged as a comic genius. His later work directing some of Steve Martin's best movies only added to my admiration.

I tell you all of this to give you an idea of what I expected when I saw Reiner's latest novel in the library, and to let you know just how much I hate saying that the book was a thorough disappointment.

Reiner spends way too much of NNNNN inside his oddball protagonist’s mind, and it's not a particularly funny or interesting place to be. Where most of the Dick Van Dyke Show's sharpest humor came when Rob Petrie bounced jokes off his fellow comedy-writers (neither of whom, thankfully, ever wore Capri pants), NNNNN's novelist (who is working on his fifth n-n-n-n-novel, get it?) spends most of his time talking to himself, so much so that he decides to seek professional help for a possible case of schizophrenia, which in turn leads to his looking for a possible real-life twin.

The dialogue between our novelist's personalities ranges from dull to repetitive. In fact, the whole story is dull and repetitive. Bits that weren't funny the first time show up again and again. Conversation, like the storyline, is stilted, slow, unrealistic, and just plain boring. About the only good thing I can say about the book is that it was, mercifully, pretty short.

If after reading this you still buy the novel, I would suggest you shelve it lying flat so that the title on spine appears as the much more appropriate "ZZZZZ." show less

Mostly hilarious book featuring little bits and pieces, and plenty of photographs, of Carl Reiner's life and memories. The chapters are short and it is easy to read. The book was going very well until you got to the end where there was a play Reiner had written - which, unfortunately, I did not find very funny so the book ended up disappointingly.

A goofy husband/father writes for a TV show.

Not as funny as the first season. There are a handful of great episodes, and quite a few stretches of mediocre writing. But even at its worst it's still fun to watch, thanks to the cast.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.5/4