Mere Anarchy

Having previously only read Side Effects which I enjoyed, Woody Allen's mere anarchy was a light dose of whimsical absurdity which suited the diverse stories mostly pertaining to the downfall of many an odd victim of a mad world. The language Woody employs throughout is lively and at times surreal. Less a set of observation pieces about humanity and our idiosyncratic systems; mere anarchy is a Commedia dell'arte of swindling, greed, subservience and the culture we have stacked up around ourselves, unable perhaps to see over for all the nonsense that glues it together.

It is a light read. If you are seeking for a quick deliverance from the every day routine of sensibility than I recommend Woody's mere anarchy; there are some unexpected show more puns and clever word play that will provide enough chuckles through-out. show less

The first pieces in this collection are exercises in showing off, virtually unreadable without a dictionary, a Yiddish phrase book and "in" knowledge of New York and Hollywood personalities. Even so equipped, you wouldn't laugh much. The last four stories are more like the "old" Allen, absurdist and often hilarious.

I’ve been laughing at Woody Allen for a very long time. Some of these stories first appeared in magazines in 2000, and many of them seem much older and out-of-date than that. I read and laughed at this book for the first time not long after it came out in 2007. It had been 25 years since he had released a collection at that time. I don’t believe that the controversy over Woody’s personal life has changed how funny I find his work, but I do find some of the old stylings tired and dated. There were very few of these pieces that seem original or fresh. After decades of laughing at his material, it feels like he’s just returning to the same old well … too many times.
Remember when people would always ask if the newest Woody Allen show more movie was one of his “funny” ones? I was such a fan then that I found them all interesting. The way his mind worked was always interesting. I had many conversations/arguments about movies like Interiors, which I found deliciously depressing.
So it is down to the possibilities that: 1) maybe I’ve moved on in my life and tastes, or 2) this 84 year old man isn’t as new and fresh as I found him decades ago. I laughed many times reading this collection, but I also groaned at other times—when he seemed like a tired 1950s and 1960s comedian performing in some comedy dive filled with cigarette smoke and drunks. Humor can be very fickle at times. show less

I loved Woody Allen's essays in college. They were absurd, and a definite precursor to works like Steve Martin's "Cruel Shoes" and Ian Frazier's work.

However, "Mere Anarchy" felt like a retread, and given those first three books were written in the early 70's, I can't help but feel Woody should've evolved a bit more.

Of course, his last great movie came out well over 15 years ago (Husbands and Wives), so maybe the comedy gold has just tarnished over the years.

The choice word for the short stories of Woody Allen is 'Absurd'. But in reading this collection I did not find much to be absurd. What I found there instead was a biting attack on those absurd parts of our society that have made life in our times seem ridiculous. This collection more than Without Feathers seems grounded into our society, in order to critique it. A story like Whore of Mensa, from Without Feathers, seems like an absurdists revision. It is a fine story indeed, but less grounded in what one could consider the reality of the times. The stories in this collection seemed to function like the best of mythology, revealing inner truths about our society. These stories were, in their absurdity, far from absurd.

Mere Anarchy, Woody Allen's first collection in over 25 years, is a reprise of the style and jokes of his earlier, more original work. I agree entirely with The San Diego Union-Tribune:

His ideas have stagnated; “Calisthenics, Poison Ivy, Final Cut,” an exchange of threatening letters between a cinema camp owner and the father of a prodigy, arguing over percentages and distribution rights, will send you scurrying back to “The Gossage-Vardebedian Papers,” weeping.

Ah, self-parody? More original and pretty funny is, “Glory Hallelujah, Sold”, the tale of a “psalm scrivener”, that is, a writer of prayers for cash that involves hucksterism and cartoonish characters.

Unfortunately, much of this was forgettable.

A hilarious and vocabulary-stretching collection of short stories and vignettes.