Memoirs of a Mangy Lover

Rating:
Summary: I read this when I was 15
Review: and as far as I remember, this was the first book I read that made me laugh out loud. Prior to this I had only seen Groucho on reruns of his game show and really didn't see the big deal.

This book made me start watching his movies and truely appreciating the man. Later I rewatched the gameshow (can't remember the name of it now, just remember that duck with the word of the day hanging from above) and caught more of Groucho's subtle ribbing of guests.

I enjoyed the jokes in this book, as well as, the true affection for his brothers that can be read in between the lines.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Groucho
Review: Fans of the Marx Brothers know that chasing women was a part of their comedy routines. Though Groucho didn't go "honking" after them like Harpo, he got the job done with rich widows (Margaret Dumont). In this book, Groucho tells about his own real life amorous adventures and gives us his priceless look at the history of love.
I'm a relatively new fan of the Marx Bros. and I absolutely fell in love with this book. Its a quick read, but extremely entertaining. Of course, there is plenty of humor throughout the book and I laughed out loud several times. Groucho's view of the opposite sex would be considered politically incorrect today, but it is hilarious (and I'm a woman!). He recounts a few stories about anonymous friends and their exploits, a few of his own exploits, as well as a few stories that aren't related to love but are still funny.
I recommend this collection to anybody that loves witty books (and isn't afraid of a few puns) and has an absurd sense of humor. Its a must for any Groucho fan.

Rating:
Summary: Memoirs of a Mangy Marx
Review: It's almost impossible to read MEMOIRS OF A MANGY LOVER without hearing the distinct voice of Groucho Marx echoing in your head. The writing style in evidence here is very close to Groucho's unique manner of speaking that was so prevalent in his movie, radio, and television careers. His train of thought weaves dangerously, one moment he'll be discussing romance in the dark ages, the next he'll be looping back to earlier sentences, picking apart his own grammar or dragging a double entendre from the brink of reason. The narrative moves quickly and easily, but the reader should be careful, as speedy perusal will cause you to miss some of the subtler jokes.

The subject matter is very much a product of its era and its author. Most of the jokes revolve around how terrible it is to be married, how much of a pain one's wife is, and how much men like to sit around playing poker. Not to say that the anecdotes and remembrances aren't hilarious, because some of them are painfully funny, but the subject matter is fairly limiting. Fortunately, Groucho is clever enough to keep the jokes moving so that it doesn't feel like the same story repeated endlessly. The book is just the right length for the amount of material. Any longer and it would have seemed repetitious, any shorter and it would have been insubstantial.

Not surprisingly, my favorite stories of the bunch were the ones that included cameos from the author's famous siblings. Harpo and Chico do put in short appearances here, which would give one the impression that some of the stories that are written about here actually happened. To be honest, most of the anecdotes seem to have been fairly embellished, so to differentiate between what is reality and what is the result of Groucho's mad mind is a game that simply can't be won. If you're looking for an in-depth and accurate biography of Groucho Marx, then there are loads of other books you should be investigating. This tome may not tell you much about Groucho Marx, but it wasn't meant to. It's a cliché to say that a really funny book will cause one to laugh out loud in embarrassingly public places, but clichés like that come about because of hilarious books like MEMOIRS OF A MANGY LOVER.

Rating:
Summary: Memoirs of a Mangy Marx
Review: It's almost impossible to read MEMOIRS OF A MANGY LOVER without hearing the distinct voice of Groucho Marx echoing in your head. The writing style in evidence here is very close to Groucho's unique manner of speaking that was so prevalent in his movie, radio, and television careers. His train of thought weaves dangerously, one moment he'll be discussing romance in the dark ages, the next he'll be looping back to earlier sentences, picking apart his own grammar or dragging a double entendre from the brink of reason. The narrative moves quickly and easily, but the reader should be careful, as speedy perusal will cause you to miss some of the subtler jokes.

The subject matter is very much a product of its era and its author. Most of the jokes revolve around how terrible it is to be married, how much of a pain one's wife is, and how much men like to sit around playing poker. Not to say that the anecdotes and remembrances aren't hilarious, because some of them are painfully funny, but the subject matter is fairly limiting. Fortunately, Groucho is clever enough to keep the jokes moving so that it doesn't feel like the same story repeated endlessly. The book is just the right length for the amount of material. Any longer and it would have seemed repetitious, any shorter and it would have been insubstantial.

Not surprisingly, my favorite stories of the bunch were the ones that included cameos from the author's famous siblings. Harpo and Chico do put in short appearances here, which would give one the impression that some of the stories that are written about here actually happened. To be honest, most of the anecdotes seem to have been fairly embellished, so to differentiate between what is reality and what is the result of Groucho's mad mind is a game that simply can't be won. If you're looking for an in-depth and accurate biography of Groucho Marx, then there are loads of other books you should be investigating. This tome may not tell you much about Groucho Marx, but it wasn't meant to. It's a cliché to say that a really funny book will cause one to laugh out loud in embarrassingly public places, but clichés like that come about because of hilarious books like MEMOIRS OF A MANGY LOVER.

Rating:
Summary: THINK HARD:Its Groucho,can it be bad?....NO
Review: ladies and gentleman,its GROUCHO MARX the king of comedy ,the god of comedy.This book is very insightful ,it may not be his funniest or his best but its still one hell of a great book from a great man.In this book grouch speaks of life ,how sex evolved,who his best friend is ,how much chicos got in his bank acount .if you are a true marx fan ,you cant possibly over look this book,if your not a marx fan ....what the hell are you doing reading this review. all in all ,they only let me give it 5 stars ,truefully there is not enough stars in the universe to make up how good this book is .so if you bought the book because of this review .i hope you love it,and if you hated it well......please dont hurt me. LONG LIVE CAPTAIN SPAULDING......even though hes dead

Rating:
Summary: A good guide about how to laugh at yourself
Review: True, several of the stories are quite outdated since a night out with the friends to play pocker is almost unheard of. By the same token the women of these tales do not have any resemblance with the direct and assertive New Yorkers of nowadays. On the other hand, the elements that compose the human race remain basically unchanged, such as the dilusion of self importance, jealousy, greed etc., ang Groucho Marx is just a genious to poke fun at all those facts of life.

Rating:
Summary: Has not aged especially well
Review: While I definitely count myself as a Groucho fan, I was fairly disappointed by this book. By "has not aged especially well", I'm referring both to the subject matter (very tame) and the writing style (very dated). Frankly, I wonder if he would be at all surprised that it hasn't aged well: it looks to me as if he dashed it off in a hurry, perhaps for a quick paycheck. I found The Groucho Letters to be a bit better, but it likewise is no side-splitter. Perhaps his best writing was confined to the movies.

Rating:
Summary: Has not aged especially well
Review: While I definitely count myself as a Groucho fan, I was fairly disappointed by this book. By "has not aged especially well", I'm referring both to the subject matter (very tame) and the writing style (very dated). Frankly, I wonder if he would be at all surprised that it hasn't aged well: it looks to me as if he dashed it off in a hurry, perhaps for a quick paycheck. I found The Groucho Letters to be a bit better, but it likewise is no side-splitter. Perhaps his best writing was confined to the movies.

Rating:
Summary: Has not aged especially well
Review: While I definitely count myself as a Groucho fan, I was fairly disappointed by this book. By "has not aged especially well", I'm referring both to the subject matter (very tame) and the writing style (very dated). Frankly, I wonder if he would be at all surprised that it hasn't aged well: it looks to me as if he dashed it off in a hurry, perhaps for a quick paycheck. I found The Groucho Letters to be a bit better, but it likewise is no side-splitter. Perhaps his best writing was confined to the movies.