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Rating: 
Summary: Perelman a masterwordsmith
Review: A man who made so many people laugh in his day is almost forgotten today. For those for whom games with words are the stuff of life he is an incomparible master of the incorrigibly long and complicated regurgitation of delicious delicatessanlike drivel . All who read him come away wondering whether their heads are screwed on right or have been swimming in a washing machine and are infinitely damaged. Perelman does stuff that no one else does. Of course he should be in print, and of course read far more than he is today even though I might say I have laughed at his work sometimes without having a clue as to whether I really understand it.
Rating:
Summary: The bible should be out of print more than this book.
Review: How can a book that contains the most crafted writing in the English language be out of print?
Rating:
Summary: even better than Roger Ebert
Review: I too find it deplorable that this is out of print. Besides many well-chosen words (who besides Perelman and the late Robertson Davies uses "tohubohu," a word from the Hebrew Bible that sounds exactly like what it means?), this book has several movie reviews that made me amoeboid with laughter. "The Wickedest Woman in Larchmont"--a review of the movied that gave the world the phrase "Kiss me, my fool"--is itself worth the price of the entire volume (to use a cliche, which Perelman would never do except to make it hilarious).("Tohubohu," by the way, is a ruckus; it's in Genesis, where the newly created earth is described as formless and void.)
Rating:
Summary: even better than Roger Ebert
Review: I too find it deplorable that this is out of print. Besides many well-chosen words (who besides Perelman and the late Robertson Davies uses "tohubohu," a word from the Hebrew Bible that sounds exactly like what it means?), this book has several movie reviews that made me amoeboid with laughter. "The Wickedest Woman in Larchmont"--a review of the movied that gave the world the phrase "Kiss me, my fool"--is itself worth the price of the entire volume (to use a cliche, which Perelman would never do except to make it hilarious). ("Tohubohu," by the way, is a ruckus; it's in Genesis, where the newly created earth is described as formless and void.)
Rating:
Summary: This is the place to start
Review: To become a devout fan and follower of S.J. Perelman all you have to do is read any one of the stories in this compilation. Scratch that, all you need to do is read the title of one of the stories in this compilation. They all attest to how much Mr. Perelman loved words and how obsessed he was with turning a pretty phrase on its heels and knocking it off its feet. If you can't find this book, then find this book anyway. If you still can't find this book, then find some of his other books. If you are having a hard time and can't find any of his other books, then go watch "Horse Feathers" or "Monkey Business" by the Marx Brothers. Then start your letter-writing campaign to Simon & Schuster inquiring as to why they haven't re-released more of S.J. Perelman's writing. Do yourself (and the world) a favor, get started today.
Rating:
Summary: This is the place to start
Review: To become a devout fan and follower of S.J. Perelman all you have to do is read any one of the stories in this compilation. Scratch that, all you need to do is read the title of one of the stories in this compilation. They all attest to how much Mr. Perelman loved words and how obsessed he was with turning a pretty phrase on its heels and knocking it off its feet. If you can't find this book, then find this book anyway. If you still can't find this book, then find some of his other books. If you are having a hard time and can't find any of his other books, then go watch "Horse Feathers" or "Monkey Business" by the Marx Brothers. Then start your letter-writing campaign to Simon & Schuster inquiring as to why they haven't re-released more of S.J. Perelman's writing. Do yourself (and the world) a favor, get started today.
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