ZERO GRAVITY (2022) ****
by Woody Allen
This hardback edition published by Arcade Publishing, 2022, 191pp
© Woody Allen, 2022
Foreword by Daphne Merkin
ISBN: 978-1-9567-6329-4
Blurb: Zero Gravity is the fifth collection of comic pieces by Woody Allen, a hilarious prose stylist whose enduring appeal readers have savoured since his classics Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy. This new work combines pieces that have appeared in The New Yorker along with ten written exclusively for this book, each a comic inspiration. Whether he’s writing about horses that paint, cars that think, the sex lives of celebrities, or how General Tso’s Chicken got its name, he is always totally original, broad yet sophisticated, acutely observant, and most important, relentlessly funny. Along with titles like “Buffalo Wings Woncha Come Out Tonight” and “When Your Hood Ornament Is Nietzsche,” included in this collection is his poignant but very funny short story, “Growing Up in Manhattan.”
Comment: It has been fifteen years since Allen’s last collection of short comic pieces, Mere Anarchy, which itself ended a twenty-seven-year wait since 1980’s Side Effects. In between time, of course, Allen has made a movie a year, regularly played his clarinet with his jazz band and written numerous contributions for the New Yorker magazine, some of which appear in this collection. The material here, therefore, dates back as far as 2008. With one exception (the closing short story “Growing Up in Manhattan”), this is a familiar string of absurdist humour offering Allen’s unique view on the quirks of life. There is much to enjoy in his witty observations and his ability to turn the bizarre into the surreal – from horses that paint to murderous cows. Allen’s humour is not for everyone, but those on his wavelength will find a laugh in almost every sentence. It is therefore strange that he finishes the collection with “Growing Up in Manhattan,” a 55-page romantic comedy that could have been an outline for a proposed movie. The story is more grounded and nostalgic and explores Allen’s favourite theme of the mechanics of relationships. The tone jars with the rest of the book in that it is semi-serious and the story’s only absurdity is in the way in which it is wrapped up, which feels distinctly contrived to make a point. This is not a book to be read in one sitting, but one to be explored piece by piece to be fully appreciated. Allen is a comic genius who in his late 80s can still touch your funny bone – and that is a testament to his talent and longevity.
