488. Appropos of Nothing
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Recommended by:
Author: Woody Allen
Genre: Non Fiction, Memoir, Humor
396 pages, published March 23, 2020
Reading Format: e-Book
Summary
Appropos of Nothing is a memoir by Woody Allen which tells the story of his life, from his childhood in Brooklyn to his work as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show in the early days of television, to his stand up comedy days to his impressive movie career to his troubles with Mia Farrow.
Quotes
“Self-obsession, that treacherous time waster.”
“Rather than live on in the hearts and mind of the public, I prefer to live on in my apartment.”
“In the end this obsession for conformity leads to fascism.”
“In retrospect, the red flags existed every few feet, but nature provides us with a denial mechanism, else we couldn’t make it through the days, as Freud teaches us, as Nietzsche teaches us, as O’Neill teaches us, as T. S. Eliot teaches us. Unfortunately, I was never a good student.”
“I don’t know what the hell I was thinking; I hated nature, and more than nature I hated being a car owner.”
“I just didn’t grasp the finer points and once tipped a process server who knocked on my door and handed me a summons.”
“And I definitely do not want to be on one of those first rockets to outer space, to glimpse Earth from afar and experience weightlessness. The truth is, I hate weightlessness; I am a big fan of gravity and hope it lasts.”
“Christ, I’m afraid of dogs. And I’m talking about all dogs, including Yorkies. You’ll hate me, but I don’t like pets. Naturally, I don’t like being bitten and I hate being shed on, licked, or barked at. On the evolutionary scale, I always regarded all animals as failed humans. I also don’t like being sung to by a canary or when fish in a tank look back at me.”
“Her preference was to go by pistol shot, mine by placing my head in the dishwasher and pressing Full Cycle.”
“being a misanthropist has its saving grace—people can never disappoint you.”
“If 80 percent of life is showing up, the other 80 percent, as Yogi Berra might’ve said, is chance.”
“For better or worse, I sort of live in a bubble. I gave up reading about myself decades ago and have no interest in other people’s appraisal or analysis of my work. This sounds arrogant, but it’s not. I do not consider myself superior or aloof, nor do I have a particularly high opinion of my own product. I was taught by Danny Simon to rely on my own judgment, and I don’t like to waste precious time on what can easily become a distraction. Friends have often encouraged me to at least treat myself to the enjoyment of once in a while reading some respectable person’s high praise and maybe even in extreme cases consider responding when attacked, but I have no desire to do either.”
“To a human, the fall-colored leaves are gorgeous. To a red or yellow leaf, I can guarantee they find the green ones lovelier.”
“There are still loonies who think I married my daughter, who think Soon-Yi was my child, who think Mia was my wife, who think I adopted Soon-Yi, who think that Obama wasn’t American. But there was never any trial. I was never charged with anything, as it was clear to the investigators nothing had ever occurred.”
My Take
Since my early 20’s, I have been a fan of Woody Allen (both his books and his movies). Appropos of Nothing, a memoir which covers his entire life, is an entertaining walk down memory lane with lots of behind the scenes stories on his movies and career. Allen also spends a fair amount of time address the whole Soon-Yi scandal and it is refreshing to hear his perspective. While he is a self-absorbed artist who often fails to contemplate how his actions will be viewed, he is nevertheless a comedic genius who has led an incredibly fascinating and productive life. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan.
