Customer Reviews

Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

These stories are very very short which is good. If they were any longer they might well result in emotional damage to the reader. Mr. Rich's imagination takes us where few have gone before.

I mean what would you do if an angry murderer threatened you with death if you didn't come up with the correct answer to a trigonometry problem (sin2x=2cosinxsinx)? Have you ever thought how difficult it would be to wage war using Swiss army knives? Is it really true that God intervenes to help Orel Hershiser pitch his way to victory? Is it a fact that scientist Stephen Hawking is really a time traveler? Is it possible for ants to dig to freedom from a glass walled ant farm?

Do these story topics pique your interest? If so cough up 10 bucks and buy the book. If they leave you cold, well, hey spend the money on a six pack, and have fun that way.

And I'm not just saying that as an Emmy-winning 40-yr-old comedy writer in Hollywood trying to suck up to a young guy who will be running this place in about six months (how do you do sir?)...Ant Farm is a delightful bruschetta of absurdity served on crackers of keen insight.

I love Simon Rich's sense of humor. His imaginings of what a situation would be like (What a conversation between God and the man who stands with a cardboard sign informing the public the end is near, for example, or what his mother believes runs through his mind when he is home alone at age 15) are just brilliant. Not all the entries are great, but the gems make up for the others. I loved sharing this with my family and friends, and despite age, gender, and frankly taste difference, they all found something to love in ANT FARM. The book goes fast, but you can revisit it again and again. It is well worth buying.

That pretty much sums up this snarky, cynical and humorous collection of speculations and observations from Simon Rich. It's a collection that presents a more youthful, upbeat resignation echoing the more reposed one found in the writing of David Sedaris. Ant Farm is full of nostalgic recollections and weird possibilities concerning the irrelevancies of those desperate situations that give us awkward moments of reflection.

Moments that involve realizing the agony spent before receiving one's first calculator, the ironic closed-mindedness when experimenting with a ouija board, making candy with a forgetful someone named Peanut Al, keeping close tabs on your daily karma tally, God's overwhelming support for Orel Hershiser, and the three things you really don't need if stranded on a desert island.

Ant Farm is an incredibly fast and funny read. The selections are brief and varied, maybe a little too much so, as each consists no more than a couple of pages and is unbounded by coherent theme other than pure whimsy. But it does create that weird momentary pause, raising the question whether there is anything more absurd than us humans and our behavior.

i was disapointed in this book. there were a few stories i thought were funny but the rest were too far fetched and dull.

This is a short and very funny book, lent to me by the estimable Dr. ASK in order to prove a philosophical point about what books you should keep (answer: this one) and what ones you should get rid of (answer: the others). It's a series of two- and three-page sketches, some of which you may already know from the New Yorker such as this one:

A Conversation at the Grownup Table, as Imagined at the Kids' Table

MOM: Pass the wine, please. I want to become crazy.
DAD: O.K.
GRANDMOTHER: Did you see the politics? It made me angry.
DAD: Me, too. When it was over, I had sex.
UNCLE: I'm having sex right now.
DAD: We all are.
MOM: Let's talk about which kid I like the best.
...

The guy is 24 and very funny. This makes me happy and jealous. He also posts excerpts from his new book on CollegeHumor.com, if you want to be made happy and jealous too.

Perfect little book if you are in a hurry and enjoy laughing out loud. Drinking chocolate milk while reading guarantees a mess.

Just a bunch of funny, short stories and/or observations. I think my favorite had to be the ones about math & calculators :o) Those couple of stories made the WHOLE book worth it! It gets a little slow near the end, but it's good, short read.

I love reading Frank Rich in the NYT. When I saw his son has a book out, it piqued my interest - and I have now given copies as gifts to so many of my friends! It's perfect for both someone close or that someone you might not know so well - laughter is universal and Simon Rich gives everyone a little slice of life to enjoy with this one. My personal favorite is the museum patron, and I will gift my favorite art history professor with it shortly. Hope he does a follow up soon!

In this day and age, it's hard to find truly funny original work. This book does not disappoint. Simon Rich starts from a unique place (example: inside the head of an ant on an ant farm) and proceeds to delightful ridicule. The anti-war pieces I found tedious, but the rest of the short pieces are delightful, especially the views of students. The reading level is at sixth grade level, so it can be enjoyed by all.