Continue Laughing [Hardcover]

Carl Reiner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

The TV funny man reintroduces the protagonist of Enter Laughing, a Jewish clerk from the Bronx who joins a Shakespeare theater company down South, entertains the troops during World War II, and reaches the brink of comic stardom. 40,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At its best, this wisecracking coming-of-age novel, a sequel to Enter Laughing, sparkles with the outrageous comedy and touching charm of the movies Reiner has directed (The Jerk; Where's Poppa? et al.). Cagey, raw, 19-year-old aspiring actor David Kokolovitz quits his upstate New York job as a sewing machine delivery boy, bids farewell to his Bronx girlfriend (whose middle-aged mother nearly seduces him) and joins a Shakespearean repertory company touring the Deep South of the early 1940s. An intrepid "Jew from the North" in "the land of the Gentiles. Catholics, blondes, and crucifixes everywhere," David falls in love with fellow trouper Mary Deare Prueitt, a kittenish Southern belle who's pregnant by a man she doesn't love. Posing as her husband, David helps Mary Deare obtain an illegal abortion and also meets her obnoxious father, an Alabama senator who admires Hitler. The first half of the novel is ribald, high-spirited, shot through with priceless moments. But when Reiner moves on to David's tour of duty as an Army private and comic actor cheering American troops from Oahu to Iwo Jima, the narrative turns plodding and-given the novel's apparent semi-autobiographical nature-self-indulgent.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile

Reiner narrates his novel with warmth and nostalgia. He's the natural guide as he shares his early life as an aspiring actor. His descriptions of his job with a touring Shakespearean repertoire company draw a delightful picture of simpler times in American theater. His humor is kind and self-deprecating, urging us to join in and laugh at his reminiscences. It would be hard for another narrator to project this. One might even think the program to be an extended skit, but it doesn't quite move fast enough, and Reiner is occasionally slowed by getting out the exact text. An older audience is likely to enjoy this program, but younger listeners will also get a glimpse of earlier times. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 257 pages
• Publisher: Birch Lane Pr (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559722738
• ISBN-13: 978-1559722735
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,332,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book., April 9, 2009

By 

Anne Omniuss - See all my reviews

This review is from: Continue Laughing (Hardcover)

I have to completely disagree with the previous reviewer. This is one of my favorite books. Carl Reiner writes with warmth and humor. There are certain scenes in the book that are laugh out loud funny and jokes so bawdy, you can't believe they were written by an 80 year old man. I stumbled across this book in a local library and checked it out again and again. I think this book is very underrated and I am frankly a bit disappointed to find it no longer in print.

2.0 out of 5 stars I wish I'd liked this book as much as Kirkus did, November 1, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Continue Laughing (Audio Cassette)

I love Carl Reiner's work, and I especially loved "Enter Laughing," both the novel and the film. But this sequel doesn't have any of the charm of the original-- it's more a memoir than a novel, which means it has no real dramatic structure; it's a series of anecdotes told in the third person with names changed. A grave disappointment from a terrifically talented man.