Customer Reviews

Nnnnn

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great book writen by one of the funniest entertainers around. Carl Reiner is a classic and his humour shines through here. The main character, Nat, is a successful novelist and is always talking to himself and having bizzare conversations with himself (calling himself a shmuck etc) whilst writing his latest book (so it's like a book within a book). I'm just on half way through this, but I've really really enjoyed every part so far and it's been totally entertaining and very hard to put down. This kind of book had to be writen by a great comedian and who better than Carl Reiner?

I'm so glad I found this. Great writing. Enjoyed this book very much. What a funny man Carl Reiner is! The names he came up with- hilarious!- and the TWIN thing- too much!

What a mind he has. I would like to read some more of his writing.

This is a quick read-you've been warned- I read twenty-two chapters in a couple of hours, with a few interruptions. It was the kind of book that "I couldn't put down". Finally I went to bed but couldn't sleep so I got back up and finished it. Started weird- didn't really care for his bible story- but I admire his thinking and coming up with it- interesting take- but the rest of it was good/better. Good story about Nat. Light, easy, fun reading. Good for a quick trip, for a plane ride.

Quick witted, quick read, funny and serious all at once. I enjoyed this novel very much

It is a true fable where all is well that ends well. Mr. Reiner writes with ease about persons with distinguished achievements, wealth, and health. Even the ones who are sick are made to seem fit. There is a reason behind everything and each character possesses great human values such as compassion and understanding. Even the ogre of the tale has his good sides. Of course, the whole story is light and full of mirth. That is Mr. Reiner's style. He knows how to make people laugh. There is a minor story within the main story. Both are equally enjoyable. Nat, the main character, suffers from serious personality disorder that he succumbs to seeing a therapist. One thing leads to another and he is on the journey of searching the truth of his origin. He finds out a lot of information and a few close relations. It is first and foremost a love story between men and women and among family members. When told in Mr. Reiner's wild humor, it becomes more pleasing.

Carl Reiner's comic writing takes us back to another era in show business history, and the way his men and women talk to,. about, and around each other is like nothing so much as the grimmer mordant tales of James Thurber. Nat and Glennie are a perfect Reiner pair. He's a questioning novelist who has just discovered that he might have been adopted, while writing an epic tome based on the antagonism of Cain and Abel. Poor Glennie has to put up with a lot, including Nat's sudden attachment to the deliciously attractive doctor, Gertrude Trampleasure.

He should win the National Humor Award just for the names he comes up with. Some of them are as though Peter de Vries had never left us. It's hard to believe that anyone would exercise himself as Nat does, but the impossibility of the central situation is part of the charm of NNNNN. With a title like that, you'll be scratching your head about what it all means, but don't worry, you've got one up on the author. Some of the funniest sections of the book take place within Nat's own novel, conveniently also called NNNNN, a fantasy epic laid in the never-never land of Civviliaa, where twins first got their names through acronym: originally known as "Two Worthy Infants in Nature Similar," then reduced by verbal shorthand to "T.W.I.N.S." and thus to the word we know them by today.

And if you think that Carl Reiner is too old to write convincingly about sex between a bored, wealthy housewife in Cairo, Sherry Keebler, and her French lover, Francois, dream on! The pages fairly leap into the fire. "Don't worry," Sheery promised, pushing him onto her bed and climbing on top of him. "Even though I never liked you, Francois," she purred,. taking his penis in hand, "I will never, never, never, never let you go." Funny puts it mildly.

A writer, troubled that he talks to himself without realizing he says things aloud, seeks counseling. The counselor recognizes him - but calls him by another name. Through his counseling, the writer decides to investigate his adoption. He locates the agency which handled his adoption and subsequently meets his birth father and a twin and other family. Told succinctly and humorously in typical Reiner fashion. I listened to CD version which was read by Reiner. That added to my enjoyment.

Carl Reiner, has taken on the Bible and written a cleaver and interesting story as well. NNNNN is about a successful writer who starts talking to himself, actually having real conversations with himself, and who thinks he is going crazy. He goes to see a psychiatrist who he finds in the phone book and this starts off a series of coincidences that change his life completely. Along the way Reiner rewrites Genesis, actually the story of Cain and Able and explains why we are not the result of incestuous relations but of.....

Loved the story......especially the part of the book of Genesis.....interesting "human" look into Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel....A true man's perspective......Like it.....Must read this book.

In general, I've loved Carl Reiner's work. His early TV roles with Sid Caesar, his 2000-year-old man with Mel Brooks; all brilliant. But this book ... eh, not so much. I thought it rambled too much, and it just wasn't very funny. In an interview at the end of the audiobook, Reiner readily admits that he wrote the book a page a time, not having any idea what would come next, and that's the way it reads; not many ideas. I know that method works for some writers, but in this case it didn't. And the title; gee, I wonder how many seconds he thought about that one! Five, maybe?

I listened to the unabridged version, and though it wasn't a captivating story it was pleasant and somewhat humorous. It was read by Carl Reiner, who did a good job overall, including his characters accents. If you happen to see it in the library, you might want to give it a shot.