Side Effects (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "IT HAS BEEN four weeks and it is still hard for me to believe Sandor Needleman is dead..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Hill, Meyer Iskowitz, Lenny Mendel (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Before Woody Allen set his sights on becoming the next Ingmar Bergman, he made a fleeting (but largely successful) attempt at becoming the next S.J Perelman. Side Effects, his third and final collection of humor pieces, shows his efforts. These essays appeared in The New Yorker during the late 1970s, as he showed more and more discontent with his funnyman status. Fear not, humor fans--Allen's still funny. He is less manic, however, than in his positively goofy Getting Even/Without Feathers days, and this makes Side Effects a more nuanced read. Woody picks and chooses when to flash the laughs, as in an article discussing UFOs:

[I]n 1822 Goethe himself notes a strange celestial phenomenon. "En route home from the Leipzig Anxiety Festival," he wrote, "I was crossing a meadow, when I chanced to look up and saw several fiery red balls suddenly appear in the southern sky. They descended at a great rate of speed and began chasing me. I screamed that I was a genius and consequently could not run very fast, but my words were wasted. I became enraged and shouted imprecations at them, whereupon they flew away frightened. I related this story to Beethoven, not realizing he had already gone deaf, and he smiled and nodded and said, "Right."

Though not as explosively, mind-alteringly funny as his earlier books, Side Effects is still loaded with chuckles; the much-anthologized "Kugelmass Episode" is worth the price of the book. For fans of his films--or for anyone who wants a final glimpse of Woody in his first, best role as court jester, Side Effects is a must-have. --Michael Gerber

Product Description

A humor classic by one of the funniest writers today, SIDE EFFECTS is a treat for all those who know his work and those just discovering how gifted he is. Included here are such classics as REMEMBERING NEEDLEMAN, THE KUGELMASS EPISODE, a new sory called CONFESSIONS OF A BUGLAR, and more.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 15th printing edition (September 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345343352
• ISBN-13: 978-0345343352
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #209,800 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars OK, but not the best, July 9, 2000

By	Matthew Schratz (Lockport, NY USA) - See all my reviews

I thought that this book was not as good as Without Feathers or Getting Even. Certain points are funny, even hilarious. However, there are largely unfunny passages such as "Retribution". However, there are a few good vignettes, most notably "Confessions of a Burglar" and "Nefarious Times We Live In". If you've already read his other books, this still has some laughs; if not, I recommend his two previous selections.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very uncommon Side Effects, August 7, 2000

By	Rustmanic "R.S." (Albany, OR United States) - See all my reviews

Allen's style hasn't been duplicated in thirty years. How could anyone attempt to copy him--his creativity has its own realm. Side Effects is a must for any home library. I've read it over and over, and every time I pick it up, I laugh just as hard as the time before. Just like good music, true comedy doesn't get worn out by repetitiveness. This book and SeinLanguage by Jerry Seinfeld are my two favorite humor books. And I'm still waiting for a Steven Wright compilation, by the way.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Woody Allen that is still delightful to read, July 9, 2005

By	F. Orion Pozo "Orion Pozo" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Side Effects is a collection of short humorous essays written by Woody Allen 30 years ago. It is his third book and still very funny. Much of the humor is based in New York and Jewish cultural idioms with a sprinkling of mock intelligentsia - all with the neurotic, self-absorbed insecure point of view that he made famous.

The first piece, "Remembering Needleman," is a satirical take off on scholarly obituaries. Only Woody Allen would think of bringing marshmallows to a cremation and to donate the ashes to a university for research.

"The Condemned" takes a humorous look at Elie Weisel's Dawn where a man must decide whether to kill a truly evil person.

"By Destiny Denied" is 7 pages of notes for an 800 page novel that was never meant to be written.

"The UFO Menace" is Allen's take on the existence of UFOs.

"My Apology" puts Woody Allen in Socrates' place as he faces death by hemlock.

In "The Kugelmass Episode" the protagonist finds a magic way to cheat on his wife by going back in literature to have an affair with Emma Bovary.

In "My Speech to the Graduates" we find Allen's philosophy most succinctly spelled out: "We are a people who lack definite goals. We have never learned to love. We lack leaders and coherent programs. We have no spiritual center. We are adrift alone in the cosmos wreaking monstrous violence on one another out of frustration and pain. Fortunately, we have not lost our sense of proportion."

"The Diet" explores the insecurities often associated with working in corporate America. A person only identified as F. deals with his work problems by taking control of the only thing he can - his food intake.

"The Lunatic's Tale" is about a successful doctor who is driven crazy by his love for two different women. The ending is right out of a 1950's sci-fi movie.

"Reminiscences: Places and People" is composed of one-page memories of Brooklyn, New Orleans, Paris, Mexico, and a meeting with a famous author.

In "Nefarious Times We Live In" we are taken inside the mind of a person who attempts to assassinate a president.

"A Giant Step for Mankind" takes a humorous look at scientific research. How do scientists develop techniques like the Heimlich Maneuver for dinner table choking? See the actual research journals here.

"The Shallowest Man" reads like a Hasidic fable set in modern New York about death, love, and caring.

"The Query" is a short play in which Abraham Lincoln tells a joke that changes his life and saves the life of another man.

"Fabrizio's: Criticism and Response" treats the restaurant review as scholarly criticism, complete with reader responses.

"Retribution" reads a bit like the movie Annie Hall with ideal romance thwarted by human foible.

Woody Allen fans will love the book. Others will find some classic Allen humor that is still delightful to read, if neurosis, problematic human relationships, and death are things you like to read about.