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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bogosian takes me places, February 25, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (Paperback)
I've read some of Bogosian's other pieces, including one of his plays, subUrbia, and it seems to me that he's deceptively simple. On the one hand his material seems like one more dirty comedy routine, but then when you put the pieces together the whole world view is pretty complex. It feels like he's dissatisfied with a status quo situation and he's trying to find a way to comment. I have not seen him perform, but I've heard that he's beyond incredible live, so maybe you have to see the monologues live. I've also read his novel, Mall, and it completely spun me out. In some ways, he's probably the most interesting person out there writing today.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
In the great continuum, June 28, 2003
This review is from: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (Paperback)
I've read almost all of Bogosian's work and really, this one smells the most personal of all. I've never seen him do his works(except movies...), but when you read it, you can almost see him ranting on. And this time, he's at is clearest. The magic lives on !!! Really, Bogosian gives meaning to the saying that tells us artists are the Guardians of Humanity. You can't escape it, the words he gives us speak of truth as you wouldn't want to know. He puts us in front of all you know but don't want to care about. If you hesitate, don't !!! Get it !!!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Humor is a weapon, and Bogosian is a talented marksman., June 8, 2003
This review is from: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (Paperback)
Bogosian proves with Wake Up and Smell the Coffee that he is one of the funniest, smartest, and angriest writers around. Wake Up is a collection of monologues designed to be performed as a one-man (or one-woman) show, but the monologues could stand on their own as comedic vignettes good enough to work as audition pieces or stand-up routines. Most of the monologues are piercing in their accuracy. Bogosian takes on pop culture, religion, families, and he does so with sarcasm that never lets up and almost never misses the mark. His take on the carnival at airports is just one example: Standing in ticket lines, sitting in the departure lounge, crowded around the baggage carousel watching the luggage coming out as if awaiting the birth of your first child. The book is separated into three parts. The main portion of this book is the collection of monologues that form the one-man show. The second part of the book contains what Bogosian calls Orphans monologues that dont really fit in with the rest of the work. The final piece of the book is an essay on how Bogosian develops his monologues (or solos, as he refers to them). He explains how he locks himself in a room with a tape recorder and lets his inner characters loose. The essay is interesting, but you get the feeling that it was added to give some more bulk to the book, and not because it was intended to accompany the monologues. Bogosian admits in the introduction that after 9/11 he told his agent to shelve the book altogether. Some of the material in Wake Up takes on terrorism, plane crashes, the Oklahoma City bombing, and Arabic immigrants, and Bogosian was worried that this book would come across as offensive. In truth, some of pieces do ring with a clarity that might not have existed in the pre-war on terror world. That insight makes the jokes funnier and the truth more bitter. The fact that some of his monologues dealt with subjects that would be forced into the public consciousness after 9/11 just shows how insightful Bogosian has become. Its not just jokes anymore.
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