The World of S.J.Perelman (Prion Humour Classics) Book

Though probably best known for writing the Marx Brothers movies Monkey Business and Horsefeathers, S. J. Perelman was a true master of irony and satire, demonstrated nowhere better than the countless humour pieces that he wrote for the New Yorker magazine.Casting himself in the fictional persona of a vividly inventive field reporter in a world that is filled with lunatic absurdity, those who want an introduction to his genius will be perfectly catered for with this collection of 39 stories. Achingly hilarious, every sketch sees Perelman as the standard-bearer of that embattled minority: The Sane. With each passing encounter, a steady stream of fraudsters and ignorant clowns tries his patience. In "Come On In, The Liability's Fine", our embattled hero squares off against devious insurance agent Walt Chicanery of the Hindsight Insurance Agency ("Be a shame to shell out fifty thousand damages for a grape!"). While, in "Next Week at the Prado: Frankie Goya and The Monster Cast", Perelman offers his opinion on a film producer's idea to film the life of Goya with Gina Lollabrigida as the lead."Wouldn't you lose--ah--certain romantic overtones by transposing the sex of the main characters?""Don't be obtuse! Basically it's still the same story!"Dense with wordplay, allusions and puns, this puts so much contemporary humour to shame, with the inimitable Perelman exposing society's madness with unerring accuracy. Discover him as soon as you can. --Danny GraydonRead More