jshatan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
studwickl's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5
miguelf's review against another edition
4.0
At age 15 in the 80’s, getting my hands on ‘Getting Even’ seemed revelatory at the time, and I recall moving on to ‘Without Feathers’, and then finally ‘Side Effects’ and by that one all I could remember was thinking “what happened to his early, funnier work?”. Apropos is clearly a different type of book - less an attempt at short stories and funny essays and more of an 85 year old man reminiscing – and what a life it was. Though utterly self-deprecating, it’s hard not to read the experiences of the author and come away nonplussed. And then of course there’s the big elephant in the room.
The book could have clearly used a heavier hand in the editing. There’s a lot of repetition similar to how Woody is allowed to rip just like his films (although his films are a lot shorter). At the outset and many times throughout the writing is just so… dated. It’s like reading a pulp detective novel from the 40’s or 50’s in the first few chapters and he reverts to this patois often throughout (although dropping it in most of the last half). We get it: you were born in Brooklyn dude, but it is a new century. No one uses the terms "dames" and "gams" on a day to day basis any longer.
What makes this worthwhile are the stories and the background on his life, especially starting out and of course about the films. One can take much pleasure in reading about this and the admiration he has for his fellow travelers really jumps off the page and is a hoot.
Less enjoyable is the elephant in the book. Look – perhaps one day there will be a definitive reckoning of what exactly transpired in that CT house in the early 90’s – until then there is a large amount of evidence that a young child was misled. What is certain is that a couple of lives in that household have since been deeply affected and no one involved emerged unscathed. True to a lot of tragic literature that he’s portrayed on screen, Woody’s life has taken a sad turn as well and it’s a shame that he’s been lumped in with other miscreants such as Harvey Weinstein or Epstein. On the other hand, it is kind of fitting that his life took this path as it kind of fits in with a lot of his oeuvre.
The book could have clearly used a heavier hand in the editing. There’s a lot of repetition similar to how Woody is allowed to rip just like his films (although his films are a lot shorter). At the outset and many times throughout the writing is just so… dated. It’s like reading a pulp detective novel from the 40’s or 50’s in the first few chapters and he reverts to this patois often throughout (although dropping it in most of the last half). We get it: you were born in Brooklyn dude, but it is a new century. No one uses the terms "dames" and "gams" on a day to day basis any longer.
What makes this worthwhile are the stories and the background on his life, especially starting out and of course about the films. One can take much pleasure in reading about this and the admiration he has for his fellow travelers really jumps off the page and is a hoot.
Less enjoyable is the elephant in the book. Look – perhaps one day there will be a definitive reckoning of what exactly transpired in that CT house in the early 90’s – until then there is a large amount of evidence that a young child was misled. What is certain is that a couple of lives in that household have since been deeply affected and no one involved emerged unscathed. True to a lot of tragic literature that he’s portrayed on screen, Woody’s life has taken a sad turn as well and it’s a shame that he’s been lumped in with other miscreants such as Harvey Weinstein or Epstein. On the other hand, it is kind of fitting that his life took this path as it kind of fits in with a lot of his oeuvre.
marco_izner's review against another edition
4.0
La mia recensione di "A proposito di niente" su «L'ECO DEL NULLA»:
https://www.ecodelnulla.it/a-proposito-di-woody
«In A proposito di niente, Woody Allen si racconta come chiunque si aspetterebbe, ossia in modo brillante, inanellando battute tipiche del suo repertorio almeno ogni due paragrafi, nonché con un’umiltà assai rara da trovare in campo artistico. Queste quattrocento pagine potrebbero essere divise in due macro-capitoli: uno in cui vengono ripercorsi gli anni dell’infanzia, dell’adolescenza, degli esordi nella comicità e poi nel cinema; e un altro, com’era inevitabile, in cui l’autore si dilunga sulle accuse di molestie togliendosi più sassolini dalle scarpe. E lo fa, come vedremo, nel migliore dei modi – forse l’unico possibile.»
https://www.ecodelnulla.it/a-proposito-di-woody
«In A proposito di niente, Woody Allen si racconta come chiunque si aspetterebbe, ossia in modo brillante, inanellando battute tipiche del suo repertorio almeno ogni due paragrafi, nonché con un’umiltà assai rara da trovare in campo artistico. Queste quattrocento pagine potrebbero essere divise in due macro-capitoli: uno in cui vengono ripercorsi gli anni dell’infanzia, dell’adolescenza, degli esordi nella comicità e poi nel cinema; e un altro, com’era inevitabile, in cui l’autore si dilunga sulle accuse di molestie togliendosi più sassolini dalle scarpe. E lo fa, come vedremo, nel migliore dei modi – forse l’unico possibile.»
readerandrogue's review against another edition
1.0
It’s disturbing that this man is still making money off of his manipulation. He’s not the victim he’s trying to make you think he is, he’a a pedophile who sexually assaulted and raped his daughter from the age of 7 years old.
stephanie_di's review against another edition
4.0
A page-turner, dishy, fascinating. His ability to take the reader on a journey through an interesting but meandering sentence and finish it with an abrupt punchline is superb.
turbomandoll's review against another edition
2.0
Decided to give this a go after reading [b:What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About #MeToo: And Other Essays on Sex and the Mess of Life|48588175|What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About #MeToo And Other Essays on Sex and the Mess of Life|Joann Wypijewski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572150165l/48588175._SY75_.jpg|73923999] which gives a more nuanced take on the charges levelled against Woody Allen, however that was probably a mistake.
Enjoyed the opening section focusing on his youth and first steps into show business, but the almost constant name-dropping soon begins and it becomes a chore. There's little to glean here on his vast array of films - most warrant a few lines and talk of how beautiful or sexy the lead actress was (Allen definitely comes across as something of a creep). The CONSTANT self-depreciation is wearisome too, although that may be expected from Woody Allen.
The extended section combating the allegations from Mia Farrow is a real tirade and pretty much ruins the book, particularly on the self-narrated audiobook where Allen's anger is palpable. Even assuming the allegations are false against Allen and I can understand his wish to state his side of the story, he really doesn't come out well and is almost completely lacking in self-awareness. There were significant issues in their somewhat bizarre relationship and both parties appear as very damaged people using their children to maneuver a toxic breakup.
Hard to recommend, it passes the time and there's the odd decent one-liner but it left me with an even sourer view of the man sadly.
Enjoyed the opening section focusing on his youth and first steps into show business, but the almost constant name-dropping soon begins and it becomes a chore. There's little to glean here on his vast array of films - most warrant a few lines and talk of how beautiful or sexy the lead actress was (Allen definitely comes across as something of a creep). The CONSTANT self-depreciation is wearisome too, although that may be expected from Woody Allen.
The extended section combating the allegations from Mia Farrow is a real tirade and pretty much ruins the book, particularly on the self-narrated audiobook where Allen's anger is palpable. Even assuming the allegations are false against Allen and I can understand his wish to state his side of the story, he really doesn't come out well and is almost completely lacking in self-awareness. There were significant issues in their somewhat bizarre relationship and both parties appear as very damaged people using their children to maneuver a toxic breakup.
Hard to recommend, it passes the time and there's the odd decent one-liner but it left me with an even sourer view of the man sadly.
naimfrewat's review against another edition
4.0
You either love or hate Woody Allen.
I like his style, I appreciate his use of French and Yiddish terms and find them funny. His jokes are more or less structured similarly no matter what the topic and it's rare to go through a passage without finding his self-deprecating remarks or his references to world literature in one-liners.
I saw all of his movies more than once and I enjoyed the behind the scenes access he gives the reader, which provides me an additional motive to watch them again.
Somehow, I regretted that he spent too much talking about the accusations of Mia Farrow and never once mentioned his books (Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects).
Somehow, I'm glad he did. I definitely believe what he is saying; one has to be completely blind to refute the many arguments he makes. I asked myself why didn't he do more to defend himself, knowing perfectly well how show business works, what reputation does to a world that functions on networking and doesn't care much about merit.
I very much appreciated the brief justification he gives towards the end of the book as to why he didn't and I thought, I should've guessed, because this fits perfectly well with the way he views life. Probably this is why some critics would say that he repeats himself; it's the price to pay for being consistent and enjoying what you do.
My only disappointment is that he never touched on a couple of his brilliant movies (in my opinion but not in his) being copycats of Bergman and Fellini's. September, Interiors, Husbands and Wives (this one though is one of his favorites) and Stardust Memories, great movies that should have merited a better homage to the original versions.
I like his style, I appreciate his use of French and Yiddish terms and find them funny. His jokes are more or less structured similarly no matter what the topic and it's rare to go through a passage without finding his self-deprecating remarks or his references to world literature in one-liners.
I saw all of his movies more than once and I enjoyed the behind the scenes access he gives the reader, which provides me an additional motive to watch them again.
Somehow, I regretted that he spent too much talking about the accusations of Mia Farrow and never once mentioned his books (Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects).
Somehow, I'm glad he did. I definitely believe what he is saying; one has to be completely blind to refute the many arguments he makes. I asked myself why didn't he do more to defend himself, knowing perfectly well how show business works, what reputation does to a world that functions on networking and doesn't care much about merit.
I very much appreciated the brief justification he gives towards the end of the book as to why he didn't and I thought, I should've guessed, because this fits perfectly well with the way he views life. Probably this is why some critics would say that he repeats himself; it's the price to pay for being consistent and enjoying what you do.
My only disappointment is that he never touched on a couple of his brilliant movies (in my opinion but not in his) being copycats of Bergman and Fellini's. September, Interiors, Husbands and Wives (this one though is one of his favorites) and Stardust Memories, great movies that should have merited a better homage to the original versions.
miki85gia's review against another edition
5.0
Personalmente mi sono divertito moltissimo a leggere “A proposito di niente“. Sin dall’inizio con i racconti della sua infanzia non mancano aneddoti e battute che mi hanno fatto ridere. Questa biografia è costituita da una narrazione brillante, divertente e intelligente. Naturalmente la lunga e tormentata descrizione degli avvenimenti riguardanti la relazione con Mia Farrow, tra cui le accuse di molestie su sua figlia -dalle quali Woody Allen è stato completamente scagionato- presenta un ritmo decisamente più sommesso e la descrizione dei fatti si fa a tratti pignola. Un’altra importante parte del libro, sempre mescolata alla narrazione cronologica dei fatti, è riservata alla descrizione del suo lavoro d’artista e di regista. I suoi film, le sue commedie teatrali, i suoi successi, le sue opere meno riuscite… Insomma viene voglia di rivedere tutti i suoi film leggendo questo libro!
mike_baker's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The gold is that Woody narrates his own text, so you're having it read to you as it is meant to be read and you're getting the treat of the Woodman's Brooklyn brogue throughout.
Where you fall on the various controversies surrounding Woody is up to you, of course - I admire the guy and I know what I want to believe, and certainly he puts forward a compelling argument in his defence. If nothing else then you would certainly be persuaded to be on the opposite side of the road when Mia Farrow's walking down it!
Beyond that is the enormous body of work, the seemingly endless string of movies that may only be drying up now as a consequence of the #MeToo fallout. Woody talks at good length about his experiences of breaking into the business and covers most of his pictures at some depth. There's an endearing bewilderment at his own success, a modesty that cascades into the traditional self-depreciating humour that peppers the book. Woody's a funny man, and there were various moments listening to this when I was fortunate for the lockdown as I could laugh openly without any sense of worry over doing so in public.
Best of all, like his films Woody doesn't outstay his welcome. There's the potential for a 40-hour listen, given the length of his career, the sheer number of anecdotes, the length of time he could spend listing his grievances... Instead it's not even a third of that running time. His gift for brevity extends to the autobiography he's presenting here, not before time and no doubt long awaited. It's a breezy and essential piece of work.
Where you fall on the various controversies surrounding Woody is up to you, of course - I admire the guy and I know what I want to believe, and certainly he puts forward a compelling argument in his defence. If nothing else then you would certainly be persuaded to be on the opposite side of the road when Mia Farrow's walking down it!
Beyond that is the enormous body of work, the seemingly endless string of movies that may only be drying up now as a consequence of the #MeToo fallout. Woody talks at good length about his experiences of breaking into the business and covers most of his pictures at some depth. There's an endearing bewilderment at his own success, a modesty that cascades into the traditional self-depreciating humour that peppers the book. Woody's a funny man, and there were various moments listening to this when I was fortunate for the lockdown as I could laugh openly without any sense of worry over doing so in public.
Best of all, like his films Woody doesn't outstay his welcome. There's the potential for a 40-hour listen, given the length of his career, the sheer number of anecdotes, the length of time he could spend listing his grievances... Instead it's not even a third of that running time. His gift for brevity extends to the autobiography he's presenting here, not before time and no doubt long awaited. It's a breezy and essential piece of work.