I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey

Damn Paul Rudnick! Damn him for his insightful humor, his Neil Simon-esque way with a one-liner (see title of this review--which left me laughing out loud and still brings a chuckle), and his inventive mind that can create characters as rich and modern as Elyot Vionnet. Jealous much? You betcha. "I Shudder" is the funniest, most touching and satisfying...what? Memoir? Sedaris-like literary lozenge? Prolonged monologue? Pick any one of these, and this book tops them all. I wish I had the ability to write even ONE of these chapters. Oh, well. Paul, please pick up your pen or open your laptop and write the world (or at least NYC) a contemporary comedy for Broadway. We need it. And if there were nuns in it (with digestive issues), more's the better.

OMG! lol,although really llllol (that's lots, lots, lots and even more lots of laughs) Okay, enough email jargon. Let's just cut to Elyot Vionnet. Well, not quite yet. Let me save that. I love Jews. I really do. And especially I love a Jewish humorist who has a bunch of female relatives and the ability to cast them into a wonderful what? Story? Memoir? Story-memoir? The opening story is about Rudnick's mother and her two sisters, just the most wonderful introductory taste of a truly delicious book. But, for me, the prize goes to Elyot Vionnet. "I Shudder" actually becomes a series of "diary entries" by Elyot, a semi-retired substitute teacher! What? What is a semi-retired substitute teacher? This is a guy--well, a queen!--who lives alone (no one would ever, ever want to live with him but only far, far away from him) in a small NYC apartment. And he envisions himself being deified. And like me, he can become obsessive about those people who are non-stop cell-phoners. We all know them, the ones who never shut up, who walk everywhere yak, yak, yakking. Well, Eloyt does something about it. However, we are warned in the the first diary entry that this "deeply intimate and personal diary" may well be "introduced into evidence at my trial." I suspect many readers will not be as disciplined as I have been. I did not, as much as I wanted to do so, skip to the next "I Shudder." But let me tell you, this is not a book in which you will be skipping much of anything, not even the end results of a three-way porno episode. If I were allowed to do so I would add two more stars--make that three--to this review. That good. I hate to say this because I love David Sedaris' writing, but this might be even a little edgier than Mr. Sedaris' memoir(?) pieces.

I have to admit right off that until I read a review of this book, I had no idea who Paul Rudnick was. I downloaded the free sample to my Kindle and thought the book looked at least moderately funny, so I bought it. I was in for a very pleasant surprise as I kept reading. This book is like one of Paul Rudnick's favorite treats. It's very sweet and people may look at you funny while you're consuming it; in this case, because you are laughing out loud. To be clear though, the book isn't all treacly. Rudnick has an incredibly sharp wit and he's not afraid to use it. The book is a mix of anecdotes from his life and essays written as an alter ego. Though I definitely enjoyed the autographical writing more than the interlude essays, the latter were also quite entertaining. This book truly did make me laugh out loud many times. It was warm and funny and just a really enjoyable read. In the past a few authors have attempted memoir-ish writing with disastrous results because the authors are completely unlikeable and, even worse, they don't seem to be aware of it. This book was the opposite. After reading it, I went from not knowing who Paul Rudnick was to wanting to invite him over to dinner and serve up some elegant Peeps arranged very neatly on a platter.

Rudnick. Paul. "I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey", HarperCollins, 2009. Wicked Humor Amos Lassen David Sedaris says that Paul Rudnick is "a champion of truth (and love and great wicked humor)" and I totally agree. This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Yet the book is not only funny--it is also sensitive and touching. Rudnick looks at his New Jersey family and then moves on to Hollywood as he tells us some of the funniest stories you will ever read. The book is a collection of essays about being both gay and Jewish (sounds familiar as I live this daily) as well as about being a playwright and script doctor. This is a social commentary written by one of the best. We get to see what life in Manhattan was like in the 1970's and read not of Rudnick's success on both screen and stage but of his failures (which are a lot more fun). The prose is full of great zingers and it is a wonder that Rudnick was able to survive a life like this. The story of his Uncle's funeral is amazing and also how he went looking for a starlet who appeared in "King Creole" and then went on to become a nun. I must admit that I have not read a lot of Rudnick--aside from the script of "Jeffrey" this is his only book that I have read but I am now ordering everything he wrote and I am going to take a week off and have a wonderful time.

I've been a Paul Rudnick fan forever (we miss you, Libby!). This latest collection of reminiscences (both his and his alter ego's) is a pleasure. Yes, I laughed out loud. More than once.