My Goodness: A Cynic's Short-Lived Search for Sainthood

I'm often astonished by critics of Joe Queenan's books. Yes, he is mean. Yes, he is cruel. And yes, he is hilarious. If people are so offended by his material, why read it? Oh well, that is a subject for one of Queenan's own articles. I could not put this book down. This is third Queenan book I've read (along with Cineplex Heckler and Red Lobster) and this is as good or better than the other two. He makes many of the same points that Nick Hornby tries to in "How to Good." The difference (besides the fact that one is fiction) is that Queenan nails it. He tries hard to be good and fails. Of course he does. Neverthless, the journey is fascinating. He is one of the few writers who doesn't give a damn and tells you how he feels. You don't have agree with everything he says to enjoy his work. I admire a guy with those kind of guts (and who grew up on the mean streets of Philly--they grow guys like this there on trees). In addition, several critics have commented on his "right wing" writing--which is hilarious because Queenan slams the right wing many times in his book. He also dares to take on the leftists. He tries to learn about their culture and realizes that is filled with some good ideas--but is also subject many hypocritical failings. I laughed outloud countless times. Ok, so maybe I'm just the kind of Yuppie trash that Queenan is, but he really hits the nail on the head. As a photograph of America at the turn of the century and all it's absurdities, Queenan hits another home run. He wins again--which is better than he beloved 1964 Phillies did.

This is a hilarious account of Queenan's efforts to become a better person. He explores such diverse and hypocritical role models as Susan Sarandon and Sting (who better to model yourself after?) and ties himself in knots trying to "do the right thing." Highly recommended for talking yourself out of any ill-advised self-improvement efforts.

I first made Joe Queenan's acquaintance as a writer in the late, great SPY magazine and in the fiercely conservative "The American Spectator." At last, here was a book reviewer and journalist who could match "National Review" columnist Florence King in wit and savagery of expression. When you read a Queenan book review, you knew there wouldn't be anything left of the author but a grease-spot on the floor. At the same time he was gaining a reputation in "Movieline" magazine as a slaughterer of sacred cows ("Sacred Cow" actually being the title of his evaluation of Barbra Striesand's acting career.) In short, he became the walking combination of the words "cruel" and "hilarious." In "My Goodness", Joe attempts to repent of all this. Expressing guilt at all the dented feelings of his many victims, he goes on a quest to remake himself into the very model of today's secular, politically correct saint--Alec Baldwin, in other words. Queenan fails spectaclarly of course, but you will fiendishly enjoy his attempt.

Joe Queenan is the only reason I subscribed to MOVIELINE; of course I bought MY GOODNESS as soon as it was available. The reviews by Tim Appelo and Gene Bromberg do such a magnificent job of analyzing this ground-breaking Queenan Opus that there's little left for me to say -- except that this book made me laugh out loud, and also proves that nothing is meaner or funnier than the truth.Now, if only the UnHoly Trinity -- Florence King, P.J. O'Rourke, Joe Queenan -- would start a new Algonquin Round Table....

I was taken a bit aback when I read the jacket of Joe Queenan's latest book. Had Joe taken flight of his senses, buried that hatchet he wields so well, and become a (gasp!) kind and decent person? Would the name Queenan soon join those of Baldwin, Sarandon and Browne atop the pantheon of Famous People Who Do Good Things?The book leads us, hilariously of course, through Joe's quest to become a Very Good Person. Much of Queenan's work consists of brutal hatchet jobs on the inexplicably rich, the undeservedly famous, and the formidably underbrained, a harsh task that he is extremely well-qualifed for (he was born and raised in Philadelphia). So one could look on this book as a tale of a man trying to atone for his misdeeds, a pilgrim seeking the path of enlightenment.As you might expect, the change doesn't occur overnight. Queenan spends six months trying to turn over a new leaf, and ends up eating lots of organic matter not too far removed from leaves, including Edensoy, St.John's Wort tortilla chips, and wheatgrass. He lobbies for the rights of labratory rats and personally accounts for a 5% spike in sales at the Body Shop. As he does in so many of his books, Queenan doesn't just tell us what we should do--he actually blazes the trail for us to follow. I won't go into great detail about Queenan's trials and tribulations, but I will say that one chapter of the book focuses on his noble and lengthy quest to find a rare Elvis Costello CD for a fan who wrote to Queenan and asked if he might have a copy of it. I am a huge EC fan and to my mind this clinched the book as one of the most inspirational I have ever read. The sacrifice, the effort, all to spread the music of Elvis across the land...I was moved.I'll leave it to you to read the book to learn how Joe arrives at his eventual state of grace, one that allows him to once again pick up his cudgel and start smashing again at overripe egos. All I can say is that as usual I ended up hyperventilating because I laughed too hard too many times. Queenan proves that sometimes you not only have to be cruel to be kind, you have to be cruel to be good. And few are as cruel, or as good, as Joe Queenan.