Rewrites: A Memoir

The insights in this book about becoming a successful playwright make the book more than a five star work. I do not remember reading or hearing a better discussion of what comedy is and should be about.The book also has many beautiful insights into how to be and have a wonderful spouse. Those scenes from a marriage are often well worth restaging in your life. This book is a fascinating series of skits, sketches, and one liners masquerading as a memoir. Although Mr. Simon was (with difficulty) able to transcend his training as a gag and sketch writer to learn playwriting, he made little attempt to learn autobiography for this book. Instead, he fell back on his most natural way of communicating, the humorous story. That approach provides the reader with the unexpected bonus of many funny stories and good laughs.The time period covered is Mr. Simon's life from age 30 to 46, with occasional visits to his earlier years. You will never read or watch a Neil Simon play in the same way after reading this memoir. You will find yourself in closer touch with the bittersweet parts of these comedies as a result . . . and with your own innermost self.If you have seen or read Chapter Two, you already knew that Mr. Simon had lost his first wife to cancer at a young age. What I did not realize is what an overwhelmingly tragic event this was for him. The marriage had been a magnificent one for two people who were deeply devoted to and supportive of one another. In a sense, the comedy in this book is simply there to heighten your ability to appreciate the real subject, the tragic loss. The jokes are like the gravediggers' scene in Hamlet, to relieve the heaviness of the ultimate atmosphere. Mr. Simon is very candid in this memoir. He describes having his brother help him hire a lady who rented by the hour for his first sexual experience, having once asked his wife for his freedom (and then changing his mind 5 minutes later as she calmly went along), and a lot of very bad business decisions. He also describes the psychological problems that could plague him and others on Broadway. He also describes things using the "f" word a lot that offends many people. Perhaps the most revealing parts are the ways that he mines every memorable encounter in his life into a play. It is as though playwriting is his way to get control over his fear of life.As a writer, I was riveted by his detailed description of how he came to write Come Blow Your Horn as his first play, and to learn his craft through many painful rewrites. No one would ever have gone through what he did if you knew what was coming. Mr. Simon's very great dislike of Hollywood was a powerful spur into playwriting that drove him relentlessly. In the process, he brilliantly describes the insights that others shared with him, and that he learned. He became addicted to having people read the material aloud, so that he could hear their reactions. As soon as that occurred, he could ruthlessly e

Rewrites was a fabulous book by Neil Simmon about his life as a playwrite, a father and a husband. It is extremely entertaining and a very easy read. He uses a very fast paced writing style and a great deal of humor to describe the events of his life. Although he is a very public figure, he describes the events of his life in a way that everyone can relate and feel comfortable with.He tells things in a way which makes everyone think about their own life experiances and learn alot about themselves. I agree with Steve Martin when he said " It's funny and moving work. I cried till I laughed." I could not have said it better myself, and I think any one who reads "Rewrites" will have the same reaction.As some one who loves theater and Broadway, this was a great book and I enjoyed every minute of.

Where can you find a memoir that's also a playwright's manual rolled into one? It's actually a play too sans the character lines. In reading Rewrites, you'll learn how and why this gifted writer got his comedic talent of not only distilling everyday life's funny moments, but also by living them himself.From the mentoring and guidance of his brother Danny to the eventual death of his wife, Joan, due to cancer, you'll find in Rewrites the soul of a self-made playwright whose not ashamed to have his works criticized just to emerge with a better, more refined piece afterward. Just as he's reserved the 100%-no-more-rewrites-playwright to the Bard, he's the one I consider as best playwright of this century. Or maybe next.

This book is more than the interesting story of the first part of Neil Simon's life. It's also a very practical guide to being a playwright. Simon discusses creating his first success, "Come Blow Your Horn." He had eighteen rewrites before he showed it to anybody but his wife! He also discusses the lucky breaks he got when the play first opened. But the real meat of the book for the working playwright is the play writing tips he sprinkles throughout the book. "If somebody leaves the room, where does he go?" "Character is the foundation of the play." "An audience won't believe what you don't believe." "We need to see a character change, not just know that he's changed." "Adversaries need to be equal." Be alert as you read--Simon usually drops these gems in a discussion of problems he had working on a specific script. Face it, if you pay attention, there's a lot you can learn from the most successful playwright since Shakespeare.

Simon has always gotten laughs for being honest. In this memoir, as in his best plays, Simon finds the humor in real life through the reader's empathy. Noting that here Simon writes, not about fictional characters, but himself, it makes the story that much more moving. In Rewrites, Simon says he always enjoyed reading stories about real people, and that fiction didn't appeal to him. In reading this painfully honest piece of work, many will understand his choice.