Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

I have been into Eric Bogosian's stuff since Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll. I have never seen him live, but I love reading his stuff. I had a CD of SDARNR... Anyway, Wake Up And Smell the Coffee is so good I had to give him a shout out here. I was just rereading it for more than the 3rd time now. It still get's me. If you haven't read any Bogosian try him. I get the feeling he is one of those guys you either love or hate. I tend to love. I only wish he was more prolific. That said, this is another nice addition to his work. I would say he is getting sharper. The bits are a little shorter. They cut to the point real quick though. He writes in a way that sounds like people talk and he doesn't hold back. Bogosian will talk about the same stuff I read about in the papers, and it seems like he is the only one who is saying what people are really thinking. For example, here is a quote from 'Faith', he's talking about Rwanda and human nature: 'I'll pick up a feumr, keep it on my mante-piece to remind me of human nature.' Definitely not the Chamber of Commerce, Oprah outlook here. Keep up the good work Eric! To sum up, read this book.

I've read some of Bogosian's other pieces, including one of his plays, subUrbia, and it seems to me that he's deceptively simple. On the one hand his material seems like one more dirty comedy routine, but then when you put the pieces together the whole world view is pretty complex. It feels like he's dissatisfied with a status quo situation and he's trying to find a way to comment. I have not seen him perform, but I've heard that he's beyond incredible live, so maybe you have to see the monologues live. I've also read his novel, Mall, and it completely spun me out. In some ways, he's probably the most interesting person out there writing today.

Bogosian proves with ?Wake Up and Smell the Coffee? that he is one of the funniest, smartest, and angriest writers around. ?Wake Up? is a collection of monologues designed to be performed as a one-man (or one-woman) show, but the monologues could stand on their own as comedic vignettes good enough to work as audition pieces or stand-up routines. Most of the monologues are piercing in their accuracy. Bogosian takes on pop culture, religion, families, and he does so with sarcasm that never lets up and almost never misses the mark. His take on the carnival at airports is just one example: ?Standing in ticket lines, sitting in the departure lounge, crowded around the baggage carousel watching the luggage coming out as if awaiting the birth of your first child.?The book is separated into three parts. The main portion of this book is the collection of monologues that form the one-man show. The second part of the book contains what Bogosian calls ?Orphans? ? monologues that don?t really fit in with the rest of the work. The final piece of the book is an essay on how Bogosian develops his monologues (or solos, as he refers to them). He explains how he locks himself in a room with a tape recorder and lets his inner characters loose. The essay is interesting, but you get the feeling that it was added to give some more bulk to the book, and not because it was intended to accompany the monologues.Bogosian admits in the introduction that after 9/11 he told his agent to shelve the book altogether. Some of the material in ?Wake Up? takes on terrorism, plane crashes, the Oklahoma City bombing, and Arabic immigrants, and Bogosian was worried that this book would come across as offensive. In truth, some of pieces do ring with a clarity that might not have existed in the pre-war on terror world. That insight makes the jokes funnier and the truth more bitter. The fact that some of his monologues dealt with subjects that would be forced into the public consciousness after 9/11 just shows how insightful Bogosian has become. It?s not just jokes anymore.

Absolutely brilliant stuff! Bogosian just bettered himself... one more time. The monologues are truly intelligent, witty, eye-opening etc, but even more important, is the way Bogosian has put them together to create a great PLAY.

This guy just keeps getting better and sharper. The book, like the performance, is fast, furious, angry, and doesn't care what you think, just as long as you think. I'd have to say that half of it could be perceived as more of the same, but it would be shortsighted to dismiss it as such. This is intensely focused on the mentality of the public at large like a magnifying glass in the sun torching an ant. It's more than a dissection of the follies of materialism and fame. He spoons out the heartless soul of it and puts on display for all to witness like an audience holding court for a lynching. It's the out and out truth. And through his 10 or so monologues, he hurls that brick through the glass houses of smoke and mirror. Knock yourself out. You decide. Love him. Hate him. He'll kick your [butt] either way.