Pure Drivel

By: Steve Martin

Narrated by: Steve Martin

Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

In this ingeniously funny collection of humorous riffs, those who thought Steve Martin's gifts were confined to the screen will discover what readers of The New Yorker already know: that Martin is a master of the written word. Hilariously funny and intelligent in their skewering of the topic at hand, these pieces, some of which first appeared in The New Yorker, feature Martin at his finest. With a playwright's ear for dialogue, a sense of irony only Martin could muster, and a first-class comic ability to perfectly time the punch line, Pure Drivel will have listeners crying with laughter, and marveling at the fact that in addition to all of his many talents, Steve Martin is also a superb writer.

Don't miss Steve Martin, Christopher Buckley, and other humorists discussing their craft at the New Yorker Festival.

©1998 40 Share Productions, Inc. (P)1998 Simon & Schuster Audio, All Rights Reserved, AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"...humor raised to the abstract." (The New York Times)

Worse Than Drivel, Boring & Not Funny

I love the comedy of Steve Martin, and have for years. When I discovered this audio book, I expected it to be two hours of pure fun and laughs. Was I disappointed! It was two hours of sheer boredom and torture. I only finished it to justify the cost of the audio book. It would have to improve to be drivel. Only one story was funny; all the rest were just stupid and boring.

Save your money and skip this one. Audible.com presented one of the stories in a "free listen" when I joined, and that was the ONLY story that was funny. Steve Martin is capable of better material than this. He just mailed this one in.

Not funny

Only one story was cute enough to make me smile and it came near the end, other than that, I wasted a couple hours.

Not so much!

What would have made Pure Drivel better?

I was disappointed. I have always loved Steve Martin. This truly WAS drivel.

Would you ever listen to anything by Steve Martin again?

Not likely.

Any additional comments?

The 5 minute "first listen" was the only high spot in the whole book.

He was not lying .... "Pure Drivel"

This book started out funny but near the end it just became pure random drivel. I am not a rocket scientist (far from it) so the end of the book was probably totally over my head. I listened to another one of his books "The Pleasure of My Company" and I really enjoyed it which is why I wanted to listen to this one. Plus I heard the excerpt of when the character was writing letters to his x-girlfriend - VERY Funny.

The Pleasure of My Company

only a few funny ones

Would you try another book from Steve Martin and/or Steve Martin?

yes

What do you think your next listen will be?

don't know

How did the narrator detract from the book?

not that funny in this one

What character would you cut from Pure Drivel?

don't know

Any additional comments?

would not recommend. The funniest one is the free one Dear Amanda.

Definitely not worth the credit.

The title says it all. Not only is it 'pure drivel' it is boring and uninteresting. Even Steve Martin's delivery as narrator can't overcome the fact that the book lacks substance and yes, even humour. There are very few books I give up on part way through but this was one of them. I stayed with it through the first half hoping it would get better but by then I was out of patience and perseverance.

Boring Drivel

I would rate this as 1/2 start or no star if I could. Based on what other reviewers said about this being funny I thought I would get this one. This is anything but funny; it's down right boring drivel.

Not as good as I thought

What would have made Pure Drivel better?

Better stories

Has Pure Drivel turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not really

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Steve Martin?

Steve Martin was fine.. It is his book

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Only a few part were funny other wise not worth it

Can I get my money back?

"Pure drivel", precisely. I didn't even bother listening to the whole thing. Sorry, Steve. Just too boring.

Pure Drivel

The title fits this book very well. Half of it did not make sense. I did not make it through the entire book.