Getting Even

By: Woody Allen

Narrated by: Woody Allen

Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Woody Allen's early comic fiction was heavily influenced by the zany, pun-ridden humor of S.J. Perelman. And now, for the first time, Woody Allen narrates one of his early collections of short stories, Getting Even. Listen to Woody Allen revenge himself on such significant subjects as death, obesity, organized crime, the invention of the sandwich, and much more.

Getting Even is a collection of seventeen of Allen's magazine pieces, discussing such eclectic topics as the invention of the sandwich, laundry lists, death, obesity, and, of course, rabbis. Here's Woody Allen as psychologist: "...death is an acquired trait."

Historian: "I did not know Hitler was a Nazi. The truth was, for years I thought he worked for the phone company."

Philosopher: "I do not believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear."

Woody Allen’s short-story collections Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy are available separately or together as part of The Woody Allen Collection.

Listen to Without Feathers, Getting Even, Mere Anarchy, and Side Effects - or all four in The Woody Allen Collection.

©1978 Woody Allen (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Throughout my life, literally thousands of people have made me feel inadequate, but none more so than Woody Allen." (Larry David, Producer, Writer, Actor)
"Woody Allen brought modern comedy to the cinema screen." (Ricky Gervais)

Get read for awkward stares...

Get ready for awkward stares on the subway, on the street, at a restaurant or wherever you listen to any one of the brilliant stories in the book.

Written in Mr. Allen's prime, the 70's, these stories would be hilarious if read by your tax accountant, much less by the witty neurotic performer that is Woody Allen.

Totally brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable

What did you love best about Getting Even?

The richness of Woody's descriptions.

What other book might you compare Getting Even to and why?

None that I can think of.

Which scene was your favorite?

The search for God.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a lot as I read it.

Excellent

If you could sum up Getting Even in three words, what would they be?

Pretty Damn Funny

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mr. Schmeed

Have you listened to any of Woody Allen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any other audio books performed by Woody Allen before, but I would have to say that he does a cracking job in this one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I had an extreme reaction to this book: at one point I laughed so hard that I had tea spurting out of my nose and my monocle popped out. This was followed by a a brief exclamation of "damn" (as I had made a mess of my table cloth) and a rather violent throwing of a napkin to the floor. Fortunately I was able to regain my composure quickly and by the time my butler had arrived to investigate the commotion I was once again calm.

Any additional comments?

If you happen to have a time machine, please go back in time and convince Mr. Allen to produce more works of this kind.

Getting Even

Some of Allen’s best, most clever material from early in his career when he was a regular contributor to The New Yorker and the successor to S. J. Perelman as America’s most thoughtful humorist.

classic Woody Allen! If you are a fan, buy it!

What made the experience of listening to Getting Even the most enjoyable?

knowing that sooner or later, a belly laugh was coming!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Woody the nurd!

What does Woody Allen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Timing!

If you could take any character from Getting Even out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would not take any out character as I am happily married!

Any additional comments?

Get his other books while you are getting this one. That way you will have more laughs!

This was ok, but I didn’t smile as much as I hoped

My mind wandered at times.

I like his quirky mind. Woody Allen was ok as narrator of the audiobook.

Genre: humorous thoughts

Beautifully Absurd

I think Allen has a dull brilliance to inspire younger generations and teach them well.

Allen in top form

Hard to find fault with this collection. Hard to pick a favorite. Maybe "Notes from the Overfed."

Can't beat Woody Allen!

5 Stars all the way! You can't beat this, Woody Allen reading his own words is just downright hilarious. Great pick up!

Bringing the average down...

Would you try another book from Woody Allen and/or Woody Allen?

Definitely. I have fond memories of Woody Allen from years ago. Unfortuntely, this book seemed uncontrolled, like the scrappy notebook of a man wresting with senility. There were very few moments where I laughed out loud, and only marginally more muted chuckles. There were some good bits though.

What could Woody Allen have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not written it, and merge the few great bits into a different, better, book.

Which scene was your favorite?

Count Dracula, followed closely by Ernest Hemmingway

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

Woody Allen is a tremendous narrator. Although I found the stories meandering at best - meaningless at worst - I still enjoyed listening to Allen speak, purely because he has a wonderful voice.
Another redeeming quality is the fact that this is a collection of short stories, often no more than 5 minutes long. Although some made very little sense to me, the brevity meant that any one story only babbled in my ears for a few minutes. That said, there are two or three stories that I wish had been longer.

Any additional comments?

I got a much better experience out of the book when I boosted the speaking speed to 1.5x.