Side Effects

By: Woody Allen

Narrated by: Woody Allen

Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Now, available in audio for the first time, Side Effects is narrated by Woody Allen himself. A humor classic by one of the world’s funniest writers, Side Effects is a treat for Allen fans and those just discovering how gifted he is. In classics including "Remembering Needleman", "The Kugelmass Episode", "Confessions of a Burglar", and others, Allen discusses such subjects as the nature of relativity, the UFO menace, and the predicament of modern man. Side Effects compiles 17 of Allen’s best New Yorker essays and offers wisdom and laughs in equal measure: "Ah, God, how the mind boggles when it turns to moral or ethical considerations. Better not to think too much. Rely more on the body - the body is more dependable. It shows up for meetings, it looks good in a sports jacket, and where it really comes in handy is when you want to get a rubdown."

Woody Allen’s short story collections Side Effects, Getting Even, Without Feathers, 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.

©1986 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)

One of the best in the set

While I was somewhat disillusioned by the others in the recently-released set by Woody Allen, this book stands out as the most coherent and consistent of the lot. All are expertly narrated by Woody Allen and his fantastic chocolatey voice, but while some wander confusedly, this book (written in comparitively later years) shows how his craft has matured. There were a good number of laugh-out-loud moments, and only a few "What the...?" moments. This book was the turning point where I was glad that I purchased the set.

It's WOODY ALLEN!!!

Any additional comments?

I love the way Woody Allen processes information....he struggles....he stresses....he ponders. I love it!!

Pretty good. Several laugh out loud moments.

My main problem was the narrator Woody Allen who is also the author. He did not pause enough. When I was having a laugh or thoughtful reaction, he sped onto the next item. That was frustrating. Several times I had to stop the tape so I could savor the humor and not quickly forget it. If he were standing before an audience he’d stop for the laughs.

Genre: humorous thoughts

Ah, Woody

Any additional comments?

I listened to this as an audio-book which was a little strange because Woody Allen is such a talker it feels like he's actually there. I kept visualizing us as some stranger-than-fiction couple living together in a small apartment: He's occasionally brushing his teeth in the bathroom while talking, he's chopping liver in the main room while talking, he's sleeping with the neighbor on the sofa while talking, and at some point I'm fantasizing about strangling him while he's still talking and I'm wearing black nylon stockings and he's saying things like "oh, stop it, you're starting to look like Niedelman's gorgeous wife Miss Vazanrakoff" and in the middle of the scene come our little fat kids named Weissmendoodle and Brazaravatski and start laughing hysterically.

Woody is humorous and often out of control with his words, puns and imagination, but sometimes he has too much fun with himself and appears to be too excited about his own jokes, like he wants to stop and say "can you see how funny this is?" and roar for "more! more!" while sitting alone in the front row. I have to say that some chapters were more fun than others. Some did make me laugh out loud, while others made me want to strangle him, or let our imaginary kids Weissmendoodle and Brazaravatski take care of it.

Awesome a great read. The best of his short stories.never gets old .

Great read. Love this book. Very funny.The shallowest man is one of my favorite short stories.

Great short story writer

This is a writers short story masterpiece. Yes I'm a WA fan. But if you like the art of short story writing and intelligent comedy you cannot go wrong with this purchase. If you ARE a WOODY ALLEN fan well, you'll feel right at home almost instantly.

Another winner

Always makes me smile. Fabulous bedtime listening and fun to hear multiple times. Highly recommend.

For Woody Allen's fans

Typical of Woody Allen, the humor is offbeat, quirky, and sometimes witty. The book was written in 1980 when his humor wasn't as refined and polished as it is now. Also, many of the stories reflect his preoccupation with sex in awkward situations (like dating the daughter and being attracted to the mother). Only true fans of Woody Allen would enjoy this book.

Comical genius

The prose deserves a few listens to really pick up on the subtleties of his writing.

Classic Woody

Would you consider the audio edition of Side Effects to be better than the print version?

Definitely. What could be better than listening to this brilliant and funny guy telling his stories.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Side Effects?

Laughing out loud in the airport while listening.