What's with Baum?

De: Woody Allen

Narrado por: Woody Allen

Asher Baum is quietly losing his mind. Can you blame him?

'Maybe what I really want is to make sense of all people's lives. Of everything, the whole shebang'

A middle-aged Jewish journalist turned novelist and playwright, consumed with anxiety about everything under the sun, Baum's turgid philosophical books receive tepid reviews and his prestigious New York publisher has dropped him. His third marriage is on the rocks and he suspects his handsome and successful younger brother may have seduced his Harvard-educated wife. He is uneasy with her close relationship with her son, a more successful author than he, and suspicious of her closeness with their neighbour in Connecticut. And in a moment of irrationality, he has impulsively tried to kiss a pretty young journalist during an interview that she is about to go public with.

Is it any wonder Baum has started talking to himself? Strangers shake their heads and walk around him on the street. Meanwhile he learns a startling secret that could cause havoc should he expose it. Should he keep it to himself or reveal it and blow up his marriage?

What's with Baum? is Woody Allen's first novel and it is everything you would expect of him--and more. A portrait of an intellectual crippled by neurotic concerns about the futility and emptiness of life; an amusing glimpse into the New York publishing establishment; above all, a highly entertaining, tightly plotted, beautifully wrought piece of fiction from one of America's greatest and most versatile cinematic and literary talents.

©2025 Woody Allen (P)2025 Woody Allen

Entertaining

Really good listen, made my commute
more enjoyable, Woody Allen reading made it even better!

All good aside from the amateur reading...

Who did they find to read this, some old Brooklyn Jew? I mean, really? Who pronounces the word "literature" like that, like they're choking on a duck egg. The guy hits consonants harder than Sonny Liston hit his wife! Okay, points for the New York local color bit but it hardly raises the text to anything I'd call sophistication; every three syllable word is delivered like a pickup truck crossing a train track!

But i praise the author highly, sadly it's mired by the cockalorum hack from... I'm guessing 1950s Flatbush? ... butchering the read into oblivion. Enough of that guy. Yeah, the author's okay -- he's got promise.

Pure Woody

Great storytelling with some humor and plenty of feeling. Feels so real it could happen to any of us though most of us couldn’t make it sound this interesting. I feel lucky Woody is still entertaining us after so many years. It’s just a bonus that the author himself shared the story. For longtime fans or just the curious, this is highly recommended!

Woody's reading puts this over the top

If you enjoyed the opening monologue from Manhattan
(Chapter One. He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. [Oh, I love this.] New York was his town, and it always would be.")
you will love this book. No one does Woody better than Woody.

Typical Woody Allen

I have been a Woody Allen fan for the past 40 years (my adult life).
I have seen every movie, saw him live performing music , watched documentaries, etc.

I have not loved everything he created but his rambling style resonates with me.

I started out thinking this book is not great, too loose and disorganized but out of respect for Woody Allen listened to the end.

I was glad I did. This is about 5 hour listen and my turnaround point came around 2 hours in. I actually really enjoyed it and think this is a Woody Allen experience via audio book.

I think that his true fans will like it because it’s so Woody Allen and his critics will dislike it for the same reason.

If someone is new to Woosy Allen it’s probably best to watch Annie Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Midnight in Paris first. If you watch these movies and like them , you may very well enjoy this book. If you dislike those movies you will most likely not enjoy it.

As for me, I hope he writes another one.

Typical Woody Allen

Same style as his movies. Main character in character with parts that he would play. Gets on your nerves a bit with all the whining. Had to pause it a few times to listen to something else but got through it and you’ll like the ending.