Would Everybody Please Stop?

Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas

De: Jenny Allen

Narrado por: Jenny Allen

In Would Everybody Please Stop?, a collection of first-person essays and humor pieces, Jenny Allen asks the tough questions: Why do people say "it is what it is"? What's the point of fat-free half-and-half? Why don't the women detectives on TV carry purses, and where are we supposed to think they keep all their stuff? And haven't we heard enough about memes?

Reporting from the potholes midway through life's journey, Allen addresses these and other more serious matters, like the rude awakenings of being single after 25 years, of mothering a teenager, and of living with a serious illness. She also discusses life's everyday trials, like the horrors of attempting a crafts project, the anxieties of being a houseguest, and the ever-changing rules of recycling. Allen is a performer at heart - her one-woman show I Got Sick Then I Got Better premiered in 2009, and she regularly acts in other plays - and she brings that same spirit to these 35 short essays, which sound like the work of a female Dave Barry. Writing on places both real (like a swag den for celebrities at Sundance and the parking lot at L.L. Bean's flagship store) and imaginary (a Buddhist retreat attended by Martha Stewart, Elmer Fudd's psychotherapy appointment), Allen's wit and compassion give a fresh slant on the vicissitudes of day-to-day and not so day-to-day life.

©2017 Jenny Allen (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"One of the funniest writers in America." (Andy Borowitz)

Too much interference from cursing

Wish I knew about the use of curse words every 5 sentences. Makes jokes seem like the back drop....like clean satire... it works better for me...

Nonsense

Was excited about this book, heard about it on NPR and the interview made it seem promising. It was spastic and nonsensical and what the heck was the Elmer Fud bit?!?! Terrible. Listened for 3 hours just waiting for it to get good, never happened.

UGH! Too much bitching!

If I wanted to hear this much bitching, I would have finished Anthony Bourdain's book 'Medium Raw'.

Would see please stop!

I choose Would Everyone Please Stop? by Jenny Allen hoping for wit, insight, or at least some entertainment. Unfortunately, what I got instead felt more like a never-ending rant. The essays are loosely tied together, but the tone remains persistently grating, a mix of self-deprecation and complaint that quickly wore thin.

There’s little variation in perspective or topic, and the writing rarely dives below surface-level observations. I kept reading out of habit, hoping it might build to something more meaningful or funny. It didn’t. Despite finishing it, I walked away with nothing of value, no memorable pieces, no laughs, no moments of real reflection.

In short: a disappointing read. It may appeal to readers who enjoy vent-style humor, but for me, it lacked substance, freshness, or a compelling point of view.