Review: 'Brevity is the soul of wit'
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 10, 2011
From Shakespeare's Hamlet come the following words from Polonius:What day is day, night night, and time is time,Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time;Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,I will be brief.This very brief little collection of three short stories by Alan Zweibel titled FROM THE BOTTOM DRAWER OF ALAN ZWEIBEL is possibly the most condensed breath of true humor that has appeared before the public in a long time.  How clever to paste these little jewels together and make them available for fresh reading and breathing from Price World Publishing.  THIS is the kind of book that should be made more available as an ebook - a little antidote for the plagues that ail us right no.  Alan Zweibel was one of the original writers for 'Saturday Night Live' and here are three 'bits' that could easily be stretched into big stories, so pungent are the outlines presented here.  but then...brevity is the soul of wit.... His other writing credits are are impressive as well.In the first story THE PRIZE the writer has been 'purchased' by a contributor to a charity and the prize is a lunch with Alan Zweibel.  The 'donor' we discover is one Enid Borden, a mousy little thing whom the author meets for lunch only to discover the going price for this 'treat' was a mere $22.  What follows is an hilarious account of how the tow relate, including a costly trip to a hospital when Enid falls victim to shellfish poisoning, etc. the second story THE RIDE HOME is a conversation between a husband and wife who come to appreciate the distance that has grown into their relationship as they return form driving children to college - it hurts at first until it becomes hilarious.  And the last story SEXTING WITH ALAN DERSHOWITZ is so brief and so perfect that summary isn't feasible: you'll have to read this one for yourself.  At the same time there is commentary about the whole idea of computers and the loss of writing on paper that finds a home for so many of us: 'I love pens. And I love paper. For they allow me a touchy-feely intimacy with my words because there is no hardware that comes between us. Like a pesky chaperone. So I can doodle and misspell. Two inalienable author's rights that have been systematically repealed because machines have been permitted to partake in the process. Cold machines too bland to contribute to the nostalgic smells one is greeted by when he enters a stationery store. Pencils. Erasers. Composition books. Aromatic reminders that conjure memories of, if nothing else, the word penmanship. And a time when it gave a cursive peek into the personality of the writer.'  Bravo to this little book!  Grady Harp, August 11