Free-Range Chickens
Rich, an author and Saturday Night Live writer, delivers a punch-and-jab gigglefest in his follow-up to the similarly chaotic Ant Farm. A slim book of short takes, Rich doesn't stray far from his formula-many of these pieces would work as mercifully brief (and funny) SNL skits-but it's a formula that delivers a laugh on every page. Split into thematic sections-Growing Up, Going to Work, Daily Life, Relationships, Animals and God-Rich's twisted observations are often dark, especially in the Growing Up portion; "terrifying childhood experiences" include "peek-a-boo," and the people hiding in 7-year-old Rich's closet (Freddy Krueger, Chucky, a murderer, his dead uncle, and his doctor) pine, "Man, I cannot wait to kill this kid." Rich offers this brand of humor in a wide range of flavors, going, for instance, directly from Pheidippides of 490 B.C. to an "All-you-can-eat buffet fantasy" in the Daily Life portion. Still, there isn't much here that's not laugh-out-loud funny, perfect for rainy-day/toilet-top browsing or one long, painful guffawathon.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.