Without Feathers

Now in audio for the first time, Without Feathers is narrated by Woody Allen himself. Here they are: 16 of the funniest tales and ruminations ever recorded, by one of the great comic minds of our time. From "The Whore of Mensa", to "Fabulous Tales & Mythical Beasts", to "No Kaddish for Weinstein", old and new Allen fans will laugh themselves silly over these sparkling gems. A small sample: "Getting through the night is becoming harder and harder," writes Allen in his "secret" journal. "Last evening I had the uneasy feeling that some men were trying to break into my room to shampoo me."

Without Feathers delivers more of Allen's New Yorker-style humor. Worthy stand-outs include "If the Impressionists Had Been Dentists", a genius piece that puts oral surgery in a whole new, much more exciting light. Throughout, Allen grapples in his wildly inventive way with the targets that obsess him: death, God (or lack of God), women (or lack of women), intellectuals, the arts, and even wildlife.

There is a distinct romantic strain that runs through much of his writings, which the author describes as "either Byronic or moronic". Allen is forever at war with the universe and claims unequivocally that he is "at two with nature". His artistic ambition, as he puts it, is to "forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race. And then see if I can get them mass-produced in plastic."

Woody Allen’s short-story collections Without Feathers, Side Effects, Getting Even, and Mere Anarchy are available separately or together as part of The Woody Allen Collection.