Alan Coren (1938–2007)

There are some pieces in here that I remembered fondly and which still resonate with me. Coren had a gifted sense not only for the absurdity of life but for how to show the absurdity even in everyday, taken-for-granted situations. Some pieces in here have, however, not aged well, and while the intro tries to "manage" some of his imperialist and racist attitudes, a couple of his commentaries on other nations. And some of the humor is too much predicated on punching down, for my taste. What saves the collection, however, is that Coren's target is just as often himself, and shining through all these pieces is his love of the variety and range and downright strangeness of the English language.… (more)