Coyote V. Acme
ISBN10: 0312420587
ISBN13: 9780312420581
Trade Paperback
128 Pages
$17.00
CA$22.50
The title piece in Coyote v. Acme, Ian Frazier's second collection of humorous essays, imagines the opening statement of an attorney representing cartoon character Wile E. Coyote in a product liability suit against the Acme Company, supplier of unpredictable rocket sleds and faulty spring-powered shoes. Other essays are about Bob Hope's golfing career, a commencement address given by a Satanist college president, a suburban short story attacked by the Germans, the problem of issues versus non-issues, and the theories of revolutionary stand-up comedy from Comrade Stalin. From first to last, this is veteran New Yorker writer Frazier at his hilarious best.
Reviews
Praise for Coyote V. Acme
"Mr. Frazier makes me laugh out loud."—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times
"Can you imagine Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Co. for all those faulty explosives devices that failed to work in the Road Runner cartoons? What if Boswell did a life of Don Johnson, rather than Samuel Johnson? The writer also pokes fun at Bob Hope's flawed memory about accidents and golfing gems, Stalin's theory of comedy and a bank with a great, new system of notation. It's sophisticated and it's funny."—Bob Trimble, The Dallas Morning News
"Makes Henry Kissinger look like a straight man."—David Mamet
"A few years ago, when the title piece from this collection appeared in The New Yorker, it lit up fax machines all over town . . . Now this masterpiece of the humorous essay spearheads a collection of similar gems."—Time Out New York
"To write ineffable lyrics, page-turning thrillers or profound epics—none of this is easy. But to write something that is truly funny—so funny that your eyes water and you laugh out loud—this may be the hardest and rarest thing of all. Ian Frazier does it with apparent ease."—The Kansas City Star
"Coyote v. Acme should make it clear that Frazier hasn't lost his gift for amusement. If you're in the right mood, it's impossible even to scan the contents page without cracking up."—James Marcus, Newsday
"In Coyote v. Acme, a collection of (very) funny pieces, Ian Frazier separates issues ('Young Elvis, Old Elvis') from non-issues ('Old Elvis, Dead Elvis'); contemplates a life-insurance questionnaire for daytime-drama characters; and has fun with critics' favorite crutch: positing cities (or mortality, or the English language) as a novel's character."—New York
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BOOK EXCERPTS
Read an Excerpt
COYOTE V. ACME
The Last Segment
At a signal from the sound room, the tapes stopped spinning, and one by one the big thousand-watt lights winked and darkened. Then Mary hugged Murray, and Ted came over and hugged them...