WHAT’S WITH BAUM? by Woody Allen
Five years ago, the prolific and partially blackballed filmmaker Woody Allen released his memoir into the pandemic like a somewhat unwelcome aerosol.
Now, closing in on 90 years of age, he has published his first novel. Technically, at 152 pages, it’s a novella. But we’ll give him the senior discount.
It’s never too late! And “What’s With Baum?,” as it’s called, is not terrible. It’s fine. Late in the week, with hot winds ruffling the First Amendment, it afforded this reader a few hollow chuckles.
Baum is the protagonist, a type familiar from the best of Allen’s movies: age 51, first name Asher, with a head of hair “full but incoherent,” suffering from anxiety and acid reflux. In a surprising departure, he’s a 19th-century goatherd.
Just kidding: Baum makes an unlikely living in journalism for “small magazines” in Manhattan, including some book reviews. (Flash back to the elevator scene in Allen’s 1997 film “Deconstructing Harry,” in which book critics reside on Floor 5 of hell, along with subway muggers and aggressive panhandlers.) The time is somewhere post-Covid, and he reads The New York Times on his phone next to his third wife, Connie, and her laptop, taking “a gram of pleasure over his spontaneous aperçu” along with his breakfast.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post Woody Allen’s First Novel: Funny-ish, but Very Familiar appeared first on New York Times.
