Steve Martin Book:

Cruel Shoes Reviews:
Smart, Surreal, Steve Martin
2009-10-08 - Steve Martin is one of the most intelligent humor writers of our time, and also a great writer in his own respect. Cruel Shoes is a series of very short vignettes, much more random and subtle than even his (random, subtle) later stuff. It's a comedy classic.

Most entertaining drivel, ever!!
2009-03-12 - Cruel Shoes
I loved this book so much in high school that my friend, Cheryl Dunn and I traveled nowhere without it. On our many trips to the mall, she would read passages aloud while I drove my red VW Beetle, doubled over laughing or quoting passages right along with her. My favorites are The Gift of the Magi Indian Giver, The Diarrhea Gardens of El Camino Real and The Cathedral at Chartres. I have pretty much memorized these. It is as funny today as it was thirty years ago. I don't remember which vignette this came from but if I responded, "Yup, yup, gol" she would know exactly what I meant and where it came from. This is a stick-to-your-funny bone kind of book. I love you, Steve Martin!

Looking at the evolution of Steve Martin through his writings...
2009-02-04 - One of the things I liked about Steve Martin's recent autobiography (Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life) is that it "filled in the gaps" of the Steve Martin phenomenon. I grew up with Martin, from his appearances on Saturday Night Live (the first five years), to his many appearances on the Johnny Carson Show (remember the world's biggest joke?), his concerts on college campuses, his acting in The Jerk and Roxanne, and, eventually, to his writing. I'm certain Cruel Shoes is the first book authored by Martin that I read. Others, including Shopgirl and Pure Drivel, followed.

He is a very talented person.

I've probably told the "Cruel Shoes" title story twenty times, when the conversation came round to the strange shoes women sometimes wear. "Look... the cruel shoes!," is not an uncommon expression in our family, particularly when somebody stumbles because (why else) they are wearing, "the cruel shoes."

This is a small book with short stories and poems. There is a complexity to many of the stories that requires rumination.

Examples:

"Dr. Fitzkee's Lucky Astrology Diet

The problem with the diets of today is that most women who do achieve that magic weight, seventy-six pounds, are still fat. Dr. Fitzkee's Lucky Astrology Diet is a sure-fire method of reducing with the added luxury that you never feel hungry. Here's how the diet works:

Foods Allowed.
First Month: one egg.
Second month: a raisin.
Third month: pumpkin pie with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

If after the third month you haven't gotten to your dream weight, try lopping off parts of your body until those scales tip just right for you" (p. 100-1).

--
"What To Say When The Ducks Show Up

I, for one, am going to know what to say when the ducks show up. I've made a list of phrases, and although I don't know which one to use yet, they are all good enough in case they showed up tomorrow. Many people won't know what to say when the ducks show up, but I will. Maybe I'll say, 'oh ducks, oh ducks, oh ducks,' or just 'ducks wonderful ducks!' I practice these sayings every day, and even though the ducks haven't come yet, when they do, I'll know what to say" (p. 103).

--
"The Nervous Father

'Daddy, where did I come from?'

'Uh...uh...Well, Tommy, well, it seems...well...Why, Why out of the garbage can, son. The garbage man comes and throws you in the garbage can and Mommy goes out and gets you. You see, the garbage men pick you up at the creampuff, cherry gingerbread house run by the angels with the puppy faces, and the North Star wonder men with the magic seeds tiptoe 'round the huckleberry tree.'

'Well, where did the clock-radio come from?'

'Oh... Same place'" (p. 106).


Like I said... ruminate. Then say "ouch." Enjoy.

Brilliant.
2008-04-29 - You have to put all logic aside when you read this book. Steve Martin is not known for logic, he is famous for being so hilarious. Now once you put your normal brain aside, read this book. It is truly brilliant and hilarious. I picked this up at a local book store for 5 bucks, and I was glad I got it. This is a really good read and a must have for any Steve Martin fan!

Pictures of Martin and text written in the typical absurd style of Steve Martin
2006-06-28 - This book contains a lot of pictures of Martin at a typewriter looking sad, disillusioned and suffering from a creative crisis. It also contains a series of short pieces written in the usual absurd Martin style. The title comes from a clerk at a shoe store who coaxes people into buying "cruel shoes", shoes so bad that they make your feet bleed.
Sometimes even the titles are absurd, as in "Sex Crazed Love Goddesses" which is a story about a boy going to the store to buy stamps. There is nothing other than that in the story. "The Boring Leading the Bored" is about a meeting of logicians and metaphysicists where things go extremely wrong. Absurd and occasionally hilarious in the Martin style, this is a comedy book unlike any other.