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Consisting mostly of short stories and general observations from Allen's unique perspective that originally appeared in the 'New Yorker' magazine, this comprehensive collection is pretty much all you need to have. Quite why you would want to buy the books separately (or even together with this book) is totally beyond me. 'Complete Prose' is his three books in one volume, complete, unabridged and totally hilarious. Surreal, ridiculous, witty, and at times just plain silly, these short pieces will have you in pieces after a few paragraphs. My favourite bits include a story about Dracula, and how come he knows when it's dark if he stays in a coffin all day? When he senses it is dark one day, he pays a visit to some neighbours, intent on blood. When he turns up at their house, they ask if he has come to watch the solar eclipse with them, at which point he immediately runs into the house and hides in a cupboard until nighttime. Another example is a story about organised crime, and how one technique for bumping people off was to lock them in a wardrobe and then suck all the air out through a straw. I think an alternative title for this book could have been 'Complete Nonsense' and still be accurate, but a more flattering title could be 'Complete Brilliance'.
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