Entrances and Exits

Description

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER As seen on The Today Show , The View , and Jesse Watters The man who brought the kavorka to the Seinfeld show through one of the most remarkable and beloved television characters ever invented, Kramer, shares the extraordinary life of a comedy genius—the way he came into himself as an artist, the ups and downs as a human being, the road he has traveled in search of understanding. “The hair, so essential, symbolizes the irrational that was and is and always will be the underlying feature not only of Kramer but of comedy itself. This seemingly senseless spirit has been coursing through me since childhood. I’ve been under its almighty influence since the day I came into this world. I felt it all within myself, especially the physical comedy, the body movements, so freakish and undignified, where I bumped into things, knocked stuff down, messed up situations, and often ended up on my ass. “This book is a hymn to the irrational, the senseless spirit that breaks the whole into pieces, a reflection on the seemingly absurd difficulties that intrude upon us all. It’s Harpo Marx turning us about, shaking up my plans, throwing me for a loop. Upset and turmoil is with us all the time. It’s at the basis of comedy. It’s the pratfall we all take. It’s the unavoidable mistake we didn’t expect. It’s everywhere I go. It’s in the way that I am, both light and dark, good and not-so-good. It’s my life.” —Michael Richards, from Entrances and Exits Review: Great read, but not for depressed people; they will grow only more depressed - The book was fantastic, great to read; I forgot time while reading. I invariably wanted to pick up the book and read more. That's the good part, especially since I'm not a fan of comedy, stand-up comedy, or comedy shows in general. Seinfeld is the only comedy series I ever watched and loved. Besides the fact that the book is a pageturner, here are my positives and negatives: The guy comes across as super genuine and nice. That's why a biography of Jason or Julia wouldn't be interesting, because they don't have opinions for themselves. They are Democrat party poster boys/girls. Kramer does have his own opinions and does form his own opinions. Great. There was one really boring part about him in the army, and it seemed to have been especially designed to make people think Richards is so good with Black people (who cares?). Like all other mentioned people, I had hoped he would mention Howard again, what had happened to him, but he didn't. In another part, Richards gushes over some unknown Black architect and tells us that he read much about him but then mistakenly attributes the old Ambassador Hotel to be designed by this architect when Myron Hunt was responsible for this piece of architecture (Williams just renovated it). It seems as though Kramer did not really study Williams at all, but again, the nice guy that he is, he likes to establish an image as if he is so fond of Black people. Who cares? At times, I felt a profound sadness reading about Richards’ struggle with life. It reads like giving birth but never really getting there. It seems as though he is still trying to be himself but failing. Any normal person with a little bit of life experience really doesn't care about his rant in the comedy club, but he experiences the whole episode as if he has committed a murder. He caters to the people who wallow in misery, who like to wallow in misery forever, because without it they are lost. He got mad and used a few slurs. So what? Nothing wrong with that. But he used racial slurs! So what? Get over it. There were many anecdotes, but I still felt as if there could be many more. For example, he explains what happens in some episodes, but we already know what occurs in "The Little Kicks." So when you ask me after reading the book, is there anything special about Jason and Julia? I would say no: what I remember is that Julia got along well with Richards and that she has two kids. But I don't remember much more. Same with Jason. Who is Jason really? I know the book is about Richards, but still, I expected some more details, but maybe they are just not there. Overall, the book is awesome, and it seems as though Richards is genuinely happy nowadays. Review: impressive - A very honest, at times very funny, at others poignant, memoir by a great talent.