Letters from a Nut

Rating:
Summary: If you liked this!!!!!
Review: Try books by Lazlo Toth (aka Don Novello) who didit first. His Lazlo letters are classics.

Rating:
Summary: Letters From a Nut is a Great Book
Review: Leave it to Jerry Seinfeld to find something that is so different and refreshing! Letters From a Nut is a hilarious book, and is the perfect book for reading when you are in the mood for a lot of laughs, or when you want to share something funny with others. This is the kind of book that people like to see out there, because it is something so strange and unique. If you are ready for some laughs, Letters From a Nut should definitely be in your shopping cart! A truly hilarious book

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the Funniest Work of all Time
Review: The letters are brilliantly written, and simply waste people's time. And that's why this book is so funny and a must-have for anyone enjoys humor like Seinfeld's. No one could create a fictional work that is so absurd.. and that's what makes this book so funny. It's real, yes hysterically funny. Brilliant writing as well. The writer says a lot with minimal sentences. When you step back and look at it, the writer is very effective by being brief... so as to solicit legitimate responses.

Rating:
Summary: Funny Alternative to "Idiot Letters"
Review: I cannot tell a lie-- even though I enjoy Letters from a Nut now, it took a very long time for me to get into this book. The problem was another prank letter book, called "Idiot Letters," which I had found uproariously funny and thought had set the bar for this type of thing. So when I first got Letters from a Nut I kept wanting more of the same wacky humor as Rosa's Idiot Letters and was initially disappointed. But upon further re-readings I have changed my mind. Letters from a Nut is one funny book.

But what is it? Basically, it's a collection of prank letters *allegedly* written by an *anonymous* man (Ted L. Nancy), a mysterious figure who just *happened* to get one of the biggest TV personalities at the time (Jerry Seinfeld) to write an intro to his book. (Hmmm...) Although some of Nancy's targets are large corporations, most of them are restaurant, travel, casino, or hotel-related establishments being asked to help or accomodate him with some of the most ridiculous scenarios and personal disabilities you could ever dream up. From needing to dress as a shrimp when he gambles to having immense B.O. requiring him to eat near the dumpster at restaurants, there isn't an affliction or weird personal request that Nancy can't dream up. But even funnier than the bizarre scenarios in these letters are the completely serious and earnest responses that he gets from various places willing to go the extra mile to help him-- even to the point of allowing him to go on a Greyhound bus dressed as a vegetable.

There are many reasons why I've begun appreciating this book. First of all, there's the humor, which can best be described as deadpan. No matter how utterly asinine a scenario or request he writes, Nancy always does it with a completely straight face, lending the letters an air of legitimacy, even though they are too strange to be taken seriously. Another thing that's funny is how Nancy keeps interjecting these stupid parenthetical comments (like this one) throughout his letters (standard 8-1/2x11), adding silly details that no one would give a damn about (his dog's name is Cinammon). But the last thing that makes these letters funny is how he always anticipates every possible excuse his victims could use to refuse him service. For example, if he's asking a hotel room permission for him to bring his own appliance (usually, something very big, clunky, and unwieldy), he'll make sure to add in capital letters something, like, "I can carry it myself," and "It doesn't make any noise." This type of anticipation is so hysterical because you can just hear the poor staff person on the receiving end of this letter going, "Damn! Now I can't tell him he can't bring it because the noise will disturb the other visitors."

The book, as funny as it is, is not exactly perfect. One weakness is that there's a bit of repetitiveness-- he reuses some of the gags in many of the letters (dressing up as a vegetable, for example). Then there's a chapter called "Thank you," where he sends letters to various establishments heaping praise on the lowest rung of the hotel or casino staff employees. There's nothing funny about them- they just look and sound like normal thank you letters, so you wonder what the joke is. Perhaps the *joke* is that he's heaping praise on hotel staff he's never actually met or that he's being ridiculously complimentary of busboys and maitre' d's, who he feels are so low in the service industry that they are undeserving of praise. If the former is true, that's not really funny, and if the latter is true, it is simply mean-spirited.

Other than that, the book is largely funny, and climaxes with a hilarious gag that ends it all with a fluorish. Whether you should pick Letters from a Nut or Idiot Letters is largely a matter of taste. If you're more into goofier, far out humor you're better off getting Rosa's book. But if you like wry humor, Letters from a Nut may be right up your alley.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Funny
Review: I really enjoyed the first three quarters of this book, but in the last quarter it gets very repetitive. Most of the letters are very simmilar to the earlier ones. That is the only reason that the book got 4 stars rather than 5. Ted L. Nancy sure thinks up some random things for his books! I cant wait to read the next two in the series (hopefully not so repetitive!!) overall I would highly reccomend this book to friends who enjoy laugh out loud reading.


Rating:
Summary: Admittedly NOT for everyone...
Review: I have read all three books from this series and have been anxiously waiting for another installment from Mr Nancy... My boyfriend tried, but couldn't get through the first few pages. This type of humor is NOT for everyone.
If you enjoy laughing so hard that your eyes tear up and your sides hurt, then this book is for you. If you have a weird sense of humor that many of your friends and relatives don't "get," again, this book might be up your alley.
I caught myself getting nearly physically ill due to the intense laughter that these books brought about. If you laugh easily and CONVULSIVELY, this might not be the book to take to the airport! Enjoy, folks!

Rating:
Summary: Like watching a parade in a cul-de-sac
Review: A friend of mine handed me this book and immediately, I associated it with The Lazlo Letters, the genius of Non Novello (Father Guido...). I thought Don was at it again, for a new generation. But as I read on, I soon came to the realization that instead of the original irreverence and spunk shown in Lazlo, there was repetition of similar schtick to different people... impossibly old pets, invented candybars, half-baked references instead of the subversive tongue-in-cheek tone of it's literary forefather. I found myself skipping letters after a while.

The idea is a good one, and clearly Ted has a powerful name on the cover to suck the buyer/reader in, once the cover is cracked, it is like watching a parade in a cul-de-sac, it begins to cannibalize itself. And at least half of the responses are canned form letters and dismissals. Unlike the rabble-rousing and tomfoolery it tries to initiate, it falls flat for chunks of the book.

The fictitious Mr. Nancy has sold a few copies and may come out of hiding someday, or may just spend his hard earned dough on food for his old finch and support his bed wetting affliction. It comes off as sophomoric and most of the people on the other end don't seem to even try to get his ranting.

In short, buy it used, borrow it, but not worth buying at full price.

Rating:
Summary: very funny stuff
Review: If you do not find this book funny, you have no sense of humor!! It's a really fast read that you will want to share with all your friends. What a great concept to write crazy letters to compainies and see what the response will be. BUY THIS BOOK!!!!