Last Words: A Memoir By George Carlin

Posted by Rosanna on January 26, 2011 at 5:09am

For more than a decade before his 2008 death, groundbreaking stand-up comedian Carlin had been working on his autobiography with writer Hendra (Father Joe), who finished it by distilling hours of conversations with the irascible social commentator. Armed with an eye for detail and a seemingly photographic memory, Carlin retraces his life in full, chronicling petty crimes and stolen kisses, escalating drug problems and the death of his wife with unflinching honesty. He applies that same precision to the mechanics of comedy, giving would-be comics a veteran's insight into the dynamics of crowds, the structure of a performance and the importance (or unimportance) of the social and political landscape. Tracing his evolution as a comedian from the first time he made his mother laugh to performing for an empty room in Baltimore to the series of HBO specials he made over the course of his career, Carlin peppers his narrative with the routines that have made him famous (though this is no gagfest, a la Brain Droppings, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, etc.). Throughout, Carlin comes off as a smart, humble everyman with a strong distaste for hypocrisy in all its forms; fans may be surprised at his discipline and drive, and anyone interested in comedy should find this autobio as illuminating as it is funny.


Read by: Patrick Carlin / with: Tony Hendra

128kbps

Last Words 01.mp3

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Tags: memoir, nonfiction, satire
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  • Rosanna January 26, 2011 at 5:10am

    2-5

    Review
    "Last Words, a posthumous autobiography from George Carlin, is a jazzy, inward-looking piece of work...as a chronicler of the working of his own mind, Carlin is terrific."

    -- The New York Times

    "...what "Last Words" ultimately reveals is how Carlin became a political protester, slam poet, cynic, polemicist and performance artist whose messages were delivered under the veneer of humor."

    --Washington Post

    "The book is at turns biting and touching, and often both, which is what you would expect from a man for whom the sacred was profane and the profane, sacred was profane and the profane, sacred."

    --Entertainment Weekly

    "...frank and insightful..."

    --Time magazine

    "This is not a collection of setups and punch lines, but a candid, fearless accounting of his life and art...Last Words shows a comic master at the height of his storytelling powers and with no limit to what he had left to say."

    --L.A. Times



    "For comedy fans, this book is vital. It's easily worth its weight in gold for the biting observations on showbiz and its personalities."

    --San Francisco Chronicle

    "[Last Words] sounds as if he is still with us, rested and ready to ridicule the latest cultural hypocrisies."

    --The Washington Times



    "Seven particular words are associated with the late comedian George Carlin, and sentimental is not one of them. But that's the surprising portrait that emerges from Last Words."

    --Houston Chronicle

     

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