Misanthropology A Florilegium of Bahumbuggery edition by Reneau H Reneau Rius Reneau ReneauSantiago Dali Nemecio Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Misanthropology A Florilegium of Bahumbuggery edition by Reneau H Reneau Rius Reneau ReneauSantiago Dali Nemecio Literature Fiction eBooks 
Satire and social commentary expressed as conversation, sermon, and verse. This edition is a revision of the original work published in 2004.
Misanthropology A Florilegium of Bahumbuggery edition by Reneau H Reneau Rius Reneau ReneauSantiago Dali Nemecio Literature Fiction eBooks
As usual, I received this book for free via a LibraryThing giveaway but my candid opinions appear below.Misanthropology is a book in three parts and the number of the parts is three. It spends its time in more or less equal proportions of short plays, poetry and what the author refers to as 'sermons.'
To say that I had high hopes for this book would be an understatement. To say that they quickly evaporated somewhere in the vicinity of page 15 would be a sadly accurate fact. The author demonstrates a vast erudition and formidable vocabulary but it honestly becomes rather tiresome in short order. Even in cases in which the author has a good idea, somehow the whole thing manages to come crashing down around him by the time a conclusion is reached. Further, the illustrations, so lauded by many reviewers, are simply comic book renditions of a rather puerile nature.
On the bright side, some of the author's poetry is keenly worded and thematically amusing. In particular, 'Twinkle, Twinkle' is an adaptation of 'Twinkle, Twinkle little star' adjusted to be more astronomically accurate. Sadly, it is a rare coruscating gem atop a disappointing heap of offal.
In summary, I wouldn't bother with this had it not come freely of its own accord to my doorstep. The author is a skilled wordsmith but comes up lacking when a story line is required. Anyone experiencing a 'laugh storm' while reading this book (as I have seen some reviewers indicate), is probably in need of medical attention due to a mirth-inducing brain aneurysm.
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Misanthropology A Florilegium of Bahumbuggery edition by Reneau H Reneau Rius Reneau ReneauSantiago Dali Nemecio Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Immensely boring. How others compare it to Shaw, Bierce, Twain is beyond me.
It lacks wit!
I just didn't see a point to this book. It seemed like it lacked a point and a story that was interesting. It definitely wasn't my type of book.
Excellent read. Entertaining.
On skimming through my copy of "Misanthropology," I was first impressed with the layout, typography, and illustrations. I found them to be witty and innovative, playful and alive; however, some of the text itself appeared to be, well, sophomoric. Boy, was I ever wrong! On actually reading the book, I saw that what I took for lameness was in fact carefully constructed lampoon. Most of this work is satire, and it takes different forms, although a common streak of cynicism in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce does give cohesion to the work. It even sports some honest-to-God gallows humor. While each individual component is so unique that it deserves a separate review, in penance for hasty judgment I'll comment on a few pieces that I found particularly amazing.
The "Conversation" entitled "Where Are You?" purports to be a TV interview with a certain Charles Bugby who, from the secure vantage of his automobile, calmly videotapes his wife and child as they are attacked by a mountain lion. The interviewing TV host speaks with cliche-riddled jargon that sounds only too familiar, and Bugby responds with ain't-I-clever mummery laced with inappropriate French words. If I correctly interpret the "final exam" question on the book's end papers, the enemy of this piece turns out to be "we the looker, without whom nothing would be looked at, the applauders, to whom everything is owed by the performers" -- that is, we have met the enemy and he is us.
"The Excelsior Odyssey" is space-opera parody stuffed with goodies. It is an extended metaphor about departure and return, life as a trip around the Monopoly board, a voyage to the future and back. References are appropriately made to yo-yos, M.C. Escher's "Reptiles," palindromes, reversible equations, and so on. Lines from Tennyson's "Ulysses" are embedded in the text and the reader is invited to spot them all (I did). Included is a discussion on the paradox of time, randomness, and free will. The "Big Bang" is proposed as an Ancient Solipsist's solution to cosmic ennui a self-inflicted explosion into stars and atoms and tiny bits of awareness that apparently include the matter and energy that we know about and stuff that we may never know about. The corresponding end paper question for this little opus is "What are the drawbacks to seeing all and knowing all, and what can be done about it? How might the Almighty be coping with ... absolute power?" -- in other words, we have met the Almighty and He is us.
Another memorable Conversation concerns a genie and unlimited wishes. This one is apparently intended to be the final word in the genie genre, and it may well be. How many original twists can you wring out of a genie in a bottle? Anyway, this one is both amusing and provocative. Our 21st Century Aladdin is consistently convinced by the genie's sidekick that he really doesn't want what he is about to wish for, after all. This little geniegem ends with a couple of genuine afterclaps.
There is a "Songs" section, consisting of "Little Willie" inspired nursery rhymes and parodies of greeting card verse (Reneau says Hallmark provides "Cyrano's words bought and signed by us dimwit Christians"), along with some more original -- and more interesting -- NC-17 verses of "antisocial significance."
The "Sermons," in contrast to the "Conversations," are monologues, not always delivered by Reneau himself. In "Dummy Bilking," Charles Bugby reappears as the czar of an international secret society, "The Institutionalized Mystic Nits," and uses the Internet to entrap and fleece adherents to Mystic Nitory. Speaking from the apex of his astonishing career in cynicism, he introduces to an elect few his system of plundering the wallets of the unwary, using a formula of emotional appeal, data fabrication, and scapegoatery. He develops a business model built around drunken driving, and explains in detail how to extract money from all concerned. "You'll morph into a mighty Midas, and attend your high school reunion in a golden limo, pulled by pink flamingos," crows Bugby.
One of the Sermons attempts to explain some puzzling 1890 editorials by L. Frank Baum which appear to advocate the extermination of the American Indian, for which Baum has posthumously taken some flak. I can't always tell when Reneau is just kidding, but here he is straight-arrow sober. He argues that the editorials were intended as irony. The editorials in question are reprinted here in their brief entirety, and speak for themselves. My own hunch is that Reneau's interpretation is indeed the correct one.
At times his verbosity seems a bit gratuitous, but never to the point where it jams the flow of ideas. In fact, most of this book is verbal wizardry, constantly morphing into different textures and colors. It's full of interesting ideas and quotable quotes, the stuff of which a good read is made.
Reneau H. Reneau has created a pleasing provocative potpourri of prose, plays, and poetry. This book is filled with wonderful slices of wit, wisdom, and thought-provoking ideas that are served piping hot on a bed of existentialism for the reader to enjoy at his or her leisure. The delightful and clever wordplay alone is worth the price of admission. I dare anyone not to be challenged by the lobe-wrestling that is presented in this treasure chest of humorous and candid salutations of free will, free thought, and free-for-all vivacious verbiage.
Reneau H. Reneau has created a verbal wizardry of satire hidden in an anthological mix of prose, plays, and poetry plus a bonus philosophical discussion on the paradox of time, randomness, and free will. The book's thought-provoking ideas center on a style of humor that bears close resemblance to both European intrigue and existentialism. The word play and allusions are intellectual in the extreme, presenting a puzzle that challenges the memories. The verbosity seems a bit excessive at times, but not to the point of interfering with the thoughts of the educated. Irony, dark humor, and sharp cynicism are all woven into this carefully constructed lampoon, which offers a critical parody of society today. The alert reader will spot numerous literary allusions.
I especially enjoyed the short story entitled "Where Are You?" The story offers a television interview with a certain Charles Bugby, who, from the secure vantage of his automobile, sadistically videotapes his wife and little girl as they are eaten by a mountain lion. Yes, this commentary could probably be construed as sick; however, the narrative tone does not support the protagonist. The interview is loaded with cliche-riddled jargon that sounds only too much like FOX News, or CNN. Bugby's inappropriate French words reminds us of paparazzi journalism. Clearly this is dark humor, but it is clearly dead on the mark with its satire. An extremely thought provoking book.
As usual, I received this book for free via a LibraryThing giveaway but my candid opinions appear below.
Misanthropology is a book in three parts and the number of the parts is three. It spends its time in more or less equal proportions of short plays, poetry and what the author refers to as 'sermons.'
To say that I had high hopes for this book would be an understatement. To say that they quickly evaporated somewhere in the vicinity of page 15 would be a sadly accurate fact. The author demonstrates a vast erudition and formidable vocabulary but it honestly becomes rather tiresome in short order. Even in cases in which the author has a good idea, somehow the whole thing manages to come crashing down around him by the time a conclusion is reached. Further, the illustrations, so lauded by many reviewers, are simply comic book renditions of a rather puerile nature.
On the bright side, some of the author's poetry is keenly worded and thematically amusing. In particular, 'Twinkle, Twinkle' is an adaptation of 'Twinkle, Twinkle little star' adjusted to be more astronomically accurate. Sadly, it is a rare coruscating gem atop a disappointing heap of offal.
In summary, I wouldn't bother with this had it not come freely of its own accord to my doorstep. The author is a skilled wordsmith but comes up lacking when a story line is required. Anyone experiencing a 'laugh storm' while reading this book (as I have seen some reviewers indicate), is probably in need of medical attention due to a mirth-inducing brain aneurysm.
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