Synopses & Reviews
Born Julius Marx in 1890, the brilliant comic actor who would later be known as Groucho was the most verbal of the famed comedy team, the Marx Brothers, his broad slapstick portrayals elevated by ingenious wordplay and double entendre. In his spirited biography of this beloved American iconoclast, Lee Siegel views the life of Groucho through the lens of his work on stage, screen, and television. The author uncovers the roots of the performerandrsquo;s outrageous intellectual acuity and hilarious insolence toward convention and authority in Grouchoandrsquo;s early upbringing and Marx family dynamics.
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The first critical biography of Groucho Marx to approach his work analytically, this fascinating study draws unique connections between Grouchoandrsquo;s comedy and his life, concentrating primarily on the brothersandrsquo; classic films as a means of understanding and appreciating Julius the man. Unlike previous uncritical and mostly reverential biographies, Siegelandrsquo;s andldquo;bio-commentaryandrdquo; makes a distinctive contribution to the field of Groucho studies by attempting to tell the story of his life in terms of his work, and vice versa.
Review
andldquo;A beautiful, brilliant, and persuasive reading of G Marx as crypto-nihilist. A necessary and pulse-quickening work (utterly bereft of jargon or self-seriousness), linking Aristophanes to Kafka to Beckett to Groucho to Woody Allen to Amy Schumer.andrdquo;andmdash;David Shields, author of Reality Hunger
Review
andldquo;Lee Siegelandrsquo;s brilliant analysis of the glorious, scary, beyond-funny humor of Groucho and his brothers made me feel as if I were watching their movies for the first time. In this hugely enjoyable and stimulating book, Siegel shows how Groucho became an impossibility: an immortal comedian.andrdquo;andmdash;Ian Frazier, author of Great Plains and On the Rez
Synopsis
A trenchant examination of an iconic American figure that explores the cultural and psychological roots of his comic genius
Synopsis
A trenchant examination of an iconic American figure that explores the cultural and psychological roots of his comic genius
Born Julius Marx in 1890, the brilliant comic actor who would later be known as Groucho was the most verbal of the famed comedy team, the Marx Brothers, his broad slapstick portrayals elevated by ingenious wordplay and double entendre. In his spirited biography of this beloved American iconoclast, Lee Siegel views the life of Groucho through the lens of his work on stage, screen, and television. The author uncovers the roots of the performer s outrageous intellectual acuity and hilarious insolence toward convention and authority in Groucho s early upbringing and Marx family dynamics.
The first critical biography of Groucho Marx to approach his work analytically, this fascinating study draws unique connections between Groucho s comedy and his life, concentrating primarily on the brothers classic films as a means of understanding and appreciating Julius the man. Unlike previous uncritical and mostly reverential biographies, Siegel s bio-commentary makes a distinctive contribution to the field of Groucho studies by attempting to tell the story of his life in terms of his work, and vice versa."
Synopsis
From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a trenchant examination of Groucho Marx and the cultural and psychological roots of his comic genius "An astute psychological profile of the man whose biting, nihilistic comedy broke so many barriers."--John McMurtrie, San Francisco Chronicle
"A luminous delight . . . A true page-turner and a lot of fun."--Shon Arieh-Lerer, Slate
Born Julius Marx in 1890, the brilliant comic actor who would later be known as Groucho was the most verbal of the famed comedy team, the Marx Brothers, his broad slapstick portrayals elevated by ingenious wordplay and double entendre. In his spirited biography of this beloved American iconoclast, Lee Siegel views the life of Groucho through the lens of his work on stage, screen, and television. The author uncovers the roots of the performer's outrageous intellectual acuity and hilarious insolence toward convention and authority in Groucho's early upbringing and Marx family dynamics.
The first critical biography of Groucho Marx to approach his work analytically, this fascinating study draws unique connections between Groucho's comedy and his life, concentrating primarily on the brothers' classic films as a means of understanding and appreciating Julius the man. Unlike previous uncritical and mostly reverential biographies, Siegel's "bio-commentary" makes a distinctive contribution to the field of Groucho studies by attempting to tell the story of his life in terms of his work, and vice versa.
About Jewish Lives:
Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present.
In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.
More praise for Jewish Lives:
"Excellent" -New York Times
"Exemplary" -Wall Street Journal
"Distinguished" -New Yorker
"Superb" -The Guardian
About the Author
Lee Siegel, a recipient of the National Magazine Award for Reviews and Criticism, writes about culture and politics for the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal.