Reviews for What This Comedian Said Will Shock You
by Bill Maher
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
The comedian argues that the arts of moderation and common sense must be reinvigorated. Some people are born snarky, some become snarky, and some have snarkiness thrust upon them. Judging from this book, Maher—host of HBO’s Real Time program and author of The New New Rules and When You Ride Alone, You Ride With bin Laden—is all three. As a comedian, he has a great deal of leeway to make fun of people in politics, and he often delivers hilarious swipes with a deadpan face. The author describes himself as a traditional liberal, with a disdain for Republicans (especially the MAGA variety) and a belief in free speech and personal freedom. He claims that he has stayed much the same for more than 20 years, while the left, he argues, has marched toward intolerance. He sees an addiction to extremism on both sides of the aisle, which fosters the belief that anyone who disagrees with you must be an enemy to be destroyed. However, Maher has always displayed his own streaks of extremism, and his scorched-earth takedowns eventually become problematic. The author has something nasty to say about everyone, it seems, and the sarcastic tone starts after more than 300 pages. As has been the case throughout his career, Maher is best taken in small doses. The book is worth reading for the author’s often spot-on skewering of inept politicians and celebrities, but it might be advisable to occasionally dip into it rather than read the whole thing in one sitting. Some parts of the text are hilarious, but others are merely insulting. Maher is undeniably talented, but some restraint would have produced a better book. Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
For over 30 years, audiences have been treated to Maher’s exceptional brand of equal-opportunity political satire. Critics, too, have loved him, nominating him for two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, and 41 Primetime Emmys. This book, his eighth, feels different from his previous seven. A collection of political thought pieces, it is less an extension of his show than a reckoning with it—a sort of portrait of the artist as an old wag. “One reason I did this book,” he writes in a surprisingly candid introduction, “is because it’s almost impossible to understand where I’m coming from without it.” Where is the 68-year-old Maher coming from? Normal City, in his view. Eschewing the notion that he has become more conservative, he argues instead that if he appears to criticize Democrats more, it’s because they have changed, not he. Either way, one thing that hasn’t changed is Maher’s style, which is funny but not hyperbolic, challenging but not confrontational, and urgent but not in your face. That formula has served Maher well throughout his career, and it serves him well in this book.
