Pure Drivel

I like Steve Martin for a bunch of reasons. Probably the least of those is as an actor. I enjoyed Roxanne, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner. Any other flick I've seen him in I would not care if I never saw or thought about it again.

I do admire Martin for his ability to be successful on so many fronts. I think he is funny. He's a talented musician and a very good writer. Shopgirl and Pleasure of My Own Company I would rate as one-star books on my scale. So when I saw Pure Drivel at a used book stand for a buck, I figured I had a bargain on my hands.

Pure Drivel is a collection of short, mostly satirical essays. The first, spoofing the apologies of public figures, is probably the best of them. Michael Jackson, I Love Lucy, Mensa and Lolita are all topics but none of them are very good. All in all it was pretty much a disappointment. So much so that I think I have to put it in the don't read category. If a fan of Martin's writings like myself can't find much positive about which to write, why bother?