"God is silent. Now if only man would shut up."

"The one characteristic of "reality" is that it lacks essence. That is not to say it has no essence, but merely lacks it."

 "If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative."

 

When you say the name Woody Allen you immediately have in mind the image of the neurotic intellectual, of the New Yorker who wears glasses and spends most of his time with the psychologist rather than with his partner, his parents or at his workplace. Those who look behind the character remember, first of all the director of successful films such as Annie Hall, Hannah and her Sisters, Take the Money and Run! and many others. But Allen is not only a first class screenplay writer, a unique director and actor, but also a playwright and the author of four volumes of short stories which imposed him on the literary market. In his novellas we discover some of the elements present in his films: discreet intellectual humor, punch lines - sometimes brutally absurd, a life philosophy that sees everything through the twisted mirror of satire. But are they valid today, are we still impressed by these novellas which concentrate the essence of Allen's artistic universe?