Clothing Optional: And Other Ways to Read These Stories

by Alan Zweibel

“Garry, it’s Alan. Look, I’m calling because I just felt the need to tell someone that I’m forty-four years old, and about an hour ago, for the first time in my life, I put suntan lotion on my ass. I’ll explain later. Bye.”

In Clothing Optional , Alan Zweibel offers a collection of laugh-out-loud personal narratives, essays, short fiction, dialogues, and even a few whimsical drawings. Zweibel first made a name for himself as one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live , but his career’s humble beginnings included creating one-liners for Catskill comedians at seven dollars a pop. That experience is only one of the hysterically inspired anecdotes (“Comic Dialogue”) in this quirky compilation.

Zweibel confesses his first love, as a young Hebrew school student, for Abraham’s wife, Sarah (“At this point, Sarah’s husband had been dead for more than three thousand years–so, really, who would I be hurting?”); recounts the time he was sent to a nudist resort to write an article (“The fact that I brought luggage is, in itself, worthy of some discussion”); offers a touching tribute to Saturday Night Live writer and mentor Herb Sargent (“Herb was New York. But an older, more romantic New York that took place in black and white like the kind of TV I grew up on and wanted to be a part of someday”); and imagines a scenario in which Sergeant Joe Friday, the stiff, monotoned character from Dragnet , is inexplicably partnered with Snoop Dogg (“Damn, Friday. You gotta learn to chill. Take some free time and kick it with your boys”)

Every piece is punctuated with the same wit and insight that have come to define Zweibel’s humor.

Unhinged and hilarious, Clothing Optional is an unguided tour through the uniquely peculiar life and mind of a man who The New York Times said “has earned a place in the pantheon of American pop culture.”

Genres: Humor, Short Stories

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Cathy O'Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Zweibel is one of my favorite humor writers. I had no idea this collection of essays existed. I needed something light and funny after reading several dark books, and this completely filled the bill.

[Rob Smentek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Screamingly funny.

[Marcia Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice quick read, with some funny and touching stories.

[Michael Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The humor is about a “three” and the horrible illustrations a zero (actually they deserve a negative number). It’s an easy read, but trust me, nothing in it is really that memorable or that funny.

[george w. shorago m.d. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent hodgepodge of Zweibel’s humorous thoughts. I’ve become a fan!!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of essays embraces both the comedic and the poignant, and offers reflections on family life, politics, good deeds, religion, fruit, and, of course, nudity. While some of the essays are quite humorous, and others really quite touching, most strike a careful balance between the two to deliver some thought-provoking material with a sardonic twist. (Perhaps this trend comes from Zweibel's years as a writer for Saturday Night Live?) None of the essays were laugh-out-loud funny, and none jerked tears, but all were engaging and sufficiently lighthearted for quick, casual reading.

Though not a collection of Jewish stories per se, the essays tend heavily toward Jewish themes. Perhaps this is part of a trend in contemporary essay collections to distinguish themselves with some sort of ethnic or religious leaning (Sedaris, for example, has his Greek background; Sandra Cisneros relies heavily on her Latina background). This does not mean that non-Jewish readers will find nothing engaging in his essays, but a lot of the humor may be lost to those who haven't grown up with Yiddish-speaking grandparents.

In short, a quirky, engaging read with just enough depth to be interesting but not burdensome.

[Allyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The back of the book looked promising: rave reviews about how funny it was, the type of person that would like the book, and okay, yeah, the cover & title were both funny and caught my eye. 7 pages into it, I thought "it's gonna get better", 27 pages...."the funny stuff must be in the middle!" Page 47--"well, this is a complete waste of time and the most UNfunny book I've ever read." I gave up and took it straight back to the library. Not at all impressed and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I thought this book was ok. It’s a collection of short stories that were mostly funny, a few I didn’t care for, and a few that were really great.

I loved the one about the kid’s baseball team. I think any parent whose kids have played sports can relate and appreciate the scenario.

The author seems to have a unique humor that for the most part is lost to me, but other times I really enjoy.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been trying to read some Zweibel since hearing him on the Gilbert Gottfried podcast. He is truly an amazing and hilarious writer and this collection shows it. The collection reads at times like one of Woody Allen's books who Mr. Zweibel admits is one of his idols. That is not a knock on the collection at all. In fact, parts of this book are on par and/or funnier that some of Woody's works. Going to make it a point to read more Zweibel.

[Shannon]

Saw this guy on Conan. He's amusing.

[Melissa]

This book looked funny, but I just couldn't get into it. Some of the stories I thought were just plain stupid, others were pointless. I read about 50 pages and decided it just wasn't my cup of tea.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent book. There were a few passages that had me laughing out loud, but for the most part it was just OK.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can honestly say this is the funniest book I read this afternoon.

[LS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this one. The last story is nice.